Gold on this video. Besides the jerseys, Bob Prince on play by play plus rare video of the Cleveland Barons and from Richfield coliseum. A ghost team reappears!
Here's hoping more and more Barons footage appears , slowly but surely it seems to be coming out. Understandably more highlights will probably come tv news archives but I'm certain more is out there .
Michael Leroy we tried to bring it back but Crosby got hurt in 2011. Black and gold it better and has a better history. Blue colors were nice but the pens were in horrible shape here.
Bob Prince clearly uncomfortable, but fun to listen to. I think Bob's problem is that he was used to doing a radio type broadcast where the listener doesn't see the video and he's trying to "paint the picture" as the viewer can see the picture. Also getting familiar with the players and their jersey numbers.
"The Gunner," Bob Prince called a number of Pens games. The sport was too fast for him and a cause of frustration as he perpetually had trouble with the players' names or keeping up the description with the pace of play. Good stuff!
I actually liked the announcer. I thought he was a bit odd and zany at times but I liked it. He sounded an old time boxing or horse racing announcer dong hockey
@@Pensfan1618 The Pirates had fired Prince and he had done hockey years and years earlier. The Pens were desperate for anything that might get them more attention then, amidst bankruptcy situations and the dominance of the Steelers in the market. And, Prince WAS a legendary baseball "voice" who was still beloved in Pittsburgh. But--alas--he was TERRIBLE (as in towel) at calling hockey. As a huge Penguin fan, I was horrified.
The Penguins should have never switched from these beautiful blue uniforms. I get why they did, but I always liked the Pens uniforms of the mid-late 70s. Also, this is awesome to see so much footage from a Barons home game!
I've spent decades wanting to hear Prince on a Penguins game. He's clearly not entirely comfortable but it's not as bad as legend has it. This was not Prince's first experience broadcasting hockey, however. He had done some radio work for Pittsburgh Hornets games on WWSW radio in the 1950s.
I love this play-by-play announcer. He sounds like he could be sitting by his living room window describing a really fancy Pontiac driving by. You’d expect to hear phrases like “How ‘bout that?” “Isn’t that something?” or “Friends, let me tell you about the good folks at All-State.”
the announcer is Bob Prince, who became a Hall of Fame announcer for the PIttsburgh Pirates. He called two world series victories in 1960 and 1971 and watched the great Roberto Clemente play more games than anyone that ever lived on the planet.
From a guy who lives in "hockey country", Bob Prince is admittedly, a legend in baseball circles, but frankly, he was terrible calling hockey games. No objectivity whatsoever
Bob is unquestionably a legendary baseball guy dropped into a hockey game. The colour guy knows the personnel but Bob is learning on the go. At one point he says “they’re going up the court”.
So awesome to see these old games. Great quality on this tape (bonus - 'Spinner' Spencer lol). I know hockey is faster now and I love it, but this brings back so many memories of being a kid and watching this every Saturday night with my dad.
Interesting footage but god this is awful hockey from two piss poor teams. Nobody can even complete two passes in a row. And the play by play is laughable. Sounds like a late night lounge singer.
Bob Prince doing the game on ch. 53, so much fun too watch and listen to. I believe this was his 2nd game. The Pens televised many more games on ch. 53 than on ch.11. I recall Prince got better as the season wore on. Great to relive these memories and great gratitude to you for keeping those memories alive for those of us who experienced it.
You can definitely tell he's a bit uncertain following the movement of the puck, helluva challenge for a newcomer to hockey play-by-play. Fun to hear Prince, given his legendary status calling Pirates games.
I believe Bob Prince also did Pittsburgh Steelers football for a while during this period, but I don't know if he called any of their 1970's Super Bowls.
I think WPXI Channel 11 only televised about fifteen Penguins away games a year in the team's early years, but WPGH doubled that schedule, to at least 30 regular season games a year,probably all on the road.
While the Barons didn't last in the NHL, the Barons name returned to Cleveland in their one-tìme AHL team. There's also talk of a possible NHL franchise coming back to Cleveland and the Barons name is the most popular among the public for a name for the team.
Great memories of heading up to Richfield and watching the Barons when we were in college. They had a student discount and most nights sat right on the glass for like $10 a pop. Maruk was a great player and Meloche was a decent goalie., the rest of the barons not so much. One specific memory was watching Mike Fidler always checking his reflection off the glass to make sure the hair was perfect.
Great sightlines for hockey in that building--not a bad seat in the house. (Most of them were always empty, of course, too.) I got to cover games there on occasion for Kent State radio and TV. Meloche was a willing and articulate interview subject. Al MacAdam was another good player for Cleveland that went on to have a nice career as a North Star.
I can’t believe I haven’t seen this before. As a 16 year old kid I went to as many games as I could I fell in love with hockey because of the Barons. It hurt worse to lose the barons than when the Browns left because you knew the NHL wasn’t coming back.
I watched that game in a dorm as a junior in college and I swear Bob Prince said something like "Ron Stackhouse has the puck in his backcourt" earlier in the telecast.
@@clintscroggs65 - if you were at the April 9, 1978 game it was indeed the last game of the season and the Penguins won 3-2. Maruk had both Barons goals.
I would love to see the 1977 Flyers-Barons game in which Tom Bladdon scored 8 points for Philly (4 G, 4 A). Flyers won 11 to 1 and Randy Holt of the Barons beat up Flyers' Mel Bridgman.
Wayne Merrick was the luckiest guy on the ice in this game. Shortly afterwards he'd get traded to the New York Islanders and win four Stanley Cups. And also spotting Jim Neilson, the Big Chief, ex-Ranger star defenseman, playing out the string in Cleveland. And Bob Prince comments on John Baby's name. Imagine having to grow up with "Baby" as your last name.
Long lost and obscure NHL Trivia: During the Barons two years of existence, Pittsburgh was the only team that Cleveland failed to beat at least once. Hard to believe, considering how inept the Barons were and how strong the Montreal, Boston, and Philadelphia franchises were in that era. But...there were only 18 teams in the league back then, too.
That's what made rooting for the Barons/Seals so frustrating for me. They were capable of pulling off upsets against top teams but would turn around and get clobbered by another bottom dweller two nights later.
Truly awesome watching the Barons and listening to Prince call a hockey game. He was a great announcer even though bias. It was a sweet game, Bob. Thanks.
This is good stuff! Finding extended game footage with the Cleveland Barons is about as difficult as finding a hockey rink in the Sahara desert. Excellent quality footage. Cool to see Brian "Spinner" Spencer too. Though you have to wonder if this was the first hockey game that the announcer ever saw. Thank you so much for posting.
The announcer was Bob Prince, who was the play-by-play announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates for many years. Hockey was not his forte as you have noticed :)
i just figured out who hank azaria was trying to replicate in Brockmire; but Bob Prince was even crazier! one of the most unintentionally funny jobs of play by play ever, and no, the plexiglass in Cleveland probably wasn't made in Pittsburgh. Management must have been cringing at every broadcast until they finally just got rid of him. on the positive side, i never realized what an unselfish player Pierre Larouche was. he must have set up Brian Spencer ten times in this game alone. What an amazing waste of pure hockey talent...
Too bad Barons didn't stand a chance to develop into a successful franchise. Would be great to have a rivalry with Pittsburg in hockey. Columbus has an NHL team and the Monsters are their farm club. Dan Gilbert would be the right kind of owner to have an NHL team or be part owner.
I don't know that the Barons coming back is a good idea. Yes, it would be really cool. The problem is, the city doesn't have, and will not approve an NHL suitable rink in the city. That will leave a similar problem to the original Barons, who had a suitable stadium, but it is located 45 minutes outside of Cleveland. On top of that, the Blue Jackets already have much of Ohio's hockey following, plus the Red Wings and Penguins both have a decent following there. It just wouldn't do enough for the sport, especially with Seattle coming in. If they made any moves in the Eastern Conference, I would be willing to bet that Quebec City would be the better fit than Cleveland. When it comes to hockey, Cleveland is definitely more of an AHL city. It would be a fun team to see back, there are just places much better fit for hockey. With multiple other hockey markets in the area, a Cleveland hockey team wouldn't make sense the way it did in the 70's with an "East-heavy" hockey market. The NHL expects a 17,000 seat stadium at minimum, and they had trouble filling 8,000 in the AHL in the city. An NHL team 45 minutes out of the way wouldn't have enough of an upside, it's the same reason the Whalers moved in '97. Just the way it is, but I would love to see a Barons uniform come back, but it doesn't seem realistic to have an entire other team come into the league.
@@N_manMETA11 Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is multipurpose and expecting an AHL team to draw 17,000 is foolish. They have one of best attendance figures in that league. Who cares if they're out east? If that's where the hockey fans are that's where the teams should be. Whalers moved because their arena is decrepit.
@@MusicandGamesandStuf I didn't say I expected the Cleveland Monsters to draw 17,000, I said the fact that they're in the city and barely attract 8,000 means that a team 30 or 40 minutes OUTSIDE the city would not yeild much better numbers in the NHL. That's what sunk the Barons last time, now having to compete with a fanbase like Detroit's and Chicago's, the Blue Jackets who are up and coming to be a force in the eastern conference. To somebody who doesn't know any better, them being out east doesn't matter on the surface. But you're choosing to ignore a crucial fact, the conferences are uneven. The NHL has FINALLY approved Seattle to even them out in 2021-22, only to add Cleveland and screw it up again? THAT is what I call foolish. To pretty much undo any progress they've made in the last decade. Hypothetically, if Cleveland were awarded an NHL team, to NOT undo the work toward balancing the conferences, they would really have no choice but to do a set of 4 expansion teams. That'd be very tough to do. Not impossible, they had 4 in 4 years in the late 90s and early 2000s, but to expect that is VERY... unrealistic. As a concept, just about every part of it is a total stretch. Not to say Cleveland would be a terrible hockey city, quite the opposite is true. But the way the NHL has set itself up, it would be hard. Even with relocation, I doubt any teams are moving any time soon. Maybe the Coyotes but even then, I highly doubt the league would approve pulling the plug on them right as they're just starting to not suck. Copy and paste for Florida. Carolina is probably there for good too. Aside from them, you only outside chances at relocations are the Ducks (very outside) and like Dallas if they got randomly desparate. Those two would almost require the cities of Dallas or Anaheim burning to the ground too. The reason Cleveland's location is a huge factor is BECAUSE OF THE CONFERENCES. If you can't see that, my friend you should probably do more research. By the way, don't put words in people's mouths. It tends to do good.
This is a really good reminder of how awful the play was in that era except for the top handful of teams. I grew up in Buffalo and although they wanted to play with the elites, in 79 they lost the first playoff round 2-out-of-3 to these awful Penguins and that was the end of it for me.
This is awesome. Never thought I'd see any Barons footage, especially this clear. Prince is a dreadful announcer for hockey, and I was waiting for his dog Buford, a banjo and Dandy Don Meredith to come out. Love how the Barons somehow blew a 4 on 1 and then gave up a goal right after that. Attendance for this game was a pitiful 5,910 in Cleveland.
I can see why. As a team they are slow, small, unable to set up plays - I don't think they were able to cycle once here - no physical presence, continually outhustled and muscled off pucks against a frankly not much better (on paper) penguin team. They sucked, really, and after a season of this I'd be cussing them out too, if I still cared by that point. Makes me wonder why Meloche tolerated such sub standard play in front of him for so long. Maruk goal a total fluke, they were no real risk to score at any point in this clip. He wasn't out there much but I thought Mike Crombeen showed the best on the team in this clip, which for its rarity is probably not one the guys would have picked had they had some input haha
I always thought that the Barons had some of the sweetest colors and one of the coolest logos they just couldn't get out of their own way I wouldn't mind seeing them come back though.
Great upload...Dont think Ive seen one of the Barons. Man that is some terrible play calling...Good thing he wasn't calling the game for radio...Clearly Hockey not his sport. These local broadcasts are gold...more and more of them being uploaded. Having grown up in Canada (and what was then the gold standard of broadcasting with HNIC), I was often shocked how bad some of the local commentating was. Chicago's Lloyd Pettit was a legend and is right up there with Gallivan, Kelly and B.Hewitt and Robson.
This is incredible! Its very hard to find clear Barons footage, and this is easily the best video publicly available. Many thanks!!
The Barons look a bit like the Atlanta Flames, don't they?
Agree, this is an amazing Barons video.
the footage is as good as the play-by-play is bad. No way the play-by-play guy has ever seen a hockey game before. LOL
My goodness. This is likely the first extended videotape footage of the Cleveland Barons that's ever surfaced. Date of game is October 23, 1977.
This is amazing footage of the Barons! What a treasure!
*_it's footage of the Pens_* 😉
Previously the California Golden Seals. Brings back memories of my 70s hockey cards.
Gold on this video. Besides the jerseys, Bob Prince on play by play plus rare video of the Cleveland Barons and from Richfield coliseum. A ghost team reappears!
All right gang lets get that ball past midcourt. Bob Prince is so bad but man he is funny. He knows zip about hockey and is probably boozing too
Here's hoping more and more Barons footage appears , slowly but surely it seems to be coming out.
Understandably more highlights will probably come tv news archives but I'm certain more is out there .
This sequence pretty much sums up the Barons 6:39 😂
PENGUINS Had great looking Jersey and colors before going to black and gold
Michael Leroy we tried to bring it back but Crosby got hurt in 2011. Black and gold it better and has a better history. Blue colors were nice but the pens were in horrible shape here.
Nice to see an old clip of the Cleveland Barons in a home game
Bob Prince clearly uncomfortable, but fun to listen to. I think Bob's problem is that he was used to doing a radio type broadcast where the listener doesn't see the video and he's trying to "paint the picture" as the viewer can see the picture. Also getting familiar with the players and their jersey numbers.
"The Gunner," Bob Prince called a number of Pens games. The sport was too fast for him and a cause of frustration as he perpetually had trouble with the players' names or keeping up the description with the pace of play. Good stuff!
He was terrible.
I actually liked the announcer. I thought he was a bit odd and zany at times but I liked it. He sounded an old time boxing or horse racing announcer dong hockey
Yes, Bob was a great baseball announcer, but not so much when it came to hockey.
God bless the Gunner, Bob Prince, but he was awful. I did like his line, “he lit up the lights on Broadway” though, when the Pens scored a goal!
@@Pensfan1618 The Pirates had fired Prince and he had done hockey years and years earlier. The Pens were desperate for anything that might get them more attention then, amidst bankruptcy situations and the dominance of the Steelers in the market. And, Prince WAS a legendary baseball "voice" who was still beloved in Pittsburgh. But--alas--he was TERRIBLE (as in towel) at calling hockey. As a huge Penguin fan, I was horrified.
This is a treat: Raw, real, imperfect. Low frills across the board. Minor league hockey-like. And Colin Campbell playing D for the Penguins.
The Penguins should have never switched from these beautiful blue uniforms. I get why they did, but I always liked the Pens uniforms of the mid-late 70s. Also, this is awesome to see so much footage from a Barons home game!
There are enough sports teams with red, white, and/or blue. Black & gold more unique.
@@gavinsheridan4680 - Yes but they already had the Bruins in black and gold. No other team was wearing the Pens' navy blue/powder blue combo.
That's Bob Prince on the Mic!
Pens should Ave kept powder blue.
love this and some reason the Penguins look better in Blue or maybe its the Jersey Design .
Everything looks better in blue.
I've always preferred the old-style Penguins uniforms. The new ones look to much like Boston's.
Pens will always be powder blue and navy blue in my book. Never liked the switch to black and gold...
I've spent decades wanting to hear Prince on a Penguins game. He's clearly not entirely comfortable but it's not as bad as legend has it.
This was not Prince's first experience broadcasting hockey, however. He had done some radio work for Pittsburgh Hornets games on WWSW radio in the 1950s.
Oh, he's pretty bad. Barely knows the players, or what's going on.
@@dejordyball we got it,now they got it
He is TERRIBLE at hockey here. Really awful.
Entire upper deck of Richfield Coliseum had to be empty as announced attendance was only 5900.
I love this play-by-play announcer. He sounds like he could be sitting by his living room window describing a really fancy Pontiac driving by.
You’d expect to hear phrases like “How ‘bout that?” “Isn’t that something?” or “Friends, let me tell you about the good folks at All-State.”
the announcer is Bob Prince, who became a Hall of Fame announcer for the PIttsburgh Pirates. He called two world series victories in 1960 and 1971 and watched the great Roberto Clemente play more games than anyone that ever lived on the planet.
From a guy who lives in "hockey country", Bob Prince is admittedly, a legend in baseball circles, but frankly, he was terrible calling hockey games. No objectivity whatsoever
Back when announcers had style and grace and didn't just shout!
Bob is unquestionably a legendary baseball guy dropped into a hockey game. The colour guy knows the personnel but Bob is learning on the go. At one point he says “they’re going up the court”.
no doubt he was smoking a ciggarette while calling the game
So awesome to see these old games. Great quality on this tape (bonus - 'Spinner' Spencer lol). I know hockey is faster now and I love it, but this brings back so many memories of being a kid and watching this every Saturday night with my dad.
I believe I was at this game
Dunc Wilson's mask... if anyone tried such a thing today...
Interesting footage but god this is awful hockey from two piss poor teams. Nobody can even complete two passes in a row. And the play by play is laughable. Sounds like a late night lounge singer.
Bob Prince doing the game on ch. 53, so much fun too watch and listen to. I believe this was his 2nd game. The Pens televised many more games on ch. 53 than on ch.11. I recall Prince got better as the season wore on. Great to relive these memories and great gratitude to you for keeping those memories alive for those of us who experienced it.
You can definitely tell he's a bit uncertain following the movement of the puck, helluva challenge for a newcomer to hockey play-by-play. Fun to hear Prince, given his legendary status calling Pirates games.
I'll give him a pass consideration he was a baseball but very painful to watch and listen , I had to turn the volume off to enjoy it
I believe Bob Prince also did Pittsburgh Steelers football for a while during this period, but I don't know if he called any of their 1970's Super Bowls.
I think WPXI Channel 11 only televised about fifteen Penguins away games a year in the team's early years, but WPGH doubled that schedule, to at least 30 regular season games a year,probably all on the road.
@@altfactorno, Jack Fleming did.
While the Barons didn't last in the NHL, the Barons name returned to Cleveland in their one-tìme AHL team. There's also talk of a possible NHL franchise coming back to Cleveland and the Barons name is the most popular among the public for a name for the team.
John Baby sighting!
Best Penguins uniform,
Not that ugly bee one,
It takes always one single idiot to decide to make changes then a few follow of course.
This footage is pure gold. Nice upload.
Long live the Barons!!
What a treasure to watch a great portion of a Barons home game. Lets hope more clips materialize. Prince is just dreadful as an announcer!
yeah dreadful is right. Funny thing he(Prince) was a real great baseball announcer for the Pirates.
This is footage of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals
Great memories of heading up to Richfield and watching the Barons when we were in college. They had a student discount and most nights sat right on the glass for like $10 a pop. Maruk was a great player and Meloche was a decent goalie., the rest of the barons not so much. One specific memory was watching Mike Fidler always checking his reflection off the glass to make sure the hair was perfect.
Great sightlines for hockey in that building--not a bad seat in the house. (Most of them were always empty, of course, too.) I got to cover games there on occasion for Kent State radio and TV. Meloche was a willing and articulate interview subject. Al MacAdam was another good player for Cleveland that went on to have a nice career as a North Star.
I can’t believe I haven’t seen this before. As a 16 year old kid I went to as many games as I could I fell in love with hockey because of the Barons. It hurt worse to lose the barons than when the Browns left because you knew the NHL wasn’t coming back.
Thanx for the rare 70's defunct team footage. Great quality
🎸Cleveland Rocks ! Mind Blowing Archive ! 🏒
I watched that game in a dorm as a junior in college and I swear Bob Prince said something like "Ron Stackhouse has the puck in his backcourt" earlier in the telecast.
Yeah, I heard him refer to "midcourt" as well.
Great quality too! Thanks for posting this :)
I attended a Pens-Barons game at the Coliseum. It might have been the Barons' last game in Cleveland.
Nah, this says October '77
@@mjp96 just meant I attended what might have been the last Barons' game in CLE vs. PIT. Didn't mean it was this particular game
@@clintscroggs65 - if you were at the April 9, 1978 game it was indeed the last game of the season and the Penguins won 3-2. Maruk had both Barons goals.
Great footage, it still amazes me how much faster the game now
My favorite penguins jerseys. Obviously the prototype for the switch to black and gold but liked them much better in the blue and white.
I liked the '74-75 uniforms the best, and that was a darn good team that year, too.
Same here. I had a Mario Faubert game-worn jersey that I was able to get from the team for only 50 bucks. Sadly, no longer have it...
Bob Prince displayed homer announcing at its finest
I saw Cleveland play in Toronto that season! Great to see this footage.
I would love to see the 1977 Flyers-Barons game in which Tom Bladdon scored 8 points for Philly (4 G, 4 A). Flyers won 11 to 1 and Randy Holt of the Barons beat up Flyers' Mel Bridgman.
Was that the game where Holt rung up like 50 years in penalty minutes in 1 game?
@@Rockhound6165 no, that was when Holt played for the Kings. 1979 I believe.
@@steveshutt6409 Yes--Holt in L.A. at that time. Might even have been a first-round playoff game. That's a loooong time ago, now.
I was at that game in Philly
@@Rockhound6165 no but he elbowed and fought Mel Bridgman.
Lew Morrison only played 4 more NHL games after this one. Had his last point in this game. Super random fact.
Former Flyer. #8
Wayne Merrick was the luckiest guy on the ice in this game. Shortly afterwards he'd get traded to the New York Islanders and win four Stanley Cups. And also spotting Jim Neilson, the Big Chief, ex-Ranger star defenseman, playing out the string in Cleveland. And Bob Prince comments on John Baby's name. Imagine having to grow up with "Baby" as your last name.
Long lost and obscure NHL Trivia: During the Barons two years of existence, Pittsburgh was the only team that Cleveland failed to beat at least once. Hard to believe, considering how inept the Barons were and how strong the Montreal, Boston, and Philadelphia franchises were in that era. But...there were only 18 teams in the league back then, too.
That's what made rooting for the Barons/Seals so frustrating for me. They were capable of pulling off upsets against top teams but would turn around and get clobbered by another bottom dweller two nights later.
Truly awesome watching the Barons and listening to Prince call a hockey game. He was a great announcer even though bias. It was a sweet game, Bob. Thanks.
This is good stuff! Finding extended game footage with the Cleveland Barons is about as difficult as finding a hockey rink in the Sahara desert. Excellent quality footage. Cool to see Brian "Spinner" Spencer too. Though you have to wonder if this was the first hockey game that the announcer ever saw. Thank you so much for posting.
LOLOLOL. Sounds like it !
The announcer was Bob Prince, who was the play-by-play announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates for many years. Hockey was not his forte as you have noticed :)
Is there more!!!😊😊😊😊😊
i just figured out who hank azaria was trying to replicate in Brockmire; but Bob Prince was even crazier! one of the most unintentionally funny jobs of play by play ever, and no, the plexiglass in Cleveland probably wasn't made in Pittsburgh. Management must have been cringing at every broadcast until they finally just got rid of him. on the positive side, i never realized what an unselfish player Pierre Larouche was. he must have set up Brian Spencer ten times in this game alone. What an amazing waste of pure hockey talent...
Too bad Barons didn't stand a chance to develop into a successful franchise. Would be great to have a rivalry with Pittsburg in hockey. Columbus has an NHL team and the Monsters are their farm club. Dan Gilbert would be the right kind of owner to have an NHL team or be part owner.
The Barons would probably wear a black third jersey YUCK! I wouldn't like that look very much I'm a staunch traditionalist when it comes to uniforms.
Ill always be a Cleveland Baron
Bob Prince wasn't as bad in hockey as he was made out to be. Not great, but not terrible.
Great footage, worst play by play announcer I’ve ever heard.
Guys are taking 2 to 3 minute shifts ...that's awesome
Barons were 4-1 coming in.Lost a heartbreaker here & went down hill after
Is that Bob Prince calling the game?
end to end excitement, crowd going wild, wonder why the Barons failed?
Love the Spinner!
The Gunner and his, we got it, now they got it, style of play by play
I miss the Barons although they couldn't draw flies.
There was absolutely nothing to miss about the Barons they had 25 and 22 wins in their 2 seasons in the NHL
Their jerseys are not even spectacular red and black? the Chicago Blackhawks wear those colors much better
4 on 1 breakaway and Cleveland still misses. Wow
*_Brian "Spinner" Spencer!!!_*
Brian Spencer with his John Wensink-hair..
I went to a lot of games and on a cassette recorder did the play-by-play with my pay Ray Oliverio. The tapes I still got stashed away. God Bless
It's a hockey night in Cleveland! 🏒🥅
...Another well-attended Cleveland Barons' home game.
5910 one of their largest crowds of the season
This is awesome watching all those ex-Kings. Corrigan, Spencer, Apps, Monahan, Hampton.
@8:18 Mario Lemieux stick handling by Greg Smith.
bring the barons back NHL!
I don't know that the Barons coming back is a good idea. Yes, it would be really cool. The problem is, the city doesn't have, and will not approve an NHL suitable rink in the city. That will leave a similar problem to the original Barons, who had a suitable stadium, but it is located 45 minutes outside of Cleveland. On top of that, the Blue Jackets already have much of Ohio's hockey following, plus the Red Wings and Penguins both have a decent following there. It just wouldn't do enough for the sport, especially with Seattle coming in. If they made any moves in the Eastern Conference, I would be willing to bet that Quebec City would be the better fit than Cleveland. When it comes to hockey, Cleveland is definitely more of an AHL city. It would be a fun team to see back, there are just places much better fit for hockey. With multiple other hockey markets in the area, a Cleveland hockey team wouldn't make sense the way it did in the 70's with an "East-heavy" hockey market. The NHL expects a 17,000 seat stadium at minimum, and they had trouble filling 8,000 in the AHL in the city. An NHL team 45 minutes out of the way wouldn't have enough of an upside, it's the same reason the Whalers moved in '97. Just the way it is, but I would love to see a Barons uniform come back, but it doesn't seem realistic to have an entire other team come into the league.
@@N_manMETA11 Maks sense. Thanks.
NmanMETA 11 why isn’t Cleveland more of an NHL city? It’s a big city and a cold weather gritty city with blue collar roots which is very hockey like?
@@N_manMETA11 Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is multipurpose and expecting an AHL team to draw 17,000 is foolish. They have one of best attendance figures in that league.
Who cares if they're out east? If that's where the hockey fans are that's where the teams should be.
Whalers moved because their arena is decrepit.
@@MusicandGamesandStuf I didn't say I expected the Cleveland Monsters to draw 17,000, I said the fact that they're in the city and barely attract 8,000 means that a team 30 or 40 minutes OUTSIDE the city would not yeild much better numbers in the NHL. That's what sunk the Barons last time, now having to compete with a fanbase like Detroit's and Chicago's, the Blue Jackets who are up and coming to be a force in the eastern conference. To somebody who doesn't know any better, them being out east doesn't matter on the surface. But you're choosing to ignore a crucial fact, the conferences are uneven. The NHL has FINALLY approved Seattle to even them out in 2021-22, only to add Cleveland and screw it up again? THAT is what I call foolish. To pretty much undo any progress they've made in the last decade. Hypothetically, if Cleveland were awarded an NHL team, to NOT undo the work toward balancing the conferences, they would really have no choice but to do a set of 4 expansion teams. That'd be very tough to do. Not impossible, they had 4 in 4 years in the late 90s and early 2000s, but to expect that is VERY... unrealistic. As a concept, just about every part of it is a total stretch. Not to say Cleveland would be a terrible hockey city, quite the opposite is true. But the way the NHL has set itself up, it would be hard. Even with relocation, I doubt any teams are moving any time soon. Maybe the Coyotes but even then, I highly doubt the league would approve pulling the plug on them right as they're just starting to not suck. Copy and paste for Florida. Carolina is probably there for good too. Aside from them, you only outside chances at relocations are the Ducks (very outside) and like Dallas if they got randomly desparate. Those two would almost require the cities of Dallas or Anaheim burning to the ground too. The reason Cleveland's location is a huge factor is BECAUSE OF THE CONFERENCES. If you can't see that, my friend you should probably do more research. By the way, don't put words in people's mouths. It tends to do good.
The only thing worse than the announcer is the actual play of both of these teams. I really don't understand how and why the Penguins ever survived.
This is a really good reminder of how awful the play was in that era except for the top handful of teams. I grew up in Buffalo and although they wanted to play with the elites, in 79 they lost the first playoff round 2-out-of-3 to these awful Penguins and that was the end of it for me.
Syl Apps Jr....nice
The Barons and the Montreal Canadiens had a wild bench clearer in that rink, later in the season.
Worst commentator ever!!! Getting to see the Barons is awesome though.
Who would have thought the penguins would go on to win 5 Stanley cups,
Is Tom Cassidy in the Pittsburgh lineup ?
Yes, he was in this match.
Wow the announcer is so terrible!
That attendance tho
Before tax dodging companies bought everything up
Nice to see Brian Spencer get decent ice time & a goal. Barons fans social distancing back then eh?!
Great footage but badddd hockey
Very clear picture. Way to go.
Very rare to see Larouche and Apps in these jerseys, they were traded very early in this season
And startling to see Larouche centering ... Brian Spencer and Hartland Monahan. Syl looked barely engaged; no longer had the letter on his sweater.
To be fair the pens were so cheap that they rarely actually put the “A” on the jerseys then
@@alexyerkey3141 I think it was between 1975 and 1985 the NHL did not have the A for alternate captains.
This is awesome. Never thought I'd see any Barons footage, especially this clear. Prince is a dreadful announcer for hockey, and I was waiting for his dog Buford, a banjo and Dandy Don Meredith to come out. Love how the Barons somehow blew a 4 on 1 and then gave up a goal right after that. Attendance for this game was a pitiful 5,910 in Cleveland.
Pete Braidis you hear the angry Cleveland fans cussing and yelling at the lowly Barons as the microphones picked up on it.
I can see why. As a team they are slow, small, unable to set up plays - I don't think they were able to cycle once here - no physical presence, continually outhustled and muscled off pucks against a frankly not much better (on paper) penguin team. They sucked, really, and after a season of this I'd be cussing them out too, if I still cared by that point. Makes me wonder why Meloche tolerated such sub standard play in front of him for so long. Maruk goal a total fluke, they were no real risk to score at any point in this clip. He wasn't out there much but I thought Mike Crombeen showed the best on the team in this clip, which for its rarity is probably not one the guys would have picked had they had some input haha
The skating is slow, the passing is terrible, and the puck handling is awful. Hockey in the 1970s just doesn't measure up to today's hockey.
I always thought that the Barons had some of the sweetest colors and one of the coolest logos they just couldn't get out of their own way I wouldn't mind seeing them come back though.
They would play at Quickenloans arena if they played now days with their team logo enlarged at center ice I love using my imagination with this stuff.
Great upload...Dont think Ive seen one of the Barons. Man that is some terrible play calling...Good thing he wasn't calling the game for radio...Clearly Hockey not his sport. These local broadcasts are gold...more and more of them being uploaded. Having grown up in Canada (and what was then the gold standard of broadcasting with HNIC), I was often shocked how bad some of the local commentating was. Chicago's Lloyd Pettit was a legend and is right up there with Gallivan, Kelly and B.Hewitt and Robson.
Jim Robson was great. Too bad The Canucks were so awful for so long.
10/23/77 is the date
Great video. Though the Announcer is the craps 💩. He should have stuck to Baseball.
Nice footage although you can see why they failed as a team in that city pretty poor attendance for NHL game.
I read that the arena was located in the middle of nowhere like Ottawa
love this era
Even with the two line pass rule, the modern NHL is so much faster.
@ Tim McCartney can i get some of what you uploaded on dvd from you
They couldn't complete a 4 on 1 breakaway how pathetic.
This was the NHL. Ive honestly seen better play in men's league A than this.
Sparsely attended game of course!
A mere 5910 people showed up for this one. 8^(
Dunc Wilson had a lame looking mask I thought.
The announcer is hilarious “we”, we, we”
No fans and announcers sound bored reminds one of the WNBA