Saturday, September 6, 2008

Flint Artifacts: Generals Hockey Puck



6 comments:

  1. Now thats a trip down memory lane. My father and his three partners bought the original Generals (IHL) in 1975.

    I spent my teenage years in ice arenas, but at least I have great memories of those days.

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  2. Jeff, you have to give us a few stories about the Generals. Come on...don't save everything for your own blog.

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  3. One of the best nights of my life was cutting out of work early to see the Generals beat Thunder Bay for the Colonial Cup back in 96. Afterwards we went to the Raincheck where I got to drink beer out of the actual f'n Colonial Cup while it was held aloft by legendary coach Robbie Nichols.

    The old UHL was known as the Colonial Hockey League (CoHL) in a previous incarnation. Now THAT was a clusterf*** of Slapshot proportions. The short-lived Flint Bulldogs were brutal in more ways then one.

    I had the opportunity to "play" the Generals/Spirits twice- my teams reward for being the top fundraiser or whatever. Biggest crowd I ever played in front of was a sellout of 4,021 at age 6 vs. the Generals. "Playing" the Spirits at age 13 I remember thinking that I was actually big enough to injure them.

    The I.M.A./Perani is a great arena. I just hope they never put too much money into it for renovations.

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  4. Anybody else there the night the lady in the north end seats got her eye put out with a puck? I do believe that was the last night my wife went to a game with me.

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  5. I remember my sister talking about this alleged event in the seventies, except in her telling the woman died. I just assumed it was an urban legend. So something along these lines actually happened?

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  6. We knew her well, because she continued coming to games for years. Her name was Mrs. C., and she sat on the north end, just about parallel to the goal judge.

    She attempted to sue the prior owners for the incident, but as I recall there was a sobriety question.

    She was a very sweet person at heart. We hever had any issues with her.

    Our own seats were at about the same level, but at centerline on the west side of the ice. Dad said he didn't want the players to hear my Mom and her friend Peg.

    I do have a couple of great stories I will have to share soon.

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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.