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Skating Clean: A Story of Reconciliation (Part Two) · Hangin' Out with Bob

0:07
OK, hello and welcome to “Hangin’ Out with Bob,” a
0:10
podcast hosted by me, Bob Edholm. Thanks for
0:17
joining us. Let's get started. Maybe what I should
0:21
say is welcome back to “Hangin’ Out with Bob,”
0:24
because this episode is Part Two of our podcast
0:26
episode entitled, “Skating Clean: A Story of Reconciliation.”
0:31
In Part One, we talked about the hockey game
0:33
between the Minnesota North Stars and Boston
0:35
Bruins on January 4th, 1975, a game in which
0:40
Boston's Dave Forbes attacked Minnesota's Henry
0:43
Boucha with the butt end of his stick, driving
0:46
it into Boucha's eye following a penalty box
0:49
exit. The blow injured Boucha's eye socket,
0:53
resulting in permanent damage and effectively
0:56
ending his career. Forbes received a 10-game
0:59
suspension from the National Hockey League, but
1:02
he was also charged with aggravated assault by
1:04
the Hennepin County grand jury. Here in Part
1:07
Two, we'll talk about the criminal trial of Dave
1:10
Forbes and the decades that followed in the aftermath
1:13
of that trial, both for Forbes and for Henry
1:16
Boucha. Well, despite what Boston Bruins officials
1:22
thought of the actions taken by (1) the NHL,
1:26
which resulted in the 10 -game suspension for
1:28
Dave Forbes; and (2) the Hennepin County District
1:31
Attorney, which resulted in the charge of aggravated
1:35
assault against Forbes, there was a trial. And
1:39
it received quite a bit of publicity, both in
1:42
Minnesota and nationally, and in Canada, since
1:45
it was so unusual for an athlete to face criminal
1:48
charges for an assault that happened during a
1:50
game. And like I mentioned earlier, Forbes was
1:54
a Canadian, and in the mid-1970s, just under
1:58
93 percent of the players in the National Hockey League
2:01
were Canadian. The trial began on a Tuesday,
2:05
July 8, 1975, seven months after the game itself.
2:10
Gary Flakne, again, he was the prosecuting
2:13
district attorney, called 24 witnesses to the
2:16
stand, all of whom described how they had seen
2:20
Boucha sustain his injury. Some of the more
2:23
prominent hockey figures and eyewitnesses included,
2:26
well, Henry Boucha himself. He testified on
2:30
Thursday, July 10th, and it was reported that
2:33
Boucha remained calm and unemotional during
2:36
his testimony. He said he more or less expected
2:39
another fight with Forbes after both had been
2:42
given penalties for fighting during the game.
2:44
He said, quote, “I didn't know whether or not
2:47
we were going to fight at the time. I thought
2:49
it might be later in the game. It's happened
2:51
before where players will come out of the penalty
2:54
box and a fight will start." Boucha was the first
2:58
prosecution witness to state that Forbes's hockey
3:01
stick actually hit him. According to Boucha,
3:06
Forbes was trailing the stick from his right
3:08
hand, then, quote, “he threw a punch with the
3:11
stick in his hand and I got hit above the eyebrow.”
3:14
Unquote. The day after the incident, Boucha said,
3:17
Forbes called him to apologize for hitting him.
3:20
Another witness was Bob Utecht. He was the North
3:24
Stars’ legendary public address announcer who
3:26
coined the iconic phrase, “Let's play hockey!”
3:30
just before the puck was dropped at center ice
3:32
to start the game. During the trial, Utecht testified
3:36
that Forbes used a jabbing motion to drive his
3:40
stick into Boucha’s eye. Utecht also said that
3:44
he thought he saw Boston coach Don Cherry pat
3:47
Forbes on the back after the incident. And Clarence
3:51
Campbell. Again, Campbell was the NHL president
3:54
at the time. He testified for the prosecution
3:57
regarding the nature of the sport and the 10
4:00
-game suspension he levied against Forbes. But
4:04
Campbell also said Forbes had told him he had
4:06
had no intention of injuring Boucha. And a name
4:10
I just mentioned, Don Cherry. He was in his first
4:14
season as head coach of the Boston Bruins at
4:16
that time. He testified for the defense. And
4:20
while PA announcer Bob Utecht had said in his
4:23
testimony that he thought he saw Cherry pat Forbes
4:26
on the back after the incident (as though he
4:29
were commending Forbes for his actions, as in,
4:31
“Way to go, Dave!” Cherry testified that Forbes,
4:35
when he returned to the bench after the incident,
4:38
was distraught and had tears in his eyes. Cherry
4:42
testified that Forbes was uttering, quote, “What
4:45
have I done? What have I done?” Unquote. Cherry
4:49
said that when he put his hand on Forbes's back,
4:52
he was telling Forbes, quote, “Take it easy, take
4:55
it easy. Let's get to the dressing room.” Unquote.
4:59
And Dave Forbes himself. He was the last person
5:03
to testify in the trial. When he took the stand
5:06
on Wednesday, July 16th, Forbes said he had been
5:09
playing hockey since he was three or four years
5:11
old. And one of the first things he was taught
5:14
was to, quote, “Fight back.” Unquote. In that game
5:18
on January 4th, Forbes said during his testimony
5:22
that Boucha had given him a “soccer punch,” quote-
5:25
unquote, from behind, and Forbes had not tried
5:28
to defend himself before they both received penalties
5:31
for fighting. Forbes said that if he hadn't retaliated
5:35
after they left their respective penalty boxes,
5:38
it would have given Boucha a psychological advantage.
5:42
Forbes said that when they both came out of their
5:43
penalty boxes, Boucha made what Forbes thought
5:47
was a kind of turning movement toward Forbes
5:49
with his upper body. Forbes said he didn't know
5:53
what was going to happen, so he threw a punch
5:55
at Boucha. But Forbes also said he wasn't sure
5:59
whether he was holding his stick or not when
6:01
he hit Boucha. In other words, Forbes had intended
6:05
to hit Boucha but with his fist, not his stick.
6:09
Forbes said that he didn't realize Boucha had
6:11
been injured until after his blows had been delivered.
6:18
I want to step away from the trial itself for
6:21
just a moment. Dave Forbes, remember, had been
6:24
charged with aggravated assault and, if convicted,
6:27
could have spent up to five years in prison.
6:31
And yet, during the two-week trial, Forbes still
6:34
managed to find time… to play golf. Yep, on Saturday,
6:40
July 12th, on a warm midsummer day in the greater
6:43
Twin Cities metro area, an event called the Duff's
6:47
Celebrity Golf Tournament was held at the Rolling
6:50
Green Country Club in Hamel, Minnesota, about
6:54
17 miles west of the courthouse in downtown Minneapolis.
6:58
In a story that appeared the next morning in
7:00
the Sunday Tribune, Forbes was one of the, air
7:03
quotes, “celebrities” playing that day. For the
7:07
record, he shot a 94 for 18 holes, a score I
7:11
would gladly settle for. The Tribune story also
7:14
included a photo. In that photo, Forbes is standing
7:18
next to Dave Schultz, then a player with the
7:21
Philadelphia Flyers, a team known then as the
7:24
“Broad Street Bullies,” since the Flyers back then
7:27
played in an arena located off a prominent, miles
7:31
-long Broad Street in Philadelphia. Fans who
7:35
Remember—or have heard of—Dave Schultz know that
7:37
he was one of the most penalized players each
7:40
year in the National Hockey League. Always fighting.
7:44
Now, the Duff's Celebrity Golf Tournament was
7:46
an annual charity. The primary beneficiary was
7:50
the Variety Club Heart Hospital at the University
7:52
of Minnesota. All well and good. But at the time
7:57
I originally saw that story in photo in July
7:59
1975, and even again, when I saw it decades later
8:04
in the Star Tribune Archives, I didn't think
8:07
it was a good look for a man charged with aggravated
8:11
assault in a criminal trial to show up—or to
8:14
be allowed to show up—at a golf tournament. That's
8:18
me. Perhaps Forbes’s defense attorney, Ron Meshbescher,
8:22
even advised him to appear at a charitable event.
8:25
I don't know. But I'm guessing Henry Boucha,
8:28
still dealing with the double vision he suffered
8:31
as a result of Forbes's attack on him six months
8:33
earlier, did not play in that same celebrity
8:36
golf tournament. Back to the trial. On Thursday,
8:42
July 17th, the assault trial of Dave Forbes went
8:46
to the jury of seven men and five women. In the
8:50
Friday morning edition of the Tribune, staff
8:52
writer Linda Picone reported that the jury had
8:56
deliberated until 10 p .m. Thursday night without
8:59
reaching a verdict. In fact, the jury had returned
9:02
to the courtroom at about 4 p .m. on that Thursday
9:05
afternoon to ask for a re -reading of the Hennepin
9:08
County District Judge's instructions on aggravated
9:11
assault. The jury was given three possible verdicts:
9:15
(1) not guilty, (2) guilty of aggravated assault,
9:20
or (3) guilty of assault. Aggravated assault,
9:25
a felony, carried a maximum penalty of five years
9:28
in jail and a $5,000 fine. Assault, a misdemeanor,
9:33
was punishable by 90 days in jail and a $300
9:37
fine. In the article, defense attorney Ron Meshbescher
9:41
expressed concern about the length of deliberations.
9:45
His feeling was that the longer deliberations
9:47
continued, the less likely were the chances that
9:50
Forbes would be acquitted—to be found not guilty,
9:52
in other words. The article also reported that
9:55
Forbes, obviously tense since taking the witness
9:58
stand on his own behalf on July 16th, became
10:01
more so as the day wore on without a verdict.
10:05
Outside the courtroom, Forbes had harsh words
10:08
for Hennepin County attorney Gary Flakne, who
10:11
served as prosecutor. Forbes said, quote, “I certainly
10:15
hope all prosecutors don't have their head where
10:18
Flakne's is.” Unquote. The judge in the case,
10:22
Rolf Fosseen, had told the jury that, quote, “One
10:26
cannot expressly or impliedly consent to assault.”
10:29
Unquote. But Meshbesher, Forbes's attorney
10:33
again, contended that hockey was a violent game
10:36
and players expect to be involved in fights and
10:39
to suffer injuries during their hockey careers.
10:43
In final arguments, in fact, Meshbesher had
10:46
told the jury, quote, “I hold no brief. for the
10:49
way hockey is played today. It is a violent,
10:52
bloody game. I can't justify it. But don't make
10:55
this man, Dave Forbes, the patsy." Meshbesher
11:00
also said Forbes was a victim of a, quote, “hometown
11:04
Indictment.” Unquote. Meshbesher said, quote,
11:08
“I submit to you that had this man, Dave Forbes,
11:11
been wearing a different uniform that night,
11:13
he would not be sitting behind the council table
11:16
and undergoing the agony of a trial." Unquote.
11:20
But Flakne, the prosecuting attorney, termed
11:22
the incident “an unprovoked attack” by Forbes.
11:26
He said, quote, “This was an assault. It was not
11:29
a fight. It was no different than assaulting
11:31
someone on the street or in a back alley.” Unquote.
11:35
Flakne said the state's witnesses had shown
11:38
that all elements of aggravated assault were
11:41
present in the case against Forbes. Well, on
11:46
a late Friday afternoon, July 18th, the two-week
11:50
aggravated assault trial of Dave Forbes ended…
11:53
in a hung jury. The seven-man, five-woman jury
11:58
was deadlocked. They couldn't reach a unanimous
12:01
decision. The judge declared it a mistrial. This
12:06
story made the front page of the A section of
12:09
Saturday morning Tribune. The headline read,
12:12
“Hung jury ends Forbes trial.” Tribune staff
12:16
writer Linda Picone reported that the jury had
12:20
been split 9 to 3 for conviction on a
12:23
lesser charge of assault, a misdemeanor. After
12:27
the mistrial was declared, the article stated
12:29
that Forbes faced a possible second trial. Judge
12:33
Fosseen had set a court hearing for August 5th,
12:36
at which time Hennepin County Attorney Gary Flakne
12:39
could either ask for a new trial date or move
12:42
to dismiss the charge against Forbes. Regarding
12:45
that jury of seven men and five women, one juror,
12:48
a man, said he was among the three jurors who
12:51
held out for a verdict of “not guilty.” “I do not
12:54
feel that Mr. Forbes intended to do bodily harm,”
12:58
that juror said. He also said deliberations on
13:01
the jury “got pretty heated toward the end.” But
13:05
another juror, a woman, said that Flakne, the
13:07
county attorney, should have done a better job
13:10
of questioning potential jurors. That same woman
13:14
juror also said that all five women on the jury
13:17
had voted according to the law—for conviction.
13:21
And Dave Forbes himself said after the mistrial,
13:24
quote, “I feel like I've been trampled by a thousand
13:27
buffaloes. I'm still very much confused and a
13:30
bit bewildered. I feel awfully weary right now.”
13:36
Gary Flakne, the Hennepin County attorney,
13:39
who was the prosecutor at the trial of Forbes
13:42
which ended in a hung jury on July 18th, said
13:45
on Monday, August 11th, that he would not ask
13:48
for a second trial. He said, quote, “I am convinced
13:53
that no matter how carefully selected the next
13:55
jurors might be, they could not reach unanimity
13:58
if the case was retried.” Unquote. But he added,
14:02
quote, “We have served notice on the National
14:04
Hockey League and others that extraordinarily
14:07
violent acts will not be tolerated in this community,
14:11
and that athletes, no matter in what sport they
14:14
participate, will not be immune from prosecution
14:17
should they conduct themselves in a manner similar
14:20
to that of the defendant." Forbes, reached by
14:25
telephone in Minneapolis, said, quote, “The time
14:28
I felt worst was sitting in the courtroom when
14:31
they brought back the verdict that there was
14:33
no decision and I thought I might have to go
14:35
through it again. That's when I thought maybe
14:38
the system stinks. But I guess it works. I feel
14:41
great now." While the criminal trial ended with
14:48
a hung jury and the charges were not refiled,
14:51
Henry Boucha did successfully sue Dave Forbes
14:54
and the Boston Bruins for a reported settlement
14:57
of up to $1 million, which provided him with
15:00
structured monthly payments. After all, the permanent
15:04
vision issues effectively ended Boucha's NHL
15:07
playing career. That financial settlement helped
15:11
Boucha by covering his living and medical expenses
15:13
for decades following that career-ending injury.
15:18
The legal battle remains one of the most famous
15:20
cases addressing on ice sports violence and the
15:23
limits of criminal prosecution for athletic altercations.
15:29
Henry Boucha attempted two major comebacks to
15:32
professional hockey following the stick-swinging
15:34
incident that severely damaged his right eye
15:37
on January 4, 1975. The first attempt to come
15:41
back was in his home state with the Minnesota
15:44
Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association,
15:47
the WHA. Later in the 75-76 season, Boucha
15:52
made a return to the NHL with the Kansas City
15:55
Scouts. He stayed with the franchise when it
15:58
relocated and rebranded as the Colorado Rockies
16:01
for the 1976-77 season, but ultimately he retired
16:05
after playing just nine games that season due
16:08
to his unresolved vision issues. After retiring
16:12
from professional hockey at the very young age
16:14
of 25, Boucha would go on to play for his hometown
16:18
Warroad Lakers, before donating much of his time
16:22
to various Native American causes. Boucha founded
16:26
a program in 1995 to offer economically disadvantaged
16:31
Ojibwe youth the opportunity to play ice hockey.
16:35
Though mostly remembered for his on-ice abilities,
16:38
many of Boucha's greatest assists took place
16:41
off the ice. He served as American Indian Education
16:45
Coordinator for Warroad Public Schools, as well
16:49
as American Indian Education Program Consultant
16:52
at various Minnesota school districts. Still,
16:56
his hockey talents did not go unnoticed. He was
16:59
named to the Warroad High School Athletic Hall
17:01
of Fame, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
17:04
(he was inducted there in 1995), and the North
17:08
American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame (inducted
17:11
in 2022). Dave Forbes, meanwhile, continued playing
17:16
in the NHL for four more seasons after the trial.
17:20
He remained with the Boston Bruins through the
17:22
1976-77 season, helping the team reach the Stanley
17:26
Cup finals in ‘77. Forbes was claimed in the Waiver
17:31
Draft by the Washington Capitals before the 1977
17:34
-78 season. He spent a full season there, but
17:38
was released after just two games into the 1978
17:41
-79 season. Forbes finished his professional
17:45
playing career in the World Hockey Association,
17:48
the WHA, with the Cincinnati Stingers for one
17:51
season before retiring from the ice. Following
17:55
his retirement from professional hockey, Forbes
17:58
transitioned to a successful career as a financial
18:02
advisor based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
18:06
He also became deeply involved in his church
18:08
and worked with fellow players to establish Hockey
18:11
Ministries International (HMI), which facilitated
18:16
chapel services throughout the NHL and distributed
18:19
Bibles. The many articles I found in the Minnesota
18:25
Star Tribune Archives regarding the game itself,
18:28
the trial, and the aftermath were invaluable.
18:32
But so was a podcast I listened to recently.
18:36
The name of the podcast is “Life Over Coffee.”
18:39
That's “Life Over Coffee.” The episode I listened
18:43
to, episode number 346, was entitled, “Stunning
18:48
Story of NHL Player Reconciling with a Player.”
18:53
The podcast host, Rick Thomas, interviewed Dave
18:56
Forbes in 2021. This episode gave me a better
19:00
picture of Forbes's life after that hockey game
19:03
in 1975 and the trial that followed after the
19:06
incident. Now, we learned from reading an online
19:10
article in the Star Tribune archives that Boucha
19:13
had testified during the trial that Forbes had
19:16
called him, like, the day after the attack, to
19:19
apologize. But was that really enough? Had there
19:22
really been a sense of closure? As I listened
19:26
to this podcast episode, I learned that Forbes
19:29
had become a deeply religious man about two years
19:32
after the incident in 1975. He had established
19:36
a ministry for hockey players. He had a wife
19:38
and family. He'd enjoyed a successful career
19:42
as a financial advisor. BUT... Had he ever spoken
19:47
to Henry Boucha since the day after the attack
19:49
in that hockey game in January of 1975? Did they
19:53
ever really reconcile? That's what I still needed
19:57
to find out. And here's what I learned. In January
20:01
of 2020, Forbes was one of the speakers at a
20:04
business conference in Cancun, Mexico. After
20:08
he had given his talk, and during a break in
20:11
the conference, a young man named Bill had walked
20:14
up to Forbes and introduced himself. Bill told
20:18
Forbes that he was from Minnesota, from the Minneapolis
20:21
area, but had grown up in northern Minnesota,
20:24
close to the Canadian border. Bill told Forbes
20:27
he was “a real hockey guy” and that it was fun
20:30
to meet another hockey player, especially a former
20:33
NHL player like Forbes. But that wasn't the only
20:37
time Bill spoke to Forbes. Toward the end of
20:40
the conference, Forbes said there was an opportunity
20:42
for delegates to come up and share their stories.
20:46
He said Bill got up and talked about his upbringing.
20:50
He talked about a man who had been a major influence
20:52
in his life. That man's name was Henry. And this
20:56
Henry, he too had a connection to hockey. When
21:00
Bill had finished speaking and was walking back
21:02
to his seat, Forbes, who was seated at a table
21:05
near the speaking platform, asked Bill, “What's
21:08
Henry's last name?” And Bill said, “Boucha.” Not
21:13
surprisingly, at this point in the podcast, you
21:16
can hear Forbes' voice cracking. Forbes said
21:20
he got together with Bill a short time later
21:22
to chat some more. Bill was about 20 years younger
21:26
than Boucha, but he told Forbes that Henry had
21:29
had kind of a fatherly influence on him. Bill
21:33
said that he had experienced hard times at certain
21:35
points in his life, but Boucha had always been
21:38
there to help him. So Boucha was a very special
21:42
guy in Bill's life. Forbes said he then asked
21:45
Bill whether his relationship with Boucha was
21:47
still active if he still kept in touch with him.
21:51
Bill said yes. And Forbes then asked Bill if
21:54
he thought Henry would be open to have him—Forbes—
21:57
come to Minnesota and be with him. And Bill told
22:00
him, “I think Henry would very much love to do
22:04
that.” You see, as they were talking to each other
22:08
at that business conference in Cancun, Mexico,
22:11
Bill told Forbes that he could sense that Forbes
22:13
was still filled with “regret” and “remorse” over
22:17
what he had done to Boucha in that hockey game
22:19
45 years ago. And Forbes told Bill that that
22:23
was true. Even though it had been many years
22:26
since then, he was never able to, in Forbes'
22:30
own words, “just brush it off is nothing.” He confessed
22:34
to Bill that he had thought about Henry Boucha
22:36
a great deal over the years and he would really
22:39
appreciate being able to spend some time with
22:41
him. So, Forbes said that Bill offered to set
22:45
up a meeting where Forbes could meet with Boucha
22:47
up in Warroad, Minnesota. Now, Forbes said the
22:53
plan originally was to go up to Warroad in the
22:56
spring or summer of 2020. But because of the
22:59
pandemic in 2020, his travel plans were put on
23:03
hold. Forbes said he'd had intermittent communication
23:06
with Bill during that period, and as things slowly
23:09
started to get better, Forbes finally went up
23:12
to Warroad to see Boucha on June 17, 2021. It
23:17
was a private meeting. No media. Just Forbes
23:20
and Boucha. But even before Forbes journeyed
23:23
up to that very northern part of Minnesota—Warroad,
23:25
Minnesota—he said they'd had a couple of conversations
23:29
and exchanged some texts with Boucha. In one
23:32
of those conversations, Forbes said he communicated
23:35
to Boucha his regret and remorse for what he
23:39
had done to him in that hockey game in 1975 and
23:42
for the harm he had caused him. Remember, it
23:45
had been more than 45 years since Forbes had
23:48
spoken to Boucha. Well, in the podcast, Forbes
23:52
said that after he told Boucha how sorry he
23:55
was for what he had done, Forbes said Boucha's
23:58
reply just kind of blew him away because Boucha
24:02
told Forbes, “Hey, I forgave you a long time ago.”
24:06
In the podcast, as soon as Forbes had said that,
24:10
it was silent for several long moments before
24:13
the host, Rick Thomas, in a Southern accent said,
24:17
“I like seeing hockey players cry. I think it's
24:20
a good thing. It kind of changes the image a
24:22
little bit.” Once Forbes had regained his composure
24:27
in this podcast, he said what Boucha did for
24:29
him was “a picture of forgiveness and reconciliation.”
24:33
He said Boucha had become “a dear man” to him
24:36
in just a very short time. Pretty emotional stuff
24:39
to listen to with that podcast, but just imagine
24:42
what a relief that must have been for Forbes
24:45
especially to speak to Boucha again after all
24:48
those years to make a heartfelt apology and then
24:51
to be told that he had been forgiven. In the
24:57
mid-1980s, after living in several places following
25:00
his retirement from professional hockey, Henry
25:03
Boucha moved back to Warroad, where he was a
25:06
coach, an active American Indian educator and
25:09
activist, and an advocate for Native Americans
25:11
in sports. Sadly, he died on September 18, 2023,
25:17
at the age of 72. He passed away in the Twin
25:21
Cities, after collapsing while seeking treatment
25:23
for ongoing heart issues at the Minneapolis VA
25:26
Medical Center. Boucha was survived by his four
25:30
children, a sister and two brothers, and five
25:33
grandchildren. Just six months after the death
25:36
of Henry Boucha, Dave Forbes, who had become
25:40
a deeply religious man about a year after his
25:44
trial for aggravated assault, and went on to
25:47
enjoy a successful career as a financial advisor
25:49
in Colorado Springs, Colorado, died unexpectedly
25:53
on March 25, 2024. He was 75 years old. Forbes
26:00
was survived by his wife of 42 years, four children,
26:04
and six grandchildren. Dave Forbes said he had
26:09
thought about Henry Boucha a great deal over
26:12
the years. And me, just a 21-year -old college
26:16
student who sold beer and peanuts at Met Center
26:18
when that infamous hockey game was played in
26:21
January of 1975, I also thought a great deal
26:24
about both of these men over the years. I wanted
26:28
to know if they ever got together again to talk.
26:31
Happily, I was able to learn—finally—the rest
26:35
of the story. A story about forgiveness and reconciliation.
26:42
Reconciliation. When it's done right, both sides
26:45
walk away richer. I want to believe that both
26:49
Henry Boucha and Dave Forbes walked away richer
26:52
after they finally met again in 2021. Someone
26:57
smarter than me once said, “When you forgive,
27:00
you're not erasing what happened or saying what
27:03
happened was okay, but you are giving yourself
27:06
permission to have a future that isn't determined
27:09
by your past. Amen to that, eh? Two quick things.
27:16
One, I wanted to mention that there's an excellent
27:18
one-hour documentary about Henry Boucha called
27:21
“The Electric Indian,” now streaming for free on
27:25
the PBS app. It came out in 2024, shortly after
27:29
Boucha had passed away, in fact. Ojibwe filmmaker
27:33
Leya Hale chronicles the life of Boucha. It's
27:37
really well done. I recommend it. “The Electric
27:40
Indian.” And two, that hockey game in January
27:45
of 1975 was the second of the three years I worked
27:48
at Met Center selling beer and peanuts. I'm happy
27:51
to say—relieved to say—that there was never
27:55
another game that resulted in a headline in the
27:58
Minneapolis Tribune the next day about a player
28:00
getting “mauled” in a hockey game. And that's going
28:06
to do it for this podcast episode. Flyin’ solo
28:09
this time. No guests. But I do wish that, somehow,
28:13
I could have talked to Henry Boucha and Dave
28:15
Forbes. But the research was fascinating. A deep
28:19
dive and a labor of love. Again, to our listeners,
28:23
thanks for hanging out with me, Bob Edholm.
28:26
We hope you'll join us for the next episode of
28:28
“Hangin’ Out with Bob,” wherever you listen to your
28:31
podcasts. Until then, bye-eee!