35 Yr. Anniversary Of The Most Famous Goal In Hockey History Reignites Old Debate
Posted September 28, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was the day the earth stood still.
O.K., so it wasn’t the entire planet – just Canada.
Exactly 35 years ago this day, on the afternoon of September 28, 1972, factories closed early, schools let out before the final bell or herded kids into the gym in front of a small black and white TV with rabbit ears and traffic was almost non-existent. The start of another World War or a nuclear bomb scare? For some, it was even more serious. It was the final and deciding game in the Canada-Russia Summit series, which would supposedly forever decide the supremacy of hockey might between two of the sport’s most acclaimed super powers. And the entire country was literally sitting on the edge of its seat.
It wouldn’t stay there for long. At 19:26 of the third period in the final game, Paul Henderson and his Team Canada mates swarmed the net around Vladislav Tretiak and finally beat the impenetrable backstop with a goal heard from the Atlantic to the Pacific, giving Team Canada a hard-earned 6-5 victory.
Foster Hewitt’s historic call still rings in many ears – especially in the mind of the man who never heard it as it was happening. “Cournoyer has it on that wing. Here’s a shot!” the legendary hockey broadcaster yelled. “Henderson made a wild stab for it and fell. Here’s another shot. Right in front – they score! Henderson has scored for Canada! Henderson right in front of the net and the fans and the team are going wild.”
That call has alternately gladdened and haunted the former Leaf ever since. “Can you believe it?” he asks. ‘Henderson makes a wild stab for it and falls.’ I mean, how endearing is that, 35 years later? I would have loved to have heard ‘Henderson, he beats one guy, Oh! Incredible goal!’ But he falls on his rear end is what we hear.”
It may not have been the most elegant shot, but it was arguably the most famous goal in the history of a hockey-mad country and those who weren’t alive at the time simply can’t imagine what it meant to those lucky enough to have witnessed it. Canada exploded in a joyous ecstasy of nationalism usually only reserved for the end of a war.
“1972,” reflects Ken Dryden, now an MP but then standing on guard for thee in Canada’s net. “It felt a different way and it was so far, so unexpected, so awful. And then so fantastic.”
The event was so historic, one Toronto newspaper even changed its name the next day to the Hender-Sun. Even 35 years later, that one replay brings a lump to the throat and tears to the eyes of many.
And what happened to that famous puck? Legend says it disappeared but defenceman Bill White is sure he knows where it is – in Pat Stapleton’s private collection. “Whitey (Stapleton) has it,” White insists. “He’ll tell you hasn’t got it, but he has it.”
Not so, claims the ‘owner.’ “I don’t know who’s got it now,” the 68-year-old Stapleton insists.
The anniversary of what Henderson sometimes refers to as ‘that garbage goal’ has reignited an old controversy – should the man who scored it have a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame because of it? Most fans agree it’s long overdue. “That was a historic goal and everyone knows that goal so, absolutely … he should be inducted,” argues one man.
Which spurs another question. Should the lesson of that tremendous series become a part of Canadian history books in school instead of just Canadian history itself? “Sure, why not?” shrugs hockey historian Andrew Podnicks. “There are all sorts of aspects and analogies that you can teach. There’s the sporting element, he’s an international hero and a social element because it’s one of the few historical incidents where the entire country was one.”
Henderson remains typically modest about it all. “I fully recognize how fortunate and blessed I am,” he agrees. “They talk about the goal of the century. Is that any good?”
No Paul. As it turned out, that was really great.
Memory can sometimes be more powerful than reality. The Henderson goal and the Team Canada victory will resonate with those who were there for a lifetime. We asked for your memories of that seminal hockey moment and it’s obvious those who were there will never forget what happened when that goal went in. Here are some of your recollections:
“At the beginning of the series, I got married, Sept.1/72. We were in Bermuda for our honeymoon and my husband asked the front desk if they had a radio he could borrow for our room. He sat and listened to the game on radio skip I think our first night and maybe more than one night. He was hockey nuts and I guess I am too, to allow that on our big night.”
Chris Dineley
“I remember our entire school, St Gabriel’s in Windsor, was sent into the gym to watch the final game in a special assembly. They had set up TVs in a couple of different corners of the gym on those tall, wheeled AV stands so we could all watch from where we sat with our classmates. The entire gym erupted when that final goal was scored and that was all we talked about for the remainder of the day.”
Patti Gray
“I was a student at Centennial College, Warden Woods Campus in 1972. We were excused from classes that day and most of the students had gathered in one of the lecture halls where there was a TV and we were sitting wherever there was space watching the game. What an experience that was to witness that historic game and having a Toronto Maple Leaf, Paul Henderson, score the winning goal at that!”
Linda Keeping
“I was in grade 6 at a public school in Richmond Hill. (Beverly Acres Public School) Our teacher, Mr. Walsh, brought in the old black/white TV on a stand. That goal will forever be in my memory for three reasons:
1. Team Canada won
2. Paul Henderson scored (Toronto Maple Leaf )
3. I was at game 2 in Toronto with my dad (Still have the Team Canada poster )
“Any hockey fan in Canada, that watched or listened to this game, will never forget. To this day, seeing this goal on TV bring chills up/down my spine.”
Rick Warren
