Boston Sports Then and Now

The Massachusetts Miracle Men with BU official(middle).

The world was in a state of turmoil. The Cold War was at epic heights between the Soviet Union and the United States.

America was secretly funding the Afghan rebels to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan.

There was no love loss between the two countries whether it was world affairs or on the ice.

The 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York was not just an international athletic competition, but a showing of superpower muscle.

And a band of collegiate hockey players from the Midwest and New England, were David trying to take down the Soviet Goliath.

Jim Craig, Mike Eruzione, Dave Silk, and Jack O’Callahan grew up playing hockey on rinks in the Boston area.

Jack O’ Callahan hailed from Charlestown, Mass.

Jim Craig called North Easton home.

Mike Eruzione grew up in Winthrop.

Dave Silk was raised in Scituate.

These four sons from the Bay State all attended Boston University, one of the country’s collegiate hockey powerhouses which was coached by the now legendary, Jack Parker.

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My love for the #8 began with Yaz.

What’s your favorite number?

Why?

People have hundreds of stories or reasons, but one of the top choices is probably sports.

I have been crazy for the #8 since I was a little kid.  When I was a little kid, I LOVED the Red Sox (probably on Jared Carrabis level). I recall spending summer days in my family’s screen house watching the Sox on a little black and white television.

My favorite player was you guessed it, #8 Carl Yastrzemski. I loved YAZ and I am not sure why. I just gravitated towards him and have been a fan of his ever since (I have bought my share of Yaz shirts over the years).

I still remember vividly watching Yaz day on TV during the ’83 season which proved to be his last.  It was such an emotional and wonderful day. He received many gifts on that day at Fenway Park. I can still see him sitting in the rocking chair that was presented to him (I even cut out all the pictures from the Boston Globe).

Who can forget his lap around Fenway Park slapping hands with all the fans?

That’s how my love affair for the #8 began.

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Fenway will be the site of the 2010 Winter Classic.

When the Bruins take to the ice at Fenway Park to skate against the Philadelphia Flyers on New Years Day, it will undoubtedly be a curious sight. Trying to envision America’s most beloved ballpark transformed into a hockey barn might stretch the imagination of die-hard Boston sports fans, but the Winter Classic will not be the first time that the city’s hardball cathedral has hosted other types of sporting events. Not by any means.

Fenway Park has been home to an array of unconventional sub-letters during its illustrious history. Between 1963 and 1968, long before Foxboro, Fenway was actually home to the Patriots.  Other football teams that hit the field included Boston College, Boston University, the Boston Bears, the Boston Shamrocks, the Boston Redskins (before they moved to Washington) in the 1930s, and the Boston Yanks in the 1940s. (It’s hard to imagine any team named the Yanks playing at Fenway Park and not being booed back to New York, but there you have it.)

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Doug Flutie scrambled out of pressure before launching the game-winning pass against the University of Miami.

Hard to believe that it has been 25 years since Doug Flutie captivated the sports world with a special performance that culminated in one of the most memorable endings in sports history.

In a nationally televised game on CBS the day after Thanksgiving, Flutie solidified his candidacy for the Heisman Trophy by dueling with Bernie Kosar throughout the high-scoring affair.

However, in the final seconds it appeared that Kosar and the defending national champion University of Miami would edge Flutie’s Boston College squad.

With just enough time for one final play and with the ball sitting on Miami’s 48-yard line, Flutie rolled out to his right and launched the ball from his own 36-yard line (64-yards from the end zone) into the waiting arms of receiver Gerard Phelan.

The “Hail Mary” gave BC a shocking 47-45 victory and made Flutie a household name. He went on to receive the 1984 Heisman Trophy.

In honor of the 25th anniversary of this amazing moment in sports, below is a YouTube video recapping the game and Flutie’s amazing pass.

“The Die Hard Sports Fan’s Guide To Boston”

Written by: Christopher Klein

Christopher Klein has not only hit a home run with his latest book, “The Die Hard Sports Fan’s Guide to Boston”, but it is a bases clearing blast!

Christopher has masterfully combined a mixture of Boston sports history and the “what to know” regarding any and every sport in the area.

Test your Boston Sports knowledege below and enter to win a free copy!

Baseball.

Hockey.

Football.

Basketball.

Tennis.

Rowing.

Running.

Squash?

Yes that too!

From reading his book, I learned such fun facts as the Wilmington based (my hometown) Fenway Painters were chosen to apply the famous great coat to Fenway’s left field wall. It turns out Red Sox executives chose them because they thought the company’s name was fitting for the job.

I also uncovered that the NFL’s Washington Redskins and Indianapolis Colts started their roots in Beantown.  Yes unbelievable, but true Patriots fans!

This book is choc full of historical tid-bits that will allow you to stump your co-workers around the water cooler/coffee machine or your buddies at your favorite sports bar.

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Living in the “Hub” of sports aka Boston, you are immersed in sports. The Patriots, Sox, Celts, and Bruins are all meeting in a perfect storm of sports success. The city and region has experienced six championships since 2001 with only the Bruins missing out thus far on the bubbly (I have a feeling they may be drinking beer out of Lord Stanley’s cup this year!).

It’s a good time to be a Boston sports fan!

I have always listened to my share of sports radio and watched sports shows such as Comcast Sports Tonight, ESPN, NFL Network, NESN, and NECN to get my daily sports fix. However, now it’s part of my job/passion/hobby.

I am currently out of work. Some say things happen for good reasons. Days after being laid off, a few opportunities fell in my lap.

Friends have always said that I had a great knack to write (must have been all my blogs about nightmarish dates that I have been on). That gave me the confidence to blog for numerous sports websites (Trufan.com, Rootzoo.com) and help launch a new Boston sports site called Boston Sports Then and Now.

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