Latest / Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History / 1975 • Hockey Clip • Don Drysdale remembers 1939 Boston Bruins

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1975 • Hockey Clip • Don Drysdale remembers 1939 Boston Bruins · Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History

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  This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons.com for more sports history.
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  This is Don Drysdale. A professional athlete has to face many tough moments during his playing career,
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  but the very hardest may be the day he takes the field as a young replacement for a beloved old pro.
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  Today, I'll tell you about one such young man and how he met the challenge.
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  This program is brought to you as a public service of the station on behalf of today's Army.
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  In the Army, you can learn basic useful skills that will last you a lifetime.
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  See your local Army recruiter soon. And now, today's story.
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  It's about a young farmhand named Frankie Brimsek.
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  He was a promising young hockey goalie when he was brought into the National Hockey League in 1938 for the season opener.
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  The regular goalie, Tiny Thompson, had been injured and the Boston Bruins needed someone to fill in.
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  Frankie had never been in an NHL game before, and he was petrified.
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  And when he hit the ice, Frankie helped beat Toronto in the opener and then stayed with the Bruins for one more game.
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  By then, the regular goalie was ready for action and Brimsek was sent to Providence.
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  Thompson, the Bruin goalie for eight years, had won the Vizena Trophy as the league's outstanding player four times,
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  including the preceding season. He was good, he was strong, and he was popular.
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  Bostonians loved him.
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  So you can imagine how furious they were when he was sold to Detroit for $15,000 after only playing in five games.
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  Frankie Brimsek was recalled to replace the popular player.
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  Newspaper and fan reaction was horrible. The Boston manager, Art Ross, was hanged in effigy.
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  But Ross had a very good reason for selling off his popular star and bringing in the unknown.
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  I'll tell you what that reason was in just a moment. First, here's a good reason to thank Army.
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  During World War II, many Europeans were surprised to see combat-hardened American troops taking time out to play a game of baseball.
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  Well, it's much the same today. American soldiers from Texas to Thailand still take time out for their jobs to participate in athletics.
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  Today's Army knows you have to be fit mentally and physically to meet the challenges of a modern world.
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  Train hard, play hard, see your Army representative, and join the people who've joined the Army.
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  Now back to our story. It's the true tale of a young, unknown hockey player who was called on to replace one of the most popular goalies of all time.
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  The young man was Frankie Brimsek. The old pro was Tiny Thompson, who had been sold to the Detroit Red Wings.
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  When the press heard about the sale, they mobbed the offices of the Boston Bruins.
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  Everyone wanted to interview the manager, Art Ross. Art locked himself in the office and called Brimsek in.
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  He figured he'd give a press conference and introduced his new protege to the press.
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  Well, Frankie didn't help much. He got on a train to Providence and rode to Boston.
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  And when he arrived there, he passed a movie theater showing the latest Gene Autry movie.
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  So instead of heading for the hockey arena, he went to see the show while Art Ross and the reporters waited.
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  When he finally arrived two and a half hours late, he helped even less.
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  Frankie was very nervous unless he had a hockey stick in his hand. So most of his answers were the one syllable kind.
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  As you might guess, the press blasted him the next day. If he didn't deliver, well, he'd be run out of town.
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  What nobody knew was that Art Ross, the manager, had tested Frankie on the ice.
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  Ross had fired 25 shots directly at him from 10 feet away. Not one shot scored.
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  Later, Ross had tested the old goalie the same way. Six shots scored. And that was why the change had been made.
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  When he skated on the ice for his first game at home, the stands grew silent.
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  Instead of applause or cheers, no one in the arena made a sound when Brimsek was introduced.
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  With an introduction like that, well, most people would have folded.
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  Instead, Bridget Frankie, as he was known, shut out his opponents for three games in a row.
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  He set an NHL record of 232 minutes of continuous goal-tending without being scored on.
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  That year, he won their Vizina Cup, and the Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 10 seasons.
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  His public relations never needed help again. But then, they never do, if you're good.
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  This is Don Drysdale, and if you think you're good, join the people who've joined the Army.
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  Until next time, so long everyone.