Fifteen million Canadians watched Paul Henderson score The Goal that made him a legend
Fifteen million Canadians watched Paul Henderson score The Goal that made him a legend
Five decades have passed, and the legend lives on.
Paul Henderson scored The Goal 52 years ago today, beating Vladislav Tretiak with 34 seconds left in Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union. It gave Canada a 6-5 victory and a 4-3-1 edge in the landmark affair.
The goal, according to historian Jason Wilson, “is considered by many Canadians to be the single most important moment in the history of Canadian sports.” The nation all but shut down that afternoon so that anyone who wanted to watch the game live on TV could do so, and it is now believed that more than 15 million Canadians – about 71 percent of Canada’s population – watched at least some of the contest.
When the puck slipped past Tretiak, it marked Henderson’s third game-winning goal in a row, having also recorded the winners in Game 6 and in Game 7. The left winger, who was coming off a career-best 38-goal season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1971-72, netted seven goals and 10 points during the eight-game series.
He tied teammate Phil Esposito and the Soviets’ Alexander Yakushev for the overall series lead in goals. Only Esposito, with 13 points, and Yakushev, with 11 points, had more points than Henderson did.
Despite his heroics, Henderson has not been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He is a member of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, as is Team Canada 1972. Henderson, now 81 years old, has said that if he ever does get into the Hockey Hall of Fame, he hopes it’s as a member of that team.
Unfortunately, the HHOF has never inducted an entire team and there is no indication it will ever do so. If it was ever going to happen, the 50th anniversary of the series in 2022 probably would have been the best opportunity.
Esposito scored twice in Game 8 and added two assists, the last one setting up Henderson’s big goal. Brad Park, Bill White, and Yvan Cournoyer had the other tallies for Canada.
The Soviets’ scorers were Yakushev with two and Vladimir Lutchenko, Vladimir Shadrin, and Valeri Vasiliev with one each.