Philadelphia Flyers mainstay Bob Kelly recalls the halcyon days of the Broad Street Bullies.
Bob 'The Hound' Kelly won two Stanley Cups with the Philadelphia Flyers and was a big part of the Broad Street Bullies, topping out at 238 PIMs in 1972-73 and scoring the Cup-winning goal for Philly in 1975. He's a longtime Flyers team ambassador and, in this exclusive interview, reflects on those heady days in Philadelphia. “The city itself had a reputation for being hated," he said. "So we fit right in with everybody else.”
THN: You were a pretty accomplished scorer in juniors, averaging nearly a point per game. But you also had your fair share of penalty minutes. When you were drafted by the Flyers in 1970, what role did you hope to play in that young organization?
Kelly: Our roles were defined by where you slotted in – first line, fourth line, wherever. I didn’t say I was a goal-scorer, I wasn’t a fancy backchecker, I couldn’t come across the blueline like Reggie Leach and score, so I just kind of modelled myself after "whatever you need, I’ll go out and do it." The role evolved. So when I had opportunities to score, I scored. You never shied away from the fisticuffs, if that’s what we needed. I was a different fighter than (Dave Schultz); he was like Behn Wilson – he fought for reputation. He wanted to be the bad guy, the worst guy out there, in terms of toughness. I fought when guys were taken advantage of – taking runs at (Bobby Clarke) or some of our small guys. That’s how I got more involved.
THN: What was the culture like, both in the locker room and on the ice, when you first joined the Flyers in the fall of 1970? How did it evolve over the next few years?
Kelly: There was no mistake about why we were assembled and why we brought players in that were larger in size. They had some small skill guys, but they couldn’t get by the Blues. The Blues always pummelled them, the Bruins always pummelled them. We were kind of brought in to change the culture of the Philadelphia Flyers…(Ed) Snider went out and said we’ll just draft a whole bunch of them. They have two or three (tough) guys, I’ll get five guys. So that’s how that mentality evolved…You work your tail off, and if you get into an altercation, then you get into an altercation – take advantage of it.
THN: Who gave you the nickname 'Hound'?
Kelly: What happened is the very first day in training camp…I came down the ice, and Joe Watson was grumbling and mumbling, "I’m gonna get this kid, I’m gonna get this kid." And I ran down the ice and flattened him. And he said, "Holy Christ, the guy plays like a mad dog for crying out loud.” So after a year-and-a-half, I said, “ 'Mad Dog' has got to go, it’s scaring some of the kids” – we were doing stuff with kids in hockey and whatnot. So we changed it to 'Hound,' which was a lot more soothing (laughs).
THN: Despite the Broad Street Bullies name, the Flyers had incredible talent (three Hall of Fame players, plus a Hall of Fame coach, GM, and owner). What was it like playing that plug-and-play role for them?
Kelly: I think you have to, in any situation, respect what opportunities you get. Mine was obviously plugging in holes. Billy Barber came in, we got Reggie Leach to complement Clarkie.
And we had some tremendous leaders on the back end, in Barry Ashbee, Joe Watson, Eddie Van Impe. We had good guys back there. It was just fun playing with all those guys and getting the opportunity. As things went along, we got more and more hated, with the style we played. The more they hated us, the harder we played that style.
THN: What was a memorable brawl or “enforcer” moment during your time with the Flyers?
Kelly: One time, Ted Harris got into a fight with Bert Wilson. Teddy used to have beers and cocktails, and one night, he said, “You know, I’m really afraid that one day, these hands are gonna kill somebody.” The next night, he was taking on Bert Wilson, and Bert gave it to him pretty good. So that became our standard joke. Teddy was in there recouping, and we get back in the locker room, “Yup, these hands are sure gonna kill someone, Teddy” (laughs).
THN: Talk more about the camaraderie that existed in the Flyers locker room in the early- and mid-1970s.
Kelly: You’re proud to go out there and play this style…we’re here to win, and you can’t get pushed around. Every team had four or five scrappers, but they could also score. You had to be able to do it both ways…But you knew when you went out there, who’s going to mess with you…It’s kind of a balance we got behind, and we enjoyed the camaraderie with the guys. It wasn’t one guy walking onto the ice – we went out there as a team, we came off the ice as a team.
THN: What moment or memory from your time with the Flyers gives you the biggest laugh?
Kelly: One of the funniest ones was with Jack McIlhargey. We got in a major brawl down in the corner where the Zamboni comes out. Everyone was in there, rolling around in the corner, everyone’s punching, fighting, having a good time. All of a sudden, here comes Bucky. He made a noise before he got real close to us, and we all just parted the seas. And when he was airborne, he jumped right into the glass and slithered down into the boards (laughs).
THN: Is there still a place for an enforcer in today’s game?
Kelly: It’s really hard to look at it and define it. There’s so much speed and skill in the game today, the puck movement, the skating style, the shooting style, and what you can get away with. My mentality is always, you just kind of watch the guys who are taking cheap shots and whacks, so you can beat the crap out of them…But the stickwork isn’t like what it used to be.
Spearing somebody used to fulfill Eddie Van Impe’s wishes (laughs). But is there still a place for it? I think if you watch someone, a bigger guy, running at a guy or cross-checking you in front of the net in the back or neck area – I know there are way more protections than what we had, but that’s just the way the game is. Some guys cross the line, and they’re not as big as the other guys, but you’ve got (guys like Ryan) Reaves there, he’s a big boy – there are a lot of big guys that are put on teams just to help give the smaller guys an opportunity.
THN: Philly loves sports teams that give 110 percent every night. Talk about the team’s mentality relative to the city you played in.
Kelly: We wanted to be on par with the rest of the teams, with the Phillies, Eagles, the Sixers. You want to be at your best all the time, because you know the fans are going to let you have it if you aren’t – they’ll write all kinds of stuff about you. But each team was able to help the other teams. We had a lot of interactions with the Phillies, the Eagles, and they wanted to be the best every day. (The Eagles) wanted to kick the crap out of Dallas; the Phillies wanted to be up on top. You want the people behind you, and the way you build your fan base is to put in the effort. You can’t just show up for the paycheck…Everyone wants to beat you, and you want to be at the top and be the best you can be.