FRED SHERO TO THE NHL HOCKEY HALL OF FAME
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| FRED SHERO CARRIES ONE OF TWO STANLEY CUPS HE COACHED THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS TO IN 1973-74 AND 1974-75. NOT JUST THE GREATEST COACH IN FLYERS HISTORY, BUT THE GREATEST COACH IN NHL HISTORY. HE WON TWO STANLEY CUPS WITH AN EXPANSION TEAM, THE FIRST AGAINST BOBBY ORR & THE BOSTON BRUINS ONE OF THE BEST TEAMS IN NHL HISTORY. HE WAS A GENIUS.
Frederick Alexander Shero, known by all Philadelphia Hockey fans as "Freddie the Fog" Shero, has been elected to the National Hockey League Hall of Fame.
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HALL OF FAMER FRED SHERO WITH HALL OF FAMERS BOBBY CLARKE AND BILL BARBER OF THE STANLEY CUP WINNING PHILADELPHIA FLYERS CIRCA 1975. 2/3 OF THE FAMED "LCB" LINE OF REGGIE LEACH, CLARKE AND BARBER.
Fred Shero's story is legendary. He came to the Flyers after the 1971 season. The Flyers were an expansion team. They had come into existence in the mid to late 1960s, but the deck was stacked against them and the rest of the expansion teams--one division was dominated by the "old six" of Montreal, Boston, Toronto, Detroit, New York and Chicago, while the other division was entirely expansion teams.
Every year, the Stanley Cup finals were a joke, as the winner of the playoffs in the "old six" division slaughtered the winner of the "expansion" division, usually in four straight games.
The NHL was a conservative, stuffed shirt league, that did not want any American cities to win, and did not want any expansion teams to win. The placed every conceivable obstacle in the way of the expansion teams. One of the teams, the Oakland/California Seals, actually failed completely, and declared bankruptcy and went completely out of business in less than ten years, and the St. Louis Blues have yet to win a Stanley Cup in their entire existence.
Others of the original six expansion teams have moved around--the Minnesota North Stars to Dallas. Only the Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues have remained in the same cities since 1967-68, when they first began play.
Of these teams, the Los Angeles Kings only won their first Stanley Cup two years ago. At one point, the Kings signed Wayne Gretzky, the greatest star in hockey, but it did not help them. The Kings got some attendance boost with that, but they never got popular until Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne arrived from the Philadelphia Flyers--three players who had guided the Flyers to a Finals berth in 2009-10--and who Flyers GM Paul Holmgren foolishly let go the following season--that the Kings were able to capture the Stanley Cup in 2011-12. Now NHL hockey is very popular in Los Angeles, at long last, especially given the struggles of the Lakers, and the unpopularity of the Lakers major stars like Dwight Howard and the sulky, unpredictable and moody Kobe Bryant, who never seems happy.
The Blues have never won a Stanley Cup, but they have a stable organization and good attendance.
The Penguins, under Mario Lemieux, were able to capture several Stanley Cups, but they have suffered from severe attendance and economic problems, and they were forced to undergo Chapter Eleven and bankruptcy re-organization.
The Philadelphia Flyers, on the other hand, were led to the promised land of the Stanley Cup first, of all the expansion teams, by their incredible coach, FRED SHERO, in just their seventh year of existence, 1973-74, and in just Shero's third year of coaching the Flyers.
Freddie Shero Coaching the Flyers. He was the first to use an assistant coach; the first to study the Russian system; the first to study game film; the first to use a defensive system.
In the finals, they defeated the Boston Bruins and the incredible, unbelievable Bobby Orr, who played with Phil Esposito. Bobby Orr was that year, and any year, the greatest player ever to lace on hockey skates. Phil Esposito was one of the greatest players ever to skate on NHL ice.
And yet, the Flyers, facing unbelievable odds, defeated the Bruins in a miraculous upset, due to their brilliant coach, Fred Shero.
TWO MILLION PEOPLE ATTENDED THEIR VICTORY PARADE IN DOWNTOWN PHILADELPHIA--the greatest celebration ever in Philadelphia sports history. And immediately, the Flyers became the most popular sports team in Philly.
1973-74 STANLEY CUP CHAMPION FLYERS
HALL OF FAME COACH: FRED SHERO
Then, they won FIFTY GAMES the next year and won another Stanley Cup!
The Flyers weren't like other athletes. They went to the local bars and drank beers with the regular fans. They signed autographs and lives in the neighborhoods with the regular folks. They were not just loved--they were adored by the fans.
The following year, they defeated the Soviet Red Army team, considered the greatest in the world. Everyone in America was proud to be a Flyers fan that day.
They won fifty games three straight seasons, and got to the NHL finals again, a third straight season, where they were finally stopped by the Montreal Canadiens, and an incredibly hot goalie, Ken Dryden, who would go on to a tremendous career of playoff hockey fame.
Fred Shero - Genius and Coaching Pioneer
Fred Shero was the first NHL coach to hire an assistant coach, Mike Nykoluk.
Fred Shero was the first NHL coach to study game film, and analyze it routinely in preparation for games.
Fred Shero was the first NHL coach to travel to Russia, and study the Russian Army and Russian methods of playing world hockey; he pioneered the globalization of hockey which has now transformed the game.
Fred Shero was the first NHL coach to use systems of defense, in which a team worked together as a unit to slow down more talented players and prevent them from scoring. These would become standard in future years, but when Shero first utilized them with the Flyers, they were utterly unknown.
Fred Shero was the first NHL coach to have his players weight train in the off-season to get stronger and faster.
Fred Shero was the first NHL coach to have his players use a "morning skate" to prepare for afternoon or evening games or practices.
Fred Shero was an innovator who introduced to the National Hockey League not one or two, but many of the coaching methods and practices which all NHL teams and coaches now take for granted.
It was in this way, and in this way only, that he was able to take the Philadelphia Flyers from a laughing stock to the pinnacle of hockey in just three short seasons, and keep them there.
The Measure of Success is Success
The Philadelphia Flyers are the most successful NHL team. The only NHL franchise with a higher winning percentage than the Flyers overall .578 winning percentage from 1968-2013 is the Montreal Canadiens, which are an original six team, and have from 1918-2013 an overall .589 winning percentage.
But this is to say, essentially, that the Flyers are nearly as good as the most legendary franchise in all of hockey. The Flyers have a higher winning percentage than the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Detroit Red Wings.
The Flyers have a higher winning percentage than any other expansion team.
Only Montreal, the New York Yankees, as it were, of NHL Hockey, are slightly better than the Flyers.
The Flyers have been in the playoffs 36 times from 1968-2013, 36 out of 45 season. That's 80% of the time. Montreal has been in the playoffs 80 times out of 95 years, for a success rate of 84%, but no other team is even remotely close. Even the lofty Boston Bruins, who have appeared in the playoffs 68 of their 88 seasons, from 1925-2013, have only a playoff appearance rate of 77%.
The Flyers have won 16 Division championships in their 45 years of play. While the Bruins, Red Wings and Canadiens have more Division Championships, they have all played roughly twice as many years. The Canadiens have 35 Division championships in 95 years which is a 37% success rate. The Flyers have won 16 Division championships in 45 years, which is a 36% success rate--that's just about the same. The Bruins and Red Wings are not close in terms of percentages--The Red Wings have won 29 Division Titles in 86 years, for a 33% winning rate, while the Bruins have won 27 Division Titles in 88 years for a 31% winning rate.
That makes the Flyers, again, a better and more winning organization than any other team in the NHL except for perhaps Montreal. The Flyers have won 4 conference championships, two championships, two Stanley Cups, and have been to the Stanley Cup Finals six times, finishing runner up, appearing in the Finals in the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s, and the 2000s. They have appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals in every decade of their existence except for their initial three years in the league from 1968-70, and the current decade, which still has seven seasons to run.
That is a mightily impressive legacy--the legacy of FRED SHERO.
HALL OF FAMER.
"WIN TODAY AND WE WILL TOGETHER FOREVER"
written on the blackboard before Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals, Spring 1974, before the Flyers went out and defeated the Bruins 1-0, and won their first Stanley Cup.
References
NHL Hockey HOF Page on Fred Shero from last reference, supra:
Although he played in the National Hockey League, Fred Shero's legacy remains largely due to his highly successful NHL coaching career. Unanimously loved by his players, 'Freddy the Fog' was renowned for exhibiting his philosophies on the chalkboards of his team's dressing room. Before Game Six of the 1974 Stanley Cup Final that featured his Philadelphia Flyers, Shero wrote, 'Win today and we walk together forever,' a quote that has endured in dressing rooms across North America through the decades since it was first written.
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| Shero was the inaugural winner of the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach in 1974. |
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on October 23, 1925, Fred Shero worked his way through the hockey system before debuting with the New York Rangers in 1947-48. Through three NHL seasons, Shero played 145 games, scoring 6 goals and adding 20 assists for 26 points. In 13 playoff games, Fred collected two points.
Shero's professional career continued at the minor league level until 1957-58. He turned to coaching in 1955-59, joining the Moose Jaw Canucks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
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| Shero led the Philadelphia Flyers to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975. |
In 1958-59, Shero was hired to coach the St. Paul Saints of the International Hockey League, and in his first two season with the Saints, he led St. Paul to the Turner Cup as IHL champions.
By 1967-68, Fred had joined the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League, and coached that team to a Calder Cup championship in 1969-70. He was rewarded with the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's coach of the year. The next year, Shero was behind the bench for the Omaha Knights of the Central Hockey League, and won the Adams Cup championship with that team. For a second consecutive year, Fred was named coach of the year, this time winning the Jake Milford Trophy.
After two straight championships with two different teams in two different leagues, Fred Shero was ready for 'The Show.' He was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1971-72, beginning a nine-season NHL coaching career. Although the Flyers missed the playoffs in his first season, they went to the second round in 1972-73. But Shero's motivational coaching produced dividends in 1973-74. The 'Broad Street Bullies' won the Stanley Cup, and Shero was presented with the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year. The Flyers repeated as Stanley Cup champions in 1974-75. They almost made it a three-peat in 1975-76, reaching the Final but losing to the Montreal Canadiens.
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| Shero coached the Campbell Conference All-Star team on four occasions from 1975 to 1978. |
During his seven seasons in Philadelphia, Fred and the Flyers enjoyed four consecutive Campbell Bowl wins with Philadelphia as regular season winners of the West Division (1973-74) and Campbell Conference (1974-75 to 1976-77). During that period, Shero coached the Flyers in 554 regular season games, winning 308, losing 151 and tying 95 more for a winning percentage of .642. In 83 playoff games, Fred led the Flyers to 48 wins and 35 losses for a .578 winning percentage. He is one of only six NHL coaches to lead his club to consecutive 50+ win seasons, a feat accomplished from 1973-74 to 1975-76. During his high-profile days with the Flyers, Fred was rewarded by being named the NHL All-Star coach of the Campbell Conference team in 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978.
In 1978-79, Shero was hired to coach the New York Rangers. In his first season, he took the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final, although they, too, lost to the powerful Montreal Canadiens. In two seasons with New York, Shero coached the Rangers in 180 regular season games, compiling a record of 82 wins, 74 losses and 24 ties for a winning percentage of .522. He also coached the Rangers in 27 playoff games, winning 15 and losing 12 for a .556 winning percentage.
In 1980, Fred was rewarded with the Lester Patrick Trophy for his contributions to hockey in the United States. The Philadelphia Flyers inducted Shero into their Hall of Fame in 1990.
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From another source:
Fred Shero is perhaps the most innovative head coach to stand behind an NHL bench. As we've written in the past...
He was the first North American coach to actually study and learn from the Soviets, which certainly helped when his Flyers beat them in 1976. He was one of the first coaches to use film to study opponents, and he was the first coach to utilize the help of assistants. He'd be inducted in the Builders category if he were to ever make the Hall, and it's hard to argue that Shero isn't one of the more innovative builders hockey has ever seen.
Think about it: The 1980 USA Olympic win happened in part because Herb Brooks took what Shero first did in 1976 and stepped it up a notch, beating the Soviets at their own game. Since Shero first brought assistant coaches behind the bench, it's become commonplace at every level of hockey across the world.
He didn't just win the Stanley Cup twice. He did it using methods that nobody else had ever tried. And think about the teams he won with. He was given a roster by management spotted with tough guys at the mandate of Ed Snider, and while he certainly utilized that toughness in a way that infuriated the rest of the league, he also molded those teams into scoring machines. Dave Schultz had 348 penalty minutes and 20 goals in 1973-74. That doesn't happen without great coaching, and the Flyers dont win those Cups in the 70s without great coaching.
Shero was a true innovator and he literally changed the face of ice hockey, and this day is a long time coming for both him and the Flyers organization. Really, it's a joke that it took this long. Shero passed away 23 years ago, and he should have been alive to see this. It took far too long. He'll be inducted on November 11 along with Canadian women's defenseman Geraldine Heaney, Chris Chelios, Scott Niedermayer and Brendan Shanahan, all entering the Hall in the players category.
And a shout-out to the great CHRIS CHELIOS. We only wish he'd been a Philadelphia Flyer, but he is undoubtedly the toughest, greatest Greek-America athelete of all time. And yes, he was BORN IN CHICAGO, in 19 and sixty-two. aka Christos Kostas Tselios.
IF GREEKS COULD FLY, THEY WOULD LOOK LIKE CHRIS CHELIOS ON THE ICE WITH THE BLACKHAWKS BACK IN THE DAY. HOFer.
