Paul Henderson (left) and Valeri Kharlamov.
Henderson's moment was yet to come. Kharlamov's had arrived.
September 2, 1972: Hockey's "Summit Series" begins at the storied Montreal Forum. It is the 1st of 4 games across Canada, followed by 2 weeks of rest, then 4 games in Moscow.
Team Canada was a team of NHL All-Stars, and superstar Bobby Hull and goaltender Gerry Cheevers were ruled ineligible because they'd defected -- not to the Soviet Union, but to the newly-formed World Hockey Association. The greatest player in the game at the time, Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins, was hurt and unable to play. And 2 of the all-time greats, Gordie Howe and Jean Béliveau, had retired a year earlier, while, at 36, Béliveau's Montreal teammate Henri Richard was also considered too old. But these players were available and selected:
* From the Montreal Canadiens: Goaltender Ken Dryden, defensemen Guy Lapointe and Serge Savard, left wings Frank Mahovlich (better known from his earlier years with Toronto) and Pete Mahovlich (Frank's brother), right wing Yvan Cournoyer.
* From the Toronto Maple Leafs: Left wing Paul Henderson and right wing Ron Ellis.
* From the Boston Bruins: Defenseman Don Awrey, center Phil Esposito and right wing Wayne Cashman.
* From the New York Rangers: Defensemen Brad Park and Rod Seiling, left wing Vic Hadfield, center Jean Ratelle and right wing Rod Gilbert.
* From the Chicago Black Hawks: Goaltender Tony Esposito, defensemen Pat Stapleton and Bill White, left wing Dennis Hull (Bobby's brother), and center Stan Mikita.
* From the Detroit Red Wings: Defenseman Gary Bergman, center Red Berenson and right wing Mickey Redmond.
* From the Philadelphia Flyers: Center Bobby Clarke.
* From the Minnesota North Stars: Left wing Jean-Paul Parisé and right wing Bill Goldsworthy.
* And from the Buffalo Sabres: Center Gilbert Perreault.
Home Provinces: From Quebec, Lapointe, Savard, Cournoyer, Ratelle, Gilbert and Perreault; from Ontario, the Mahovliches, the Espositos, Dennis Hull, Dryden, Henderson, Ellis, Awrey, Cashman, Park, Seiling, Vic Hadfield, Stapleton, White, Bergman, Redmond, Parisé, Goldsworthy, and, though born in Slovakia, Mikita; from Manitoba, Clarke; and from Saskatchewan, Berenson. None come from the Maritime Provinces or Western Canada.
Most of the Soviet players were from Moscow and environs:
* From CSKA Moscow (Central Club of the Army): Goaltender Vladislav Tretiak; defensemen Alexander Gusev, Vladimir Lutchenko, Viktor Kuzkin and Alexander Ragulin; center Vyacheslav Starshinov; left wings Valery Kharlamov, Yuri Blinov and Yevgeny Mishakov; center Vladimir Petrov; right wings Boris Mikhailov and Vladimir Vikulov.
* From Spartak Moscow, better known for its soccer team: Goaltender Victor Zinger, defensemen Gennady Tsygankov and Yevgeny Poladiev, left wing Alexander Yakushev. center Vladimir Shardin, right wings Yevgeny Zimin and Alexander Martynyuk.
* From Dynamo Moscow, also better known for its soccer team: Defenseman Valery Vasiliev and right wing Alexander Maltsev.
* From Krylya Sovetov (translated as "Soviet Wings," another Moscow-based club team): Goaltender Alexander Sidelnikov, defenseman Yuri Shatalov, left wing Yuri Lebedev, center Vyacheslav Anisin, right wing Alexander Bodunov.
* From Khimik Voskresenk (outside Moscow): Defenseman Yuri Liapkin.
* And from SKA Leningrad (now SKA St. Petersburg): Center Vyacheslav Solodukhin.
The pseudo-amateur Soviets, who had picked on real amateurs in the World Championships and the Winter Olympics for years. Still, they would be no match for real professionals from the country that invented the game. Especially in the Forum, the Yankee Stadium of hockey -- or was Yankee Stadium the Montreal Forum of baseball? No, the Commies didn't stand a chance...
And when Phil Esposito of the Bruins scored for Canada, only 30 seconds in, most Westerners' suspicions appeared to be confirmed. When Paul Henderson of the Toronto Maple Leafs made it 2-0 at 6:32, it looked like the rout was on.
It was -- the other way. Yevgeni Zimin scored at 12:30. Vladimir Petrov tied it at 17:28. Valery Kharlamov gave the Soviets the lead with a terrific goal at 2:40 of the 2nd period, and scored an even more spectacular goal at 10:18.
Bobby Clarke, the young Captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, closed the gap to 4-3 with 11:38 remaining in regulation. But Boris Mikhailov scored with 6:28 left, Zimin scored again with 5:31 left, and Alexander Yakushev put the exclamation point on with 1:23 left. Soviet Union 7, Canada 3.
This game was more shocking for Canada than the U.S.-U.S.S.R. basketball game soon to come in the Olympics, and for this, the Soviets didn't have to cheat. Had the Soviets put together a baseball team that upset a U.S. team at Yankee Stadium, it wouldn't have been as shocking to Americans as this game was to Canadians. Kharlamov and Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak became legends on this night.
Canada had been embarrassed, in its national sport, in that sport's greatest building. And it would get worse before it would get better.
*
September 2, 1972 was a Saturday. This was also the day that Milt Pappas pitched a no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field in Chicago, with the Cubs winning, 8-0. It should have been a perfect game, but it was taken away from him due to a bad call by umpire Bruce Froemming. I have a separate entry for that event.
These other Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Yankee Stadium. Steve Kline outpitched Tom Bradley. Bernie Allen hit a home run. Thurman Munson went 1-for-3 with the team's other RBI.
* The New York Mets beat the Houston Astros, 11-8 at the Astrodome in Houston. Ken Boswell hit a home run for the Mets. Willie Mays appeared only as a defensive replacement, and did not come to bat.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3, with an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
* A doubleheader was split at Atlanta Stadium (later renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). The Atlanta Braves won the opener, 10-7. The Philadelphia Phillies won the nightcap, 3-0. Dave Downs pitched an 8-0 shutout. It was 1 of 13 shutouts pitched by the Phillies that year, 8 of which were pitched by Steve Carlton.
Over the 2 games, Hank Aaron went 4-for-8 with a walk and 4 RBIs, including hitting the 666th and 667th home runs of his career. Ten days later, Mike Schmidt would make his major league debut for the Phils.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-3 with 2 walks, a home run, and 3 RBIs. It was the 239th home run of his career. He would hit 1 more.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose and Johnny Bench both went 0-for-4, with Rose adding a walk.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 at Metropolitan stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Steve Dunning was the winning pitcher, and helped his own cause with a 2-run home run. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Rod Carew went 2-for-5.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lou Brock went 0-for-3. Frank Robinson, in his only season with the Dodgers, did not enter the game.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The California Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles, 2-0 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium). Rudy May pitched a 3-hit shutout to beat Jim Palmer. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4.
* And the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Bill Freehan and Mickey Stanley hit home runs in the top of the 11th inning, off Dave Hamilton, who blew the game for Vida Blue. Fred Scherman was the winning pitcher, in relief of Mickey Lolich. Al Kaline went 2-for-5. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-4.
It was the week before the college football season opened in America. In English soccer, it was a battle of London teams, and Arsenal and Chelsea played to a 1-1 draw at Highbury.
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