Wednesday night's episode of The Goldbergs (ABC, 8:30 p.m. EDT) is dedicated to the memory of Ed Snider. The show, which often makes Flyers-related references, is based on the real-life experiences of show creator Adam Goldberg and his family in the 1980s. The episode centers around the destruction of Barry Goldberg's favorite Flyers t-shirt; a calamity that sends him into mourning and rage. The end of the episode features vintage footage of Mr. Snider.
Ever since Mr. Snider's passing, I have thought a lot about his legacy not only as the Flyers co-founder and longtime chairman but as someone who shaped the development of the NHL over the last half century.
I must say that Gary Bettman's speech at the memorial last month was outstanding. Perhaps the most poignant parts pertained to how Mr. Snider sometimes encountered situations in which the commissioner advocated for things that were not necessarily beneficial to the Flyers -- perhaps even detrimental to some of the competitive advantages they'd created for themselves through their success over the years both on the ice and financially.
According to Bettman, while Mr. Snider made his viewpoints crystal clear -- such as detesting the idea of revenue sharing among teams or enduring lockouts that benefited other franchises more than the Flyers -- he always went along in the end for whatever he understood to be the best long-term interests of the league.
For those who missed Bettman's speech, the full text is at the bottom of today's blog.
In terms of the Flyers' legacy itself, it goes without saying that ultimate success in the NHL is what gets engraved on the Stanley Cup. Nevertheless, I have always thought that it is foolish to judge a team's success solely on how many championships they have won, especially when there's a difference of one or two championships spaced over a long period of history.
The fact of the matter is that a fair amount of luck -- favorable matchups, avoiding excessive injuries, a fraction of an inch here and there on certain key plays, etc -- is involved along with design.
Example: Turn around a hard-fought OT loss in Game 2 of the 1987 Stanley Cup Final and J.J. Daigneault's famous Game 6 goal becomes the Cup winner. Turn around a hard-fought OT win in Game 2 of the 1975 Stanley Cup semifinals against the New York Islanders and there's no repeat Stanley Cup championship for the Flyers.
Moreover, as I pointed out in a
blog last year entitled "Misery Loves Company", long Cup droughts are part of the franchise history of every single NHL organization at some point of their existence. Even the Montreal Canadiens, the NHL's most decorated franchise, is now 23 years removed from its last Stanley Cup and has won one Cup in the last 30 years and two in the last 37. The Blackhawks just had a run of three Cups in six years, which is mighty impressive. However, when the run started, it had been 50 years since their last previous Cup.
Beyond that, since only one team wins the Cup each season, to accept the notion that nothing less than winning the Cup means success also means that 29 teams are "failures" each year. Those are pretty daunting odds against being deemed a success. In reality, while the Cup is every franchise's ultimate goal, the more realistic year-to-year goal is one of of measurably putting the team in position to achieve that objective.
While Flyers fans -- and the organization itself -- can get frustrated by the fact the team has gone since 1975 without winning the Stanley Cup and has two Cups in 49 seasons, the bigger picture shows the team that Ed Snider created has a legacy in which it can be proud. Consider the following:
* Since the NHL expanded from six to 12 teams in 1967, only the Canadiens (11) and Bruins (nine) have made more appearances in the Stanley Cup Final than the Flyers (eight).
* The Flyers have reached the Stanley Cup semifinals (now called the Eastern Conference final) 16 times in franchise history: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2010. A pair of narrow Game 7 losses in 2000 and 2004 separated them from 10 trips to the Final; and quite possibly the 2004 Stanley Cup because that was a stacked and resilient team that simply ran out of bodies on the blueline.
* In response to those who say, "Yeah, but what the Flyers done recently?" the fact is that, since 1995, only the Detroit Red Wings (who have made the playoffs every season) have missed postseason play fewer times than the Flyers (three times).
* Ever since the Flyers' last Stanley Cup in 1975, they have the NHL's second-highest winning percentage. That's a lot of winning to toss out the window in the name of declaring only a Cup a success.
* Unlike other franchises, the Flyers never accepted icing a non-competitive team year after year -- and blatantly tanking entire seasons -- as a means of roster building. Even in the bleakest season in franchise history (2006-07; the only time the Flyers have ever had the NHL's worst record) they spent the year trying to find pieces to rebound. A season later, they were back in the Eastern Conference Final.
They've never asked players to take salary deferments on owed monies. They've never threatened to move the team if they didn't get a taxpayer-funded arena. Ed Snider worked his tail off to privately fund the Wells Fargo Center. Among the reasons that motivated him was a belief that the construction of a sports arena should not be a taxpayer burden. In fact, Mr. Snider at one point turned down an offer of a largely government-funded arena in Camden to move the Flyers out of Philadelphia proper.
I would call that a pretty damn successful legacy over a half century. As much as the two Cups and the team's overall record, it was the fact that Ed Snider was never satisfied to rest on his laurels -- he was always pushing, always striving for that next big goal -- that defines what the Flyers' crest has come to mean.
I plan to fully enjoy tomorrow night's episode of The Goldbergs that is dedicated to Ed Snider; especially as someone who, in childhood, routinely put on my "Bobby Clarke jersey" (an orange and black long-sleeve shirt with white trim and the number 16 on it) as soon at came out of the wash.
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Full text of Gary Bettman's speech at Ed Snider memorial (April 21, 2016)
Courtesy of Flyers/ Brian Smith
"The last time I saw Ed in person, although we had been in regular contact, was a visit I made on January 19 to his home in California. We had lunch, we chatted. It was clear to me he was in considerable pain. But the thing he was most unhappy about is that it was a gloomy, dreary day and he kept saying to me “You can’t believe the views. You can see the ocean, you can see the mountains.” He was more concerned that I didn’t have an opportunity to see those views than he was focused on his own condition.
It was clear that Ed had beautiful homes, but Wells Fargo Center is the center of where Ed Snider lived. Although he had many interests – among them are tennis, the writings and philosophy of Ayn Rand – the Flyers were Ed’s passion. In the course of 83 years, he had considerable business success, but it was the lives in the community he helped touch, to change for the better, to save, through the Ed Snider Foundation, through Flyers Charities. Those were the things that made Ed feel rich. And while he had closets filled with custom-made clothing, usually in tasteful colors – even orange – no garment filled him with greater pleasure and pride than the oversized jersey of orange, black and white that bears the simple winged P for Philadelphia across the chest. And while he had wonderful children, doted on 15 grandchildren, and his other relatives, there was always room in Ed’s enormous heart for every player and every fan in the Flyers family.
A message that Fred Shero once chalked on the blackboard in the Flyers dressing room at the Spectrum read ‘Win today and we walk together forever’. As Ed has embarked on his next journey, my fondest hope is that he’s with Fred Shero right now talking Flyers hockey and laughing about all the fun that they had making Philadelphia into one of the most phenomenal hockey cities in the world.
But you know it wasn’t always that way. Let’s go back to the mid-60s before Twitter, before Facebook, before iPads and iPhones, before text messages and selfies, there were 10 teams in the NBA, including the 76ers, who had the top scorer and rebounder in Wilt Chamberlain, but had no decent place to play their games. There were 15 teams in the NFL, 20 in Major League Baseball, and six in the National Hockey League, which was then a bout to double in size and was about to take a chance on this city and Ed Snider’s vision. In the Flyers first season 1967-68, after Ed had been the prime mover in bringing the team to Philadelphia and in building a first-class arena to share with the 76ers, the city decided to throw a welcome parade that would proceed from City Hall down Broad Street to the brand new Spectrum. As you saw in the video, and Joe Watson recalled it, there were more people in the parade than there were watching the parade. Fast-forward seven years later to another parade that ironically followed the same route but in reverse. That was the parade, in which Joe Watson was in as well, where there were two million Philadelphians who celebrated as the Flyers became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. Ed Snider never scored a goal for that team, never won a face-off or blocked a shot for the Flyers, but he created their culture, set the standards, and demanded their absolute best because that was his approach to every aspect of his life.
In the book Atlas Shrugged, of which Ed was so fond, Ayn Rand wrote ‘The world you desire can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours’. Ed loved that book and he lived that philosophy. The world he created is one of innovation and of entrepreneurship. Think about Spectacor, one of the first arena management businesses. Think about PRISM, America’s first regional sports channel. Think about WIP, one of the first 24-7 sports talk radio [stations]. Think about Paciolan, a ground-breaking ticket service. Think about Spectra and arena hospitality. Ed was responsible for all of these, and this was not a comprehensive list of his accomplishments. While any one of his entrepreneurial endeavors would represent a great career, he created a collection of achievements that deserves its own museum. And in fact, we’re all in that museum today. It’s called the Wells Fargo Center. Ed Snider accomplished all of these things and more. He also even found a way to privately finance this magnificent building which serves as the home on a regular basis of more than 19,000 Flyer fans who, I can tell you first-hand, referee every single game that’s played here. [cheers]
In that vein, I remember a Flyers-Rangers playoff game here in the 1990s. Let me set the scene. It was a spring Sunday afternoon, it may have been sometime around Mother’s Day, as I recall it. I drove down here for the playoff game with my wife and my three children who at the time were a teenager, a pre-teen, and a little one. The Flyers were clearly the better team, but the Rangers were clutching and grabbing and hooking and holding all game. The end result was the Rangers won in a one-goal game that had not been decided on the basis of skill, and Ed, as you can imagine, was infuriated, as I soon learned. The game ends, and I’m trying to get out of town as quickly as possible… my wife, kids, and I get in the car and I’m just about ready to get out of the parking lot when I see this car blocking the exit. It looked like a police car with flashing lights and it was the arena security. The driver gets out, comes over to me, and says ‘Mr. Snider wants to see you. Now.’ And I get escorted back to the main entrance and I go inside, and there’s Ed waiting for me in the lobby. He generously offers me a detailed opinion of the game and the officiating and asks me point-blank ‘Do you really want your games played like that?’ I stood there for about 20 minutes before I was permitted to answer the question, because there was a fair amount of animated gesticulation going on, none of it by me. My family, including my little kids, is watching all this through the windows. By the time I got out to the car I couldn’t tell whether they were amused or horrified. Probably both. I start the car, the parking lot’s virtually empty, and before we start moving, a very drunk individual threw himself across the hood of my car and douses us with beer. Ed tells me it was a Rangers fan. It was a fragrant ride home to say the least.
I offer the anecdote because it reflects the competitiveness and respect for hockey that made Ed such a valued member and respected member of the competition committee. He’s the only owner to ever serve on that committee, which is more than a decade old. I also tell you the anecdote because it tells you that he’s be the only owner to serve on the competition committee, that the respect that everybody in the league had for Ed whether it be owners of other teams, management, or the players in the game. I also offer the anecdote because while Ed wanted the Flyers to win every game, and to be on the good side of every call, he wanted what was good for the sport and best for the game, even if it didn’t always coincide with his point of view. I can tell you for example he was no fan of revenue sharing. Actually he always told me he hated it. But he went along with it because he knew how important it was to make the league stronger for some of the other teams. Ed hated not playing, but he also knew that sometimes collective bargaining can get difficult and heated, and sometimes you have no choice. When we settled the last work stoppage, it was on morning of his 80th birthday. He was the first call I made after the all-night bargaining session had concluded, and he told me it was the best present he ever could have received on his birthday.
Ed also knew the economic system needed for our survival depended on unity among the board. When I had been commissioner for only about a year, we had to make a strategic decision at a board meeting. Ed didn’t agree with what I was recommending. Remember, it was pretty early in my tenure and we weren’t as close as we subsequently became. This anecdote will tell you how we got so close. He came up to me before the board meeting and said “I don’t agree with you, and I’m going to make a point of it at the meeting, but I wanted to give you a heads up and not surprise you. He made his point at the meeting, but the board agreed with me. He came up to me after the meeting, shook my hand, gave me a hug and said ‘you did a good job in there. No hard feelings, we’re all good.’ And thus beginning a very close and wonderful relationship.
Most recently, he ended almost every conversation with – and not all fans will agree with the first part – “you are the best, I love you.” Which is not something the commissioner tends to hear from one of his bosses. I love him too, and we all do. We gather today to thank Ed Snider one more time for everything he did for the Flyers, for Philadelphia, for the community, for the NHL, and for the game of hockey. We gather in sorrow for his passing and in joyful celebration of a remarkable life.
His impact on all of us is permanent. The fire in his eyes is now an eternal flame. Ed’s enthusiasm will still power the passion of the Flyers and every Flyers fan. Every young person in the Snider Hockey program will feel his guiding hand on their shoulder. The home of the Liberty Bell and the Rocky statue, the home of Pat’s and Geno’s, Philadelphia is where his soul and his spirit will endure through the Flyers, Flyers Charities, the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, and so much else. In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand wrote, ‘Ask yourself if the dream of heaven should be left waiting for us at our grave or whether it should be ours here and now on this earth.’ I think we all know how Ed Snider would answer. His long, long body of work proves it beyond every possible doubt. To the Flyers family, you had one incredible owner. Ed, thank you, and we will always remember you."
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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