All these years later, when people refer to the Flyers' 1974 and '75 Stanley Cup championships, you hear more about the Broad Street Bullies than about skilled players. Some younger fans think the Flyers just fought their way to the Stanley Cups.
The Bullies, led by Dave Schultz and Bob Kelly, certainly were a big part of the Flyers' persona. But the team also had several talented players: Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, Bill Barber (all Hockey Hall of Famers), Rick MacLeish and Reggie Leach (for the second Cup).
As the current Flyers do, those Flyers also had many players with character: Ashbee, Gary Dornhoefer, Ross Lonsberry, Orest Kindrachuk, Don Saleski, Bill Clement, Terry Crisp, Joe and Jimmy Watson, Ed Van Impe, Andre "Moose" Dupont, Tom Bladon and Ted Harris.
In the 1974 playoffs, the Flyers beat Atlanta, the New York Rangers and Boston. Ashbee, a second-team NHL All-Star that season, was injured in Game 4 of the Rangers series by Rolfe's shot. After the Cup-clincher, Ashbee transitioned into a Flyers assistant coach. Sadly, at age 37, he died in 1977 of leukemia.
In '75, Toronto, the New York Islanders and Buffalo were the Flyers' playoff victims. After leading the Islanders 3-0, the Flyers lost the next three. Memories of the monumental collapse by the 1964 Phillies were on the minds of many Flyers fans.
As the nervous crowd settled into the Spectrum for Game 7, the lights dimmed and suddenly there was Kate Smith on the ice to sing "God Bless America." She was greeted with a deafening roar when she was introduced and when she finished singing. Then the Islanders' Ed Westfall presented her with a bouquet of roses.
When Dornhoefer scored on the first shift, the crowd exploded again. The Flyers went on to win, 4-1.
