Game That Saved the NHL: The Broad Street Bullies, the Soviet Red Machine, and Super Series '76

by Ed Gruver, Joe Watson (foreword)

In late 1975 and early 1976, at the height of the Cold War, two of the Soviet Union’s long-dominant national hockey teams traveled to North America to play an eight-game series against the best teams in the National Hockey League. The culmination of the “Super Series” was reigning Soviet League champion HC CSKA Moscow’s face-off against the defending NHL champion Flyers in Philadelphia on January 11, 1976. Known as the “Red Army Club,” HC CSKA hadn’t lost a game in the series. Known as the “Broad Street Bullies,” the Flyers were determined to bring the Red Army team’s winning streak to an end with their trademark aggressive style of play.

Based largely on interviews, Ed Gruver’s book tells the story of this epic game and series as it lays out the stakes nothing less than the credibility of the NHL. If the Red Army team had completed its series sweep by defeating the two-time Stanley Cup champion Flyers, the NHL would no longer have been able to claim primacy of place in professional-level hockey. The Stanley Cup, the most famous trophy in sports, would be devalued if the Flyers fell to the Soviets. Gruver also describes how the game and series affected the styles of both Russian and NHL teams. The Soviets adopted a more physical brand of hockey, while the NHL increasingly focused on passing and speed.

Genres: Hockey, History

315 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2023

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the 1970’s, professional hockey in North America (two leagues at that time, the NHL and the WHA) was undergoing an identity crisis. Long believed to have the most superior players and teams, Canada had barely won the Summit Series in 1972 against the best in Russia after being overconfident early in the series. Nearly four years later, after some growling by NHL officials that the Russians had never faced the best teams instead of a group of all-stars, it was decided to have the two best squads in Russia, the Red Army team and the Wings, face eight of the best NHL teams at that time. This book by Ed Gruver focuses on the last of these matchups that pitted the Red Army team against the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Flyers earned the nickname the “Broad Street Bullies” due to the location of their arena and their very physical style of play. They were very popular with the fans and apparently with the author as he refers to them as the Bullies instead of the Flyers much more frequently throughout the book. Nonetheless, the book as a whole is more of a look at that Flyers team with the actual game being the climax of the story – even though it does finish when the Flyers lost the Stanley Cup finals later in 1976 to the Montreal Canadiens.

The stories of the players and of head coach Fred Shero are the best aspect of the book and they are interspersed throughout. Whether it was a superstar such as Bobby Clarke, a fighter like Dave Schultz or a player not so well known such as Ed Van Impe, Gruver will give the reader a mini-biography on each one profiled and connect it back to the story. The best example of this was during the most famous part of the Flyers, er, Bullies game against the Red Army.

Van Impe laid a check into the best offensive player on the Red Army team, Valeri Kharlamov, that left the Russian star down on the ice for 10 minutes. When coach Konstantin Loktev protested for a penalty to be called and none was whistled, he pulled his team off the ice. This incident is probably the most remembered moment, but the game did showcase the hockey skills of the Flyers, er, Bullies as well as their physicality. That they won by the score of 4-1 is less important than the fact that they were given notice by officials that they had to win the game for political reasons as well as proving that NHL hockey was just as good as Russian hockey.

That Gruver was able to cover all this ground is a tribute to the work he put into this project. He will come across as pro-Bullies and NHL here, but that fits the mood at the time since this was at the height of the Cold War. Fans of that era of hockey, whether they favored the NHL style or the Russian style, should pick up this book.

I wish to thank Lyons Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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[Sam Spade · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a huge Philadelphia Flyers fan I saw this game on TV. In my opinion the best game my favorite team ever played even more so than winning back to back Stanley Cup championships.

The Soviet Central Army team, world champions at the time and the dominant team in Europe came to North America to play a series against NHL teams. With the backdrop of the cold war still evident and the bicentennial of the USA on the horizon the teams met in more than a hockey game. The Soviets masterful skating style had resulted in no losses to NHL teams thus far.

Sunday January 11th that all changed. My Flyers through up a defensive wall that Soviet skaters could not penetrate. The Flyers known for their physical thunderous body checks battered the Russians at every turn. So shocked were the Russians that they pulled their team from the ice in the first period.

The Flyers won 4-1 and saved the reputation of the NHL.

[Dwight Koslowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took nearly 130 pages to get to "The Game" and it read like some author trying to inflate the text to make it to a required minimum for publication. Have you ever watched a sports game on television with a friend who kept the remote control in his hand, and changed channels every time there was a stoppage in play? That is about how this book was written. The flow of the game, and the book, was constantly interrupted by three or four pages about the announcers, the referee, the linemen, the fans and just about any ancillary person in the rink. The author falls into the trap of turning box scores into paragraphs of statistics, page after page, making for a trying, boring read. A rating of three stars is very generous for this book.

[Bookwormgyrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before Miracle on Ice there was the ‘75-76 Super Series in which the best NHL teams faced off against the best Soviet teams. With Cold War tensions running high can the defending Stanley Cup champions the scourge of the NHL, the most feared team, the Broad Street Bullies (The Philadelphia Flyers) beat the Red Army Soviet team and prove once and for all that the NHL is the best hockey in the world? Transport yourself to the mid-1970’s and immerse yourself into the world of hockey as seen in vivid interviews from the players who were there. The book provides lots of great interviews and background information leading up to the pivotal game of January 11, 1976. 5.0 bookworms

[David Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was too much introduction and detail before ever getting to the game itself. It felt like there were backstories given for every person possible involved in the game (and hockey in general for that matter), even including some of the fans that were present. This felt like extra information added to make the book longer, and worst of all, it continued during the descriptions of the game itself and what it meant, ruining the flow of the story.

[Richard Notaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written history of the Broad Street Bullies and how they defeated probably the best hockey team in the world. But also an overview of the entire Russian-NHL series from ‘76. Entertaining, informative and often times humorous, you’ll get a good idea of what the primary players from both sides felt as they battled. Definitely a must if your a Philadelphia Flyers fan.

[Jim Short · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interedting book to read though the title is very over-blown and not even justified within the text itself. It details some history of the Philadelphia Flyers team that won the Stankey Cup as well as introducing the Russian players and some history of Russion hockey.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty comprehensive story of the dramatic victory of the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers versus the Soviet Red Army 4-1, and the events leading up to it.

[Howie · Rating 5 out of 5]

great quotes that bring us thru the period of Flyers domination.