“Though the old guys were all Billy’s players”—Hull, p. 137.
“Fitness was all the rage”—ibid., p. 140.
“Had the Black Hawks somehow persuaded Hull”—Stan Fischler, The Sporting News, 2-28-76.
“Were deluded into thinking they really were stars”—ibid.
“Stapleton not only didn’t save the Cougars”—ibid.
“I believe it is the only way to develop the game”—Toronto Globe and Mail (no author), 6-10-75.
“In approximately seven weeks”—Al Strachan, Montreal Gazette, 11-11-75.
“If I were to rate the best hockey teams in the world today”—Magnuson and Bradford, p. 111.
“Watch Phil Russell”—Chicago Tribune (no author), 1-8-76.
“They gave him two minutes when they could easily have given him five”—ibid.
“The Black Hawks sometimes play as if they covet the Nobel Peace Prize”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune, 1-8-76.
“What are we, last in the league in penalty minutes?”—ibid.
“A good and experienced one”—Chicago Tribune (no author), 1-8-76.
“When you get the kind of refereeing we saw tonight”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune, 1-8-76.
“They just kept touching everything that was his”—Christie Blatchford, Toronto Globe and Mail, 1-9-76.
“For Fred Shero and his Flyers”—Denault, p. 270.
“No Red Army player wanted to play”—Tretiak, p. 98.
“The Black Hawks not only took the usual punishment”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune, 1-19-76.
“He could have bumped Dick Daley in a mayoral election”—ibid.
“One thing you’ve got to have to be a success in this league can’t be taught”—Magnuson and Bradford, p. 13.
“But Magnuson, Chicago’s spiritual leader”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune, 1-19-76.
“If I was a tough guy on another team”—Jim Wiste, interview with author, 9-5-12.
“He once said to me that I was nuts to keep coming back”—Chuck O’Donnell, Hockey Digest, December 1996.
“He wasn’t dirty”—Rick Morrissey, Chicago Tribune, 12-17-03.
“We’ll never forget what a good guy”—Michael Sneed, Chicago Sun-Times, 12-17-03.
“Going a hundred miles an hour”—Tim Sassone, Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald, 11-12-08.
“Bobby Orr was better on one leg than anyone else was on two”—McKenzie, p. 10.
“The record for pro hockey in Denver is not good”—Gary Mueller, The Sporting News, 10-30-75.
“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen in hockey”—Bob Verdi, The Hockey News, 11-19-76.
“There’s no place for what Watson did”—ibid.
“If I’d been going around the league doing things like that myself”—ibid.
“Bryan Watson isn’t the most reliable guy I know”—ibid.
“Will be back with us in less than two weeks”—John Ahern, Boston Globe, 11-5-76.
“I looked at Bobby and asked him, in pantomime, what was going on”—Mikita, p. 124.
“In a 10-paragraph press release which not once mentioned Reay’s name”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune, 12-23-76.
“The best coach in the business”—ibid.
“It’s against everything we stand for”—ibid.
“That’s a rotten way to treat a guy”—ibid.
“Three years ago, almost no Hawk players would have dared”—ibid.
“Deep down, I really believed that if this group of players”—Mikita, p. 125.
“I called him [Magnuson] and asked to have dinner”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Blackhawks.NHL.com, “The Verdict: Bill White Was a Defensive Stalwart, Prankster,” 12-22-10.
“I sort of had a feeling that, the way things were, there might be a change”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune, 12-23-76.
“This year they gambled heavily on Bobby Orr’s knees”—Robert Markus, Chicago Tribune, 12-23-76.
“Yeah, but like Tony Esposito says”—ibid.
“Teeth clenched and wired shut”—Grant Mulvey, interview with author, 10-26-12.
“The biggest hug and welcomed me into his inner circle”—ibid.
“Naw, I don’t think that”—Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune, 2-10-77.
“It’s almost as though the people upstairs decided to write us off completely”—Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune, 4-5-77.
“One afternoon, following a typically dull”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-20-77.
“Pulford’s defensive style should be”—Stan Fischler, The Sporting News, 10-15-77.
“I’m really excited about our new coach”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-20-77.
“One night in the Forum”—Mikita, p. 109.
“I learned of that through my agent”—ibid., p. 130.
“I was never worried”—Bob Verdi, special to the The Sporting News, 2-18-78.
“You’d never get me to wear one of them”—Gary Mueller, The Sporting News, 12-3-77.
“He would still take a puck to the face”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-20-77.
“Lewis told me later”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune, 12-24-78.
“I was just sitting on the bench”—ibid.
“It bothered me this season”—Bob Verdi, The Hockey News, January 1979.
“There isn’t a player on this team who doesn’t completely respect him”—ibid.
“Was just starting to play as well as he ever had”—ibid.
Chapter 8
“There have been many finer athletes in Chicago, but not one finer person”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune, 11-1-79.
“At first, it was just making appearances at food stores”—Neil Milbert, The Hockey News, June 1980.
“When a company such as ours takes on an athlete”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-20-77.
“Maggie has been challenged”—ibid.
“It bothers me that I seem to be getting brittle”—ibid.
“He’s one of those rare individuals”—Hollander, “The Great Gretzky’s WHA-NHL Saga” (from The Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1980 (Reyn Davis)).
“One of the biggest things about him is his intense desire”—ibid.
“Each year I’ve had to prove myself”—ibid.
“I was mentored by him as a roommate, teammate, and a coach”—Keith Brown, interview with author, 10-30-12.
“This is no good”—Bob Verdi, special to The Sporting News, 3-29-80.
“I felt my work with Joyce Beverages”—Neil Milbert, The Hockey News, June 1980.
“My family life was another consideration”—ibid.
“He’s incompetent, has no business being a general manager”—The Sporting News, 8-16-80.
“I have no respect for that man”—Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune, 6-14-80a.
“When it happened to Billy Reay”—Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune, 6-14-80b.
“The Black Hawks have all the class”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune, 6-15-80.
“That’s not true”—Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune, 6-14-80.
“The Black Hawks came to me.”—ibid.
“I never thought I’d be a coach in the NHL”—ibid.
“You won’t believe this”—Skip Myslenski, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-29-81.
“The changing of the guard behind the Hawks’ bench”—Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune, 6-15-80.
“Magnuson, whose 10-year career as a Chicago player”—The Hockey News (no author), 10-24-80.
“Keith is going to be successful”—ibid.
“It was a tough transition for both Maggie and me”—Cliff Koroll, interview with author, 9-2-12.
“Magnuson had said he would break his neck for the Wirtzes”—Bob Verdi, Chic
ago Tribune, 11-1-79.
“I think we’re going into this season well prepared”—The Hockey News, 10-24-80.
“Whenever I need something I know I can count on Granny”—ibid.
“I saw that, and I told myself, ‘I have to give more.’”—Grant Mulvey, interview with author, 10-26-12.
“There’s so much to learn back there”—The Hockey News, 10-24-80.
“He began questioning himself”—Skip Myslenski, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-29-81.
“You kind of felt sorry for him”—ibid.
“From the first shifts I could see that our players were up”—George Vass, Hockey Digest, May 1981.
“They are growing into wanting to win and hating to lose”—ibid.
“As a player, I got down on myself after a loss”—Skip Myslenski, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-29-81.
“The thing about coaching”—ibid.
“As a performer, he eternally played and practiced with fire”—ibid.
“He’s in a very tough situation”—ibid.
“Everybody feels the pressure”—Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune, 2-1-82.
“She came to recognize and accept the moods”—Skip Myslenski, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-29-81.
“Pully, if you want to get rid of me”—ibid.
“I’ll tell you one thing”—Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune, 2-16-82.
“It [hockey] was killing me”—Luis Fernando Llosa, Sports Illustrated, 3-1-99.
“Keith always said he loved his wife, Cindy, more than hockey”—Chicago Blackhawks magazine, 11-12-08.
“The player worries about himself”—Skip Myslenski, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-29-81.
“Maggie was someone you would trust with anything”—Paul Schrage, interview with author, 10-15-2012.
“O’Rourke sensed that changes were about to occur at 7-Up”—Kevin Magnuson, interview with author, 5-15-12.
“He owns just one pair of jeans”—Skip Myslenski, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-29-81.
“I’m up by 5:30 every morning and put in an 8-to-10 hour workday”—Luis Fernando Llosa, Sports Illustrated, 3-1-99.
“My dad was so good at relating to every customer”—Kevin Magnuson, interview with author, 5-15-12.
“I’ll have a Coke”—Jim Wiste, interview with author, 9-7-12.
“He was always a gentleman”—Paul Schrage, interview with author, 10-15-12.
“When I drive to practice in the morning”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-20-77.
“People are sometimes surprised how even-tempered and relaxed I am off the ice”—Magnuson and Bradford, p. 150.
“I was a rookie broadcaster”—Pat Foley, interview with author, 10-19-12.
“He had no clothes, no golf clubs, or a chance to call home”—Wittenberg, p. 137.
“I came back home with three bucks in my pocket”—John Marks, interview with author, 11-2-12.
“He’s a better playmaker than I was at his age”—David Southwell, Chicago Sun-Times, 3-9-93.
“She can skate very well”—ibid.
“I had told him when he was a youngster”—Luis Fernando Llosa, Sports Illustrated, 3-1-99.
“When Maggie was at the microphone at the luncheon”—Dale Tallon, interview with author, 11-2-12.
“Everybody who has ever needed any help”—Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune, 9-27-07.
“When I was 19 years, old, I ran out of money”—ibid.
“Bill Wirtz was much more than a man who paid men with sticks to shoot pucks”—Mike Downey, Chicago Tribune, 9-27-07.
“Winning isn’t everything”—Neil Milbert, The Hockey News, June 1980.
Chapter 9
“Maybe it’s because hockey players are more fun”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune, 11-1-79.
“He was just marvelous”—Associated Press (no author), 12-17-03.
“I said I had to get up to catch a flight”—Tim Sassone, Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald, 11-12-08.
“Peter Marsh phoned in the middle of the morning”—Mikita, p. 176.
“It’s been a tremendous tragedy since the day of the accident”—Bob Mitchell, Toronto Star, 10-10-07.
“Walking by outside the church”—Mike Spellman, Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald, 12-21-03.
“We didn’t even know these people”—Carol Slezak, Chicago Sun-Times, 11-10-08.
“We came back from Florida to attend the funeral”—Mikita, p. 176.
“He was my favorite player growing up”—Chris Chelios, interview with author, 9-20-12.
“The greatest captain the Hawks have ever had”—Len Ziehm, Chicago Sun-Times, 12-22-03.
“The ultimate team captain in the only sport where the C means something”—Barry Rozner, Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald, 12-17-03.
“Kevin talked about how Christmas was always his dad’s favorite time”—Mikita, p. 177.
“My mom, my sister and I would like to ask you”—Dave Feschuk, Toronto Star, 12-21-03.
“In the game of life, Keith was our MVP”—Neil Milbert, Chicago Tribune, 12-21-03.
“Keith was a guy who lived 100 years in 56 years”—Mike Spellman, Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald, 12-21-03.
“He was as compassionate”—Jennifer Jones, Chicago Sun-Times, 12-17-03.
“People say hockey players are the nicest people, and they are”—David Southwell, Chicago Sun-Times, 3-9-93.
“I used to wait at Gate 3½ for Keith”—Barry Rozner, Arlington Heights Daily Herald, 2-4-04.
“He was a Hawk”—Bob Foltman, Chicago Tribune, 12-17-03.
“His great leadership on the ice was the way he was in ordinary life”—Jennifer Jones, Chicago Sun-Times, 12-17-03.
“As you travel through life”—Chicago Tribune, 12-17-03.
“He epitomized what heart and soul was all about”—Associated Press, 12-17-03.
“We lost our chief”—ibid.
“Reputation is what people perceive you to be”—Keith Brown, interview with author, 10-30-12.
“Maggie was the best ‘team-guy’ I’ve ever played with”—Darcy Rota, interview with author, 10-29-12.
“He was passionate toward others”—Grant Mulvey, interview with author, 10-26-12.
“He was the heart and soul of this organization”—Tim Sassone, Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald, 11-12-08.
“Keith was fearless”—John Marks, interview with author, 11-2-12.
“He was good a man as I’ve ever been in the trenches with”—Phil Russell, interview with author, 10-29-12.
“I never heard him say ‘no’ to anybody”—Bob Foltman, Chicago Tribune, 12-17-03.
“There’s an old cowboy saying”—Phil Russell, interview with author, 10-29-12.
“Everything that came out of Keith’s mouth was positive”—Stan Mikita, interview with author, 1-5-13.
“He had a heart of gold. Everybody loved Maggie”—Adrian Dater, Denver Post, 12-17-03.
“Keith’s parents can be proud of how they raised him”—Bobby Hull, interview with author, 12-17-12.
“Maggie used to tie his ties in these unbelievable double-Windsor knots”—Peter Marsh, interview with author, 10-29-12.
“That was one of the things I missed so much when I left Chicago”—Bobby Hull, interview with author, 12-17-12.
“Out of respect to Maggie I thought that No. 3 should not be worn”—Tim Sassone, Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald, 12-22-03.
“Keith called me every year on my birthday”—Adrian Dater, Denver Post, 12-17-03.
“He made me believe that I could play in the NHL”—Cliff Koroll, interview with author, 9-5-12.
“Magnuson cross-checked players from the crease”—Mike Chambers, Denver Post, 10-11-09.
“We had a l
ot of luck this season”—Associated Press (no author), 4-12-04.
“Maggie was the biggest [alumnus] we had”—Mike Chambers, Denver Post, 10-11-09.
“No disrespect to any alumni, but he [Magnuson] was larger than life”—ibid.
“How Keith Magnuson wanted to lug that jug”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune, 11-1-79.
“I’ve thought about it since I retired”—Chuck O’Donnell, Hockey Digest, December 1996.
“When you fight in hockey, 90 percent of it psychological”—Mark Magnuson, interview with author, 4-11-12.
“I can’t play it any other way”—Magnuson and Bradford, p. 1.
“He was such a great son”—Carol Slezak, Chicago Sun-Times, 11-10-08.
Epilogue
“The public hears about a few of the good things Keith does”—Bob Verdi, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 11-20-77.
“I thought maybe two or three players would show up”—ibid.
“It doesn’t allow the players to police themselves”—Bernstein, p. 149.
“They don’t need fighting today in the NHL”—ibid., p. 203.
“Fighting does not have to be part of big league hockey”—Schultz and Fischler, p. 195.
“Those who don’t want fighting probably never played”—Phil Russell, interview with author, 10-29-12.
“If you can beat them in the alley”—Magnuson and Bradford, p. 7.
“He lost more fights than he won”—Barry Rozner, Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald, 6-9-10.
“It was as if I was sitting in my living room”—Kevin Magnuson, interview with author, 10-13-12.
“It’s for the great players of the late ’60s and early ’70s”—ibid.
References
Bernstein, R. (2006). The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL. Chicago: Triumph Books.
Cheevers, G., & Frayne, T. (1971). Goaltender. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company.
Denault, T. (2010). The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, The Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.
Hollander, Z. (1980). The Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey. New York: Signet.
Hull, D. (1998). The Third Best Hull. Toronto: ECW Press.
Jackson, J. (2004). Walking Together Forever: The Broad Street Bullies, Then and Now. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing.
Keith Magnuson Page 27