September 28, 1972: The "Summit Series" between Canada and the Soviet Union comes to a close with Game 8 at the Luzhniki Palace of Sports in Moscow. Team Canada had made a big mistake in only letting NHL players ply for them, meaning that Bobby Hull, who had signed a contract with the Winnipeg Jets of the new World Hockey Association, wasn't eligible. Also, Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins was injured. If either of the Bobbys was able to play, it would have been a very different series.
But the Soviets, led by goaltender Vladislav Tretiak and left wing Valery Kharlamov, shocked the Canadians, who had to win the last 3 games of the series to win it. With 34 seconds left, Paul Henderson of the Toronto Maple Leafs scores to give Canada a 6-5 win and the series. It is the most famous goal in the sport's history.
Bill Goldsworthy of the Minnesota North Stars died in 1996. Gary Bergman of the Detroit Red Wings died in 2000. Jean-Paul Parise of the North Stars died in 2015. Bill White of the Chicago Black Hawks died in 2017. Stan Mikita of the Black Hawks died in 2018. Pat Stapleton of the Black Hawks died in 2020. Tony Esposito of the Black Hawks and Rod Gilbert of the New York Rangers died last month.
The remaining 20 Canadian players are still alive, 49 years later: Frank Mahovlich of the Montreal Canadiens (a legend in Toronto) is 83; Red Berenson of the Red Wings is 81; Jean Ratelle and Vic Hadfield, both of the New York Rangers, are about to turn 81; Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins is 79; Paul Henderson of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Don Awrey of the Bruins are 78; Yvon Cournoyer of the Montreal Canadiens is 77; Wayne Cashman of the Bruins, Dennis Hull of the Black Hawks (Bobby's brother), Rod Seiling of the Rangers and Ron Ellis of the Toronto Maple Leafs are 76; Serge Savard of the Canadiens is 75; Pete Mahovlich of the Canadiens (Frank's brother) is about to turn 75; Ken Dryden of the Canadiens is 74; Brad Park of the Rangers, Guy Lapointe of the Canadiens and Mickey Redmond of the Red Wings are 73; Bobby Clarke of the Philadelphia Flyers is 72; Gilbert Perreault of the Buffalo Sabres is 70.
Of the Soviet players: Viacheslav Solodukhin was a suicide in 1979, Valeri Kharlamov was killed in a car crash in 1981, Alexander Ragulin died in 2004, Gennadiy Tsygankov in 2006, Yevgeni Mishakov in 2007, Viktor Kuzkin in 2008, Evgeni Paladiev in 2010, Valeri Vasiliev in 2012, Vladimir Vikulov in 2013, Vladimir Petrov and Alexander Bodunov in 2017, Yuri Shatalov and Yevgeni Zimin in 2018, Alexander Gusev in 2020, and Vladimir Shadrin a few days ago.
Still alive: Vyacheslav Starshinov is 81, Boris Mikhailov is about to turn 77, Yuri Lyapkin and Alexander Martynyuk are 76, Alexander Yakushev is 74; Vladimir Lutchenko, Yuri Blinov and Alexander Maltsev are 72; Yuri Lebedev and Vyacheslav Anisin are 70, and Vladislav Tretiak and Alexander Volchkov are 69.
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September 28, 1972 was a Thursday. September was chosen for the Summit Series because it was before either country's major league began play for the new season. The NBA and the ABA hadn't yet started their 1972-73 seasons, either. And while it was during the football season, at the time, NFL and college games played on Thursdays other than Thanksgiving were rare. And only 4 Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Thurman Munson, Roy White and pitcher Lindy McDaniel all hit home runs off the Tigers' Mickey Lolich. Because of the designated hitter, McDaniel remains the last Yankee pitcher to have hit a home run. White's homer won the game in the 12th inning. Mel Stottlemyre started the game, and Sparky Lyle won it in relief of Stottlemyre and McDaniel.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-1 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-7 at the Oakland Coliseum.