The Original Six took the hockey world by storm in 1942, becoming the first wave of teams to play in the NHL. It wasn’t until the 1967 expansion that the Philadelphia Flyers were born and their first home game was played.
The Original Six
The Original Six teams began forming in 1909 with the Montreal Canadiens, later joined by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1917, Boston Bruins in 1924, and then the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers in 1926.
The history behind these teams and the NHL, in general, is vibrant. The Original Six introduced monumental players like Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay of the Detroit Red Wings and Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks. As the predecessors for the first wave of expansion teams, the development of the Original Six supported the maturing of the NHL, bringing a new level of entertainment value to sports fans across North America.
First Expansion Teams
In 1967, the hockey world would expand beyond just the six teams as they welcomed the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers into the NHL.
Related: What’s in a Name? The NHLs “Original Six”
This was huge for developing players, who now had a bigger chance of reaching their NHL dreams. Each team expansion team paid a $2 million entry fee to the Original Six teams. The Flyers being a new team meant a chance to create a name for themselves in their city. The team carefully chose vital players out of the expansion draft that would support the impact on the organization’s future, like Bernie Parent, Doug Favell, Ed Van Impe, and Lou Angotti, only to name a few.
Flyers’ First-Ever Home Opener
The Flyers opened their inaugural season against the California Seals on Oct. 11, 1967, at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena. Unfortunately, it was also the franchise’s first loss, a 5-1 defeat with one singular goal from alternate captain Bill Sutherland. The team remained on the road for two more games, against the Kings — a 4-2 loss — and the Blues, where they secured their first win, 2-1.
On Oct. 19, 1967, the Flyers made their debut home appearance at The Spectrum against the Pittsburgh Penguins. They shut the door on their opponents with a 1-0 win, led by head coach Keith Allen. The team was welcomed and celebrated by 7,812 fans dressed in orange and black, who packed The Spectrum, the first arena to become home for the team. Throughout the bout, both groups showed aggressiveness toward the other. The physical style of play and eagerness to win resulted in one of the best hockey rivalries to surface, and the battle for Pennsylvania had begun.
Goaltender Doug Favell faced 17 shots without fault, and Bill Sutherland scored the only goal of the game at the beginning of the third period. The crowd filled with excitement from cheering on their home team of Philadelphia for the first time was something the organization will never forget. They finished the regular season with a 31-32-11 record, finishing first in the NHL’s West Division, but lost to the Blues, 3-1, in Game 7 of the quarterfinals.
It wasn’t long after their home debut that the Flyers earned a reputation in the NHL. In the 1970s, the group had become one of the most physically aggressive teams in the league, earning the nickname “Broad Street Bullies” and gaining more penalty minutes than any team in the league at an immense rate. Dave Shultz, who was more formally known as “the hammer,” led the aggressiveness of the team, setting the NHL record for the most penalty minutes in the 1974–1975 season. In this era, the team captured back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 1974 and 1975. The organization also managed four conference championships during the Broad Street Bullies years: 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, and 1979–80.
Their home game on Oct. 19, 1967, would be the first of many, as the Flyers recently opened their 56th season at home on Oct. 13, 2022. Many things have changed since that home debut in 1967. Players have retired, jerseys have been altered and changed, and the development of a new era of players has begun. But the fans are still cheering them on in their new home, the Wells Fargo Center, just like they did for the very first time at The Spectrum.
