Maven's Memories: Turning a Birthday 89 Into an Isles '17'

Since I've been celebrating my 89th birthday this week, folks have been asking, "How do you keep so 'young'?"
My simple answer is, "Hockey keeps me 'young' or at least young at heart. It's the action, the wonderful personalities and just the overall ambience of The Fastest Game On Earth.
More specifically, it's the Islanders who've provided me with a figurative "Fountain of Youth."

After all, it's now 45 straight years -- almost a half-century -- since I began doing a combination of tv, magazine pieces, a book and now,
Maven's Memories
, about the Nassaumen.
And since 89 -- eight and nine -- make 17, I'm herewith presenting 17 of my favorite memories since I began covering with the Isles.

1. DRAFTING NUMBER ONE:On June 6, 1972 GM Bill Torrey chose right wing Billy Harris as the club's first pick in the
Expansion Draft
; (Atlanta selected second.) I attended the first Harris press conference on the Island and was impressed with the handsome, personable young man. "I signed for three years and $300,000," said Billy, "and I consider myself lucky to be an Islander." I also was impressed with the new boss, especially since Bow Tie Bill knotted his own bowties; none of the clip-on nonsense for The Boss.
2. PICKING THE PERFECT COACH: I had known Al Arbour as a player for Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago and Toronto. Then, I met him in person when Torrey talked a reluctant Alger into coming aboard as head coach. At first, Radar refused. "My wife and I thought Long Island was just like New York City," Al explained, "overcrowded and dirty. We changed our mind after seeing the Island." My dealings with Al during interviews and otherwise were among my favorite memories. He was a very funny fellow but -- as the world came to know -- arguably the best coach in NHL history. Glenn (Chico) Resch, who played many years for Al, seconded my motion on Al as the tops manning the bench.
3. MY FIRST ISLANDERS TELECAST:For two seasons (1973-74 and 1974-75) I had worked New England Whalers telecasts. In March 1975, while in Toronto, I got a call from famed New York sportscaster Marty Glickman. He asked me if I'd like to be part of the first Isles tv team, along with play-by-play man Spencer Ross. Of course, the answer was "Aye-aye, sir." That's how my long and most enjoyable NHL tv career began.
Spencer and I worked our first game in March 1975 and it was memorable on several levels; mostly because it marked the first time Al Arbour's sextet made the playoffs. Even better, the 1975 first round pitted this pulsating young team against the New York Rangers for what was the first post-season series of a long line against the Manhattan rivals.
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4. THE FIRST POST-SEASON WIN OVER RANGERS:When the 1975 best-of-three round began, the Isles were rated heavy underdogs by the media; but not Denis Potvin. The ace defenseman defiantly stated, "We know we're better than the Rangers!" Then the boys from Uniondale invaded The Garden and won the opener. The only game our tv crew was allowed to do was at Nassau and the Blueshirts clobbered us, 8-3. It looked bad going back to Manhattan for Game Three which I watched at home with my wife, Shirley. For good luck, I took my Hungarian sheepdog, Chazy, for a walk in the park. When the Isles went up 3-0, I figured another walk would be good luck. Upon my return, Shirley scolded me for not hanging around to "protect the lead." It was 3-3. Together, we watched the overtime and, at first were shocked at the speed -- a mere 11 seconds -- with which the spunky crew from the Island disposed of the Rangers. Really, it took a while for the heart-throbbing goal by J.P. Parise to sink into our heads. When it finally did, we toasted the victory with glasses of lemonade.
5. KNOWING AND LOVING CHICO:Once Glenn Resch established himself as a starting goalie -- along with Bill Smith -- Chico and I became good friends. Apart from his solid puck-stopping, one of the other things I liked so much about the Saskatchewan native was his joie de vivre and sense of humor. In some ways he reminded me of New York Yankees legendary Yogi Berra who was renowned for his catchy lines such as "It's getting late early." Glenn was just as clever with his own bon mots. One of my favorites goes like this: "Playing hockey is the only job I know of where you get to take a nap the day of the game." Then, there's Chico's pithy comment on goaltending: "It's a chance for a shy person to be onstage." Glenn and I did two books together and have been good pals for life.
6. THE INCREDIBLE COMEBACK AGAINST PITTSBURGH:Spencer Ross and I continued to telecast home playoff games. In the 1975 second round, we broadcast Games Three and Four versus the Penguins. After the third game, the Isles were 0-3. They looked dead on the ice. We did Game Four and it was tied 3-3 going into overtime. One more Pitt goal and we were toast. Ross and I literally were nervous wrecks at the thought of the playoff run ending but the Isles delivered, and then won two more thus setting up a Game Seven finale in Pittsburgh. Tied zip-zip late in the third, the Arbourmen won it on Ed Westfall's goal. "Fortunately," Eighteen concluded, "I didn't blow it."

7. THE DAY CLARK GILLIES ALMOST DUMPED ME: The man they called Jethroe remains one of my all-time favorites because of his style, his humor and because he played the game so well and so clean -- until angered beyond reason. One summer, SportsChannel sent me to Gillies' Long Island home to do a feature on the eventual Hall of Fame left wing. We finished the interview outdoors at the edge of his pool. Just seconds after I concluded, I suddenly suffered an uneasy feeling that Clark was going to dump me in the water. He didn't; but years later I asked him about it. "Yeah," he laughed, "but just when I was about to give you a push, I looked at your Brooks Brothers suit and decided against it." To which I had the perfect squelch: "Wrong I bought this off a plain pipe rack at some discount joint in Suffolk."
8. DOING DENIS' BOOK: Right from the get-go in 1973 when Denis Potvin was drafted, he and I became pals. About five years into his career, a publisher friend suggested I get the defenseman to do his autobiography. Potvin agreed and although he had many, many years ahead of him, we worked on it in the off-season. We formed a friendship bond that exists to this day, but the beauty part in doing such a book was the ability to be with a superstar during his most relaxed and thoughtful moments. The result was "Power On Ice," published by Harper and Row. Among the 90-plus books I've written, this ranks right up with my favorites. Ditto for Denis.

9. WATCHING THE WINNER: When the Islanders reached Game Six of the 1980 Cup Final against the Flyers, I was not in the broadcast booth.
The game was telecast on a national network and I had the good fortune to simply watch it from a regular Coliseum seat. When the Isles took a two-goal lead into the second intermission, I went for a hot dog. What bothered me was the reaction of so many fans; that the series was over and the win was in the bag. That worried me no end. Then, early in the third period, Philly quickly tied the game and would have taken the lead had Billy Smith played some of the best goal of his life. Now we're in overtime, and my seat overlooked the Flyers net. I had the pleasure of watching Lorne Henning at center ice, dish the puck to John Tonelli and then J.T. ladled it over to Bobby Nystrom and, well, you know the rest! (One other unforgettable sound was the crowd roar, later transmitted to the honking of victory car horns along the highway.)
10. THE SWEET SWEDES: Bowtie Bill Torrey and his chief scout, Jim Devellano were among the first to appreciate the talents of European players, especially the Swedes. Stefan Persson turned out to be one of the most underrated superior backliners in NHL history. Another good one was forward Anders Kallur who arrived at training camp in 1979. He was fast, tough and packed a wicked shot. Plus, like Persson, he was a swell guy. "When I got on the team," Kallur recalled, "I could tell that the boys had something to prove; and I had something to prove. Together we won the Stanley Cup."

11. MIKE BOSSY'S 50 IN 50: To a sports journalist, being witness to a record-breaking event is a dream come true. I was lucky to be in that inner circle. One of my favorites took place on January 24, 1981 at the Coliseum when one The Game's most natural scorers was playing in the 50th game of the season. Bossy entered the contest with 48 goals. His target was to match Maurice (Rocket) Richard's mark of scoring 50 goals in 50 games.
Mike was blanked until after the 15-minute mark of the third period. With his team on the power play, Bossy tallied his 49th at 15:50. Now with less than five minutes remaining, we all hoped that somehow, our hero would get a break, Sure enough, with less than three minutes remaining, Bryan Trottier spotted his buddy, skimmed the pass and Mike deposited it behind Quebec goalie Ron Grahame. Newsday's headline said it all: BOSSY JOINS THE 50-50 CLUB.
12. BOB BOURNE'S END TO ENDER: Of all the champion Islanders, Bob Bourne was my favorite interview. He was candid, insightful and just plain fun. I rooted as hard for him as any of that grand crew but never more than Game Five of the 1983 Patrick Division Final against the Rangers. Already leading 4-1, the Nassaumen had blunted a Blueshirt thrust when Bourne corralled the puck behind the net; already at near top speed. Now, steaming up ice, he bypassed Ranger after Ranger as if they were statues, split the defense and then beat goalie Eddie Mio's. In retrospect, it was the most sensational end-to-ender I had ever witnessed.

13. BRINGING UP MY SONS AS ISLANDERS FANS:My older son, Ben, and younger son, Simon, -- six years apart in age -- each became hockey nuts at an early age. Ben sat with me for the first game of the 1982 Final against a crusty Vancouver team that almost won it. The 5-5 game went into overtime before Bossy intercepted a Harold Snepsts' pass in the final seconds and scored the winner. Simon became a fan years later and still, rather young, would accompany me to morning practices. To this day recalls, "The Coliseum hallways were the most fun. The place was like a gigantic playground and the visiting players were like my baby-sitters."
14. SMITTY STARTS THE 1983 ROUT:"Bill Smith was out of his mind." That highest of compliments was uttered by Edmonton defenseman Kevin Lowe after Smitty had blanked Wayne Gretzky & Co. in Game One of the '83 tournament. I rate Smitty's effort as the single best clutch win of his storied career. Duane Sutter scored for the Isles early in the first period and, after that, it was as if the ice was tilted in the Oilers favor. But Smitty protected his club's advantage for 53 minutes before Ken Morrow's open-netter sealed the deal, 2-0. Arbour's troops won the next three in a row and their fourth straight Cup.
15. THE CUP AFTER-PARTY:A few days after the Coliseum ice was cleared following the routing of Edmonton, Isles owner John Pickett hosted a gala party under a tent at a Nassau country club. Despite a torrential downpour outside, it was a memorable Champagne-toasting event. My wife Shirley and I always remember it as a terrific tribute to the team which was further enhanced by the strains of "We Are The Champions." And so they were!"
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16. A CLASSIC RANGERS NAIL-BITER:The fifth and final game of the 1984 Isles-Rangers series is regarded by many critics -- me included -- as one of the most thrilling playoff matches of all-time. The Coliseum rocked late into the third period when Don Maloney tied the game at 2-2 with a controversial "high-stick" goal at 19:21. The ensuing sudden-death period overflowed with super-saves by goalies Glen Hanlon and Smitty. Finally, it was settled when the Islanders clutch-scoring defender Ken Morrow beat Hanlon with a slapper two seconds short of the nine minute mark. "What I feel now," concluded Morrow in the dressing room later, "more than anything is relief!" And so I did; and so I, times-100!
Watch: Youtube Video
17. BEATING THE CHAMPS, 1993: Loaded with future Hall of Famers, the Pittsburgh Penguins had captured two Stanley Cups (1991 1992) and now were shooting for a Trifecta. But the Islanders got in the way and I was there for Game Seven at The Igloo. Late in the third period, the New Yorkers blew a goal lead and the game moved into overtime. Glenn Healy was playing the game of his life in the Visitors goal when his teammates counterattacked. Ray Ferraro spearheaded the rush into the Pitt zone.
"I was going to shoot," Ray told me after the match, "but I was too well covered so I passed off to (David) Volek." David's shot cleanly beat goalie Tom Barrasso giving the Islanders one of the most dynamic upset victories in Cup annals. (As it happened, my exclusive SportsChannel interview with Ferraro proved to be the best of my broadcasting career!)
Thanks for listening. Thank you, Islanders for the thrills! Stan.