At last, Fred Shero is headed for the Hall of Fame
After being snubbed for about three decades, Fred Shero, who directed the Flyers to Stanley Cup titles in 1974 and 1975, was elected into hockey's Hall of Fame on Tuesday.
After being snubbed for about three decades, Fred Shero, who directed the Flyers to Stanley Cup titles in 1974 and 1975, was elected into hockey's Hall of Fame on Tuesday.
"Long overdue," said Flyers scouting consultant Bill Barber, a former Philadelphia winger who is also a Hall of Famer.
The induction ceremony will be Nov. 11 in Toronto.
Right winger Brendan Shanahan and defensemen Chris Chelios and Scott Niedermayer were also selected, along with Canadian women's national team defenseman Geraldine Heaney.
No ex-Flyers players were named, although Rod Brind'Amour, Eric Lindros, John LeClair and Jeremy Roenick received consideration.
Shero, who died in 1990 at age 65, directed the 1974 Flyers to the Stanley Cup just seven years after the franchise entered the NHL during expansion. He will enter the Hall in the builder's category.
In a six-year span, Shero led his teams to four appearances in the Finals, including 1979 with the New York Rangers.
Ray Shero, the Pittsburgh Penguins' general manager, said that he thought his father was "most deserving" and that his family was thrilled by Tuesday's announcement. He admitted he was "somewhat surprised" by the news because of the past snubs.
Shero said he was proud of his father's "overall contributions" to the sport.
"He won a championship at every level he coached at, but if you look at some of his innovations, he was ahead of his time," Shero said. "A lot of the stuff he did is done today."
Nicknamed "Freddy the Fog," Shero did things that weren't common in the 1970s - studying game films, hiring a full-time assistant, starting game-day morning skates, and traveling to Russia to incorporate parts of its game into his coaching.
"He did more things in the 10 years he coached than some guys did in 30 years," former Flyer Joe Watson said. "People never talked about systems in the '70s, but when Freddy came along, he instituted systems."
Some believe that in the past, Hall of Fame committee members frowned upon Shero because they thought the Broad Street Bullies - the nickname given to his brawling Flyers teams of that era - soiled the NHL's image. But if that was the case, why did the Bullies' captain (Bobby Clarke), general manager (Keith Allen) and owner (Ed Snider) earn spots in the Hall several years ago?
"There's no sense looking back as to why it didn't happen sooner, because today's a happy day to celebrate the fact that a guy who deserves it immensely has finally been elected to the Hall of Fame," said Snider, chairman of the Flyers' parent company, Comcast-Spectacor. "It's a great day for the Philadelphia Flyers."
"Other than Keith Allen, Freddy Shero was the person who should have gone into the Hall of Fame ahead of myself, Bernie Parent, Billy Barber, any of us who have gone in," Clarke said. "He was that important to the success of the Flyers. I'm very happy for his family."
Since the Flyers won consecutive Cups in 1974 and 1975, only three coaches have led their teams to at least two straight titles: Scotty Bowman, Al Arbour and Glen Sather.
All are in the Hall.
Until Tuesday, the Hall of Fame committee members apparently felt Shero's NHL coaching tenure - 10 years - was too short.
During his NHL coaching career, Shero posted a 390-225-119 record with a .612 percentage. Among coaches who have coached at least 10 seasons, that ranks fourth in NHL history, behind Bowman (.657), Mike Babcock (.635) and Toe Blake (.634).
Starting in 1973-74, Shero's Flyers teams had a points percentage of at least .700 for four straight seasons, going 50-16-12; 51-18-11; 51-13-16; and 48-16-16.
"I can't speak highly enough about him," Barber said.
Shero used different methods of motivation, including the words he wrote on the blackboard during the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals as the Flyers upset Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins: Win Today and We Walk Together Forever.
"Even in minors, he had these ways of getting to the players with a written words on a blackboard or by writing a note and putting it in their glove," Ray Shero said.
Shero's election "is a beautiful thing for Philadelphia and a beautiful thing for hockey," Parent said.
The Shero File
A Winnipeg native, Fred Shero played parts of three seasons in the NHL as a defenseman with the New York Rangers, registering 20 points and 137 penalty minutes in 145 career games.
He spent 13 years coaching in the minors before being hired by the Flyers in 1971.
Shero coached the Flyers for seven seasons (1971-72 through 1977-78), compiling a 308-151-95 regular-season record and a 48-35 playoff mark.
He is the club's all-time leader in seasons coached, games coached (554), victories and winning percentage (.642).
He led the Flyers to Stanley Cup titles in 1974 and 1975 and to the Finals in 1976. The 1974 squad became the first expansion team to ever win the Cup.
Shero won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL coach of the year in 1973-74.
He is the eighth member of the Flyers organization to be elected to the Hall of Fame, joining Bernie Parent (1984), Bobby Clarke (1987), Ed Snider (1988), Bill Barber (1990), Keith Allen (1992) and Mark Howe (2011), along with broadcaster Gene Hart, who won the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 1997.
- Sam Carchidi
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