During the 1970s, only the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins had more
victories than the Philadelphia Flyers'; 424. During that decade, the Flyers
won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975, went to two more Finals, and
missed the playoffs once. Furthermore, they registered 100 or more points in
five consecutive seasons between 1974 and 1978.

The Flyers of that era are often overlooked by the Bobby Orr-led Bruins and the
 Guy Lafleur-led Canadiens because the Flyers lacked the elite offensive
threats that other teams had in Orr and Lefleur of the 1970s or Mike Bossy and
Wayne Gretzky of the 1980s. Yet, a lack of big-name scorers on Philadelphia';s
rosters during the 1970s didn';t hinder their success.

Instead, they were led by "the Broad Street Bullies," a group of players whose
toughness and tenacity was unmatched, yet they weren';t exclusively goons.
Rather, they brought an offensive punch, hit hard, regularly pushed the limits
of the rulebook, and backed it all up with literal punches if the situation
deemed them necessary.Head coach Fred Shero of the Philadelphia Flyers, along
with players (l-r) Dave Hoyda, Bobby Clarke, Bob Kelly, Bill Barber, and Reggie
 Leach, were keys to the Flyers winning consecutive Stanley Cups in 1974 and
';75. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Flyers of the 1970s, and specifically the teams between 1973 and 1976 were
three of the best rosters ever assembled. However, they';re often lost between
the Bruins and Canadiens that succeeded at the same time and the New York
Islanders and Edmonton Oilers that came after. Now, over 40 years later and no
more Stanley Cups in franchise history, the Broad Street Bullies'; story
remains as dynamic as ever.The Flyers Before the Broad Street BulliesHockey in
Philly Before the Flyers

Professional hockey in the City of Brotherly Love dates back to 1930 when the
Pittsburgh Pirates moved cross-state and became the Philadelphia Quakers. They
only lasted one season in Philadelphia with an abysmal 4-36-4 record and their
.136 winning percentage remains second-lowest in league history. After the
1930-31 season, team owners announced they would not have a team the following
season and the city had to wait 36 years before an NHL team
returned.Related: Origins of Every Eastern Conference TeamEd Snider Brings the
 Flyers

After the Quakers dissolved, the next rumors of an NHL team in Philadelphia
arose in 1946 when a group attempted to raise money to build an arena and move
the defunct Montreal Maroons south. However, they missed their deadline for
funding and it wasn';t until 1964 when serious discussions to bring a team to
Philly began again.Ed Snider was the main reason that professional hockey
returned to Philadelphia when his Flyers joined the NHL in the 1967 Expansion.
(Comcast-Spectacor PR)

Those discussions were sparked by the late Ed Snider, then-vice president of
the Philadelphia Eagles, who put forth a bid for an NHL franchise. Philadelphia
 was awarded the franchise for the 1967 Expansion over Baltimore and joined the
 league along with the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North
Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues.

The Flyers qualified for the postseason each of their first two seasons despite
 not having a winning record in either. In both playoffs, they were ousted by
the bigger, stronger Blues in the first round. In 1968, they lost in seven
games and were swept in 1969. The Blues pushed the Flyers around and dominated
their smaller players. This led to Snider making the decision to change the
team';s roster construction.

"...I don't want to see our team ever get beat up again. I don't give a
(expletive) about this (team) having one policeman. Let's have five or six." Ed
 Snider after watching his Flyers lose Game Seven to the Blues in 1968, as told
 to The Hockey News.

The Plan to Get Bigger

The Flyers began implementing their plan to get bigger by drafting Dave "The
Hammer" Schultz, Don Saleski, and Bob "Hound Dog" Kelly in the 1969 and 1970
Entry Drafts. Those three were the nucleus of what became the Broad Street
Bullies with each player';s career penalty minutes double his point totals.

But it was the team';s decision to draft diminutive center Bobby Clarke in the
second round of the 1969 Entry Draft that brought the group together and made
them a legitimate threat to win a Stanley Cup. Yet, despite skilled and
aggressive forwards, the Flyers wouldn';t have achieved their success had
Bernie Parent not been in net as his 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons are widely
considered the best consecutive seasons by a goaltender in league history.

Finally, no team would be complete without a fitting coach. Fred "The Fog"
Shero was the man behind the bench for the Flyers'; Cup runs and although he
wasn';t as aggressive as his players, he was a player';s coach and allowed
their personalities to shine. These are the stories of those who made up the
Broad Street Bullies and what allowed the Flyers to become one of the best
teams of the 1970s.GM Keith Allen

Keith Allen was the architect of the Broad Street Bullies and served as
Philadelphia';s general manager from 1969 to 1983. He was also the franchise';s
 first head coach and guided them during their first two seasons with Bud Poile
 as general manager. Prior to becoming Philadelphia';s head coach for the
1967-68 season, Allen was a defenseman and played for the Detroit Red Wings in
1953-54 and 1954-55. He even had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1954
after appearing in 10 games that season.Keith Allen was the GM of the
Philadelphia Flyers when they began acquiring and drafting players who became
members of the Broad Street Bullies.

After his playing career ended, he coached the Seattle Americans/Totems of the
Western Hockey League from 1956 to 1965 and left when the Flyers joined the
NHL. He remained with them in some capacity until his death in 2014, serving as
 an executive following his tenure as general manager. He was inducted into the
 Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1992, the Flyers Hall of Fame in 1989, and
 was named The Hockey News'; Executive of the Year for the 1979-80
season.Head Coach Fred Shero

If Allen was the architect of the Broad Street Bullies, Shero was their
general, serving behind the Flyers'; bench from 1971 to 1978. He compiled a
308-151-95 regular season record with them and a 48-35 record in the
postseason. He also won his only Jack Adams Trophy with them after the 1973-74
season. After the 1977-78 season, he left them to become the head coach of the
New York Rangers, a post he held for two full seasons before he stepped down
midseason in 1980-81.Head coach Fred Shero (center) with Bobby Clarke (left)
and Bernie Parent, arguably the three most important people to the Philadelphia
 Flyers'; success during the 1970s.

Prior to becoming a coach, he was a defenseman like Allen. The Rangers signed
Fred Shero out of junior hockey but military service in World War II prevented
his NHL debut until 1947. He played parts of three seasons with the Rangers
before they traded him to the AHL';s Cleveland Barons in 1951. He finished out
his playing career in the WHL and Quebec Hockey League before retiring in 1958.

Following his playing career, he coached in the minors from 1958 until 1971
when the Flyers hired him. As a coach, he was known for getting the most out of
 his guys without running them ragged. As mentioned above, he was a players';
coach who rarely yelled but sought to make the game fun. He was also innovative
 as the first coach to employ systems and study game tape of opponents.

The Rangers were the last NHL team Shero coached. He spent a season coaching in
 the Netherlands before he returned to be a special assistant with the Flyers
in 1989. At this point in his life, he was battling stomach cancer. The Flyers
inducted him into their team Hall of Fame in March 1990 and he passed away on
Nov. 24 that year. He was posthumously elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a
builder in 2013. His son, Ray, is the general manager of the New Jersey
Devils.Goalie Bernie Parent

Although Parent was not a member of the Broad Street Bullies, the Flyers
wouldn';t have approached their success in the 1970s without him. His NHL
career began with the Bruins who left him exposed in the 1967 Expansion Draft.
The Flyers selected him and subsequently traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs
in 1971 with Rick MacLeish as part of the return. It was with the Maple Leafs
that Parent honed his craft, learning from childhood hero Jacques Plante.Before
 Bernie Parent became a Vezina Trophy winner with the Philadelphia Flyers, he
played parts of two seasons with the Boston Bruins.

After the 1971-72 season, Parent joined the World Hockey Association and played
 the 1972-73 season with the Philadelphia Blazers. Afterwards, he returned to
the NHL and the Maple Leafs traded his rights to the Flyers. He immediately
became their starter and his 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons were phenomenal. In
141 regular season games, he had a 91-27-21 record, a .926 save percentage
(SV%), 1.96 goals against average (GAA), and 24 shutouts. He won the Vezina
Trophy both seasons.

He was even better in the postseason. In 1974, he finished with a 12-5 record
with a .933 SV%, 2.02 GAA, and two shutouts. He allowed two or fewer goals in
11 games. In 1975, he had a 10-5 record, .924 SV%, 1.89 GAA, and four shutouts.
 He had nine games in which he allowed two or fewer goals. He took home the
Conn Smythe Trophy both years as playoff MVP.Bernie Parent was key in the
Philadelphia Flyers winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975 and won
the Conn Smythe Trophy both years. (THW Archives)

Neck and back injuries held him to 121 games over the next three seasons and an
 eye injury on Feb. 17, 1979 forced him to retire at age 34. That October the
Flyers retired his number. He became Philadelphia';s goaltending coach for
several seasons and mentored future Vezina Trophy winner and current team GM
Ron Hextall along with Pelle Lindbergh. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of
 Fame in 1984 and was an inaugural inductee, along with Bobby Clarke, to the
Flyers Hall of Fame.Right Wing Gary Dornhoefer

Like Parent, Gary Dornhoefer began his career with the Bruins. Over three
seasons with them, he had 12 goals and 24 points in 62 games. He was left
exposed in the Expansion Draft and the Flyers selected him. In his first season
 with Philadelphia, he had 13 goals, 43 points, and 134 penalty minutes in 65
games. Between 1968-69 and 1970-71, he scored 20 or more goals twice and never
accumulated more than 100 penalty minutes.

During the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, he scored 28 goals and 94 points and
totaled 227 penalty minutes in 126 games. Between the Flyers'; 1974 and 1975
Stanley Cup runs, he totaled 10 goals, 21 points, and 76 penalty minutes in 31
games. He retired after the 1977-78 season as Philadelphia';s second-leading
scorer with 202 goals and 518 points in 725 games. Additionally, he had 1,256
penalty minutes as a Flyer.

Upon his retirement, the Flyers commissioned a statue in his honor placed in
front of the Spectrum to commemorate the overtime goal he scored against the
North Stars in Game Five of the opening round of the 1973 Playoffs. After his
playing career ended, he joined Hockey Night in Canada as a color commentator
from 1978 until 1987. He returned to Philadelphia in 1992 to be in the same
role and remained there through the 2005-06 season. He was a 1991 inductee of
the Flyers Hall of Fame.Defenseman Ed Van Impe

Saskatoon native Ed Van Impe played for the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL for five
seasons before debuting with the Chicago Black Hawks during the 1966-67 season.
 As a rookie, he had eight goals and 19 points in 61 games and finished
runner-up to Bobby Orr in Calder Trophy voting. After that season, Chicago
exposed Van Impe in the Expansion Draft, which paved the way for him to join
the Flyers.Ed Van Impe pictured here as a member of the Buffalo Bisons, the AHL
 team he played for before joining the Chicago Black Hawks.

In 1968, he became Philadelphia';s second captain in team history, a post he
served until 1973. In 155 games during the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, he had
three goals, 36 points, and 228 penalty minutes. In 34 playoff games between
1974 and 1975, he had one goal, seven points, and 68 penalty minutes. During
the 1975-76 season, the Flyers dealt Van Impe to the Penguins, with whom he
finished out the season but only played in 10 games the following season before
 retiring.

He was a traditional stay-at-home defenseman who brought little offensively. He
 was also not known as a strong skater but was physical and competitive. He was
 one of three original Flyers, alongside Dornhoefer and Joe Watson, who won
both Stanley Cups. Van Impe was inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame in
1993.Center Bobby Clarke

The most accomplished player from the Flyers'; Cup-winning teams, Clarke made
the teams well-rounded. The Flyers drafted him in the second round, 17th
overall, of the 1969 Entry Draft, well below his talent level. With the Flin
Flon Bombers of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League, he had 173 goals and
488 points in 162 games during his final three seasons. He slid in the draft
due to a diagnosis of Type-1 diabetes as a teenager which led many to feel
he';d never survive the NHL.Bobby Clarke (left in Canadian sweater) of Team
Canada celebrating Paul Henderson';s series-winning goal in Game 8 of the 1972
Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union at the Luzhniki Ice Palace in
 Moscow, Soviet Union on September 28, 1972. (Photo by Denis Brodeur/NHLI via
Getty Images)

However, doctors believed he could play as long as he monitored his health,
which was enough for the Flyers to take a chance on him. He made his NHL debut
on Oct. 11, 1969 and finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting that season. Prior
 to the 1972-73 season, the Flyers named him captain at age 23, then the
youngest captain in NHL history.

After a 100-point breakout campaign in 1972-73 when he won his first Hart
Trophy, Clarke regressed slightly during the 1973-74 season with 35 goals and
87 points in 77 games. He also surpassed the 100 penalty minutes mark for the
first time. During the 1974 Stanley Cup run, he added five goals, 16 points,
and 42 penalty minutes in 17 games.

He rebounded for the 1974-75 season with 27 goals, 116 points, and 125 penalty
minutes in 80 games. He won his second Hart Trophy at season';s end. In that
year';s playoffs, he had four goals, 16 points, and 16 penalty minutes in 17
games.

He was pivotal in the 1975 Stanley Cup Final against the Bruins as he regularly
 went up against Phil Esposito in the faceoff dot and won a majority of draws
in the series. Clarke';s impact on the game and the Flyers franchise was
immense. His 89 assists in 1973-74 were a record for a center. He won a third
Hart Trophy after the 1975-76 season and was an All-Star every season between
1973 and 1976. He added a Selke Trophy following the 1982-83 season.Bobby
Clarke as captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, a role he held between 1972 and
1983.

Clarke retired relatively young at 34 after the 1983-84 season after his
production fell every season between 1976-77 and 1981-82. Following his
retirement, he immediately became Philadelphia';s general manager. He remained
in that role until he was fired after the 1989-90 season following Stanley Cup
Final appearances in 1985 and 1987. Afterwards, he served as GM of the
Minnesota North Stars and Florida Panthers before returning to the Flyers for
the 1994-95 season.

He moved to the team';s vice president role in 2006 and remains in that
position today. Clarke is widely considered the best player in the team';s
history. His number 16 was retired upon the conclusion of his playing career,
he was an inaugural member of the Flyers Hall of Fame, and was inducted into
the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987. He finished his career fourth all-time in
assists and 11th all-time in points.Right Wing Don Saleski

Another Saskatchewan native, Don Saleski became a Flyer after they drafted him
in the sixth round of the 1969 Entry Draft. Prior to his professional career,
he played for the Regina Pats, where he had 33 goals and 58 points in 40 games
his final season. During the Flyers'; Cup-winning seasons, he had 25 goals, 68
points, and 238 penalty minutes in 140 regular season games.

Compared to his regular season scoring average over those two seasons, his
average during the 1974 Playoffs was a bit higher with two goals and nine
points in 17 games. His production fell the following postseason with two goals
 and five points in 17 games. The Flyers traded Saleski to the Colorado Rockies
 during the 1978-79 season and he retired in 1980.Left Wing Dave Schultz

Also a Saskatchewan native, Dave "The Hammer" Schultz was the most fearsome of
the Broad Street Bullies. The Flyers drafted him in the fifth round of the 1969
 Entry Draft after a productive junior career. With the Swift Current Broncos,
he had 85 goals, 167 points, and 264 penalty minutes in 146 games.

He didn';t become known as an enforcer until he joined the Salem Rebels of the
Eastern Hockey League once his junior career ended. In one season with the
Rebels, he had 32 goals and 69 points in 67 games. However, he also had 356
penalty minutes.Dave "The Hammer" Schultz accumulated 1,386 penalty minutes in
297 regular season games with the Philadelphia Flyers. (Photo by Melchior
DiGiacomo/Getty Images)

In four AHL seasons following his season with Salem, he totaled 42 goals, 107
points, and 1,035 penalty minutes in 211 games. His presence in the penalty box
 proved to have staying power once he reached the NHL. In 1972-73, his first
full NHL season, he had 259 penalty minutes to lead the league. It was his
first of four times doing so. His production also dropped to nine goals and 21
points in 76 games.

Between the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, he combined for 820 penalty minutes
alongside 29 goals and 62 points in 149 games. His 472 penalty minutes during
the 1974-75 season remain an NHL record. His penalty minutes didn';t decline
once the postseason started either. In 17 games in 1974, he had 139 penalty
minutes which included nine majors, six misconducts, and five games with at
least 10 penalty minutes. It was a similar story in 1975 with 83 penalty
minutes in 17 games. That year he had seven majors, one misconduct, and three
games with 10-plus penalty minutes.

The Flyers traded Schultz to the Kings during the 1977-78 season. He also
played for the Penguins and Buffalo Sabres before retiring after the 1979-80
season. He finished his career with 2,292 penalty minutes, 134 majors, one
match penalty, 73 misconducts, and 25 game misconducts in 535 games, an average
 of over four penalty minutes per game. A regular fighter, he began taping his
hands with boxing tape, a practice banned with Rule 46.15, also known as "The
Schultz Rule," which gave players a match penalty if found with tape on their
hands.

Following his playing career, Schultz coached several teams in the minor
leagues and was inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame in 2009. Although
arguably the most famous enforcer in league history, he has regrets for
spreading a culture of violence in the game.

"I have certain regrets over my position as the hit man of hockey. I became a
role model for young players such as yourself...Pretty soon there were juniors
and peewees emulating Dave Schultz rather than Bobby Orr...If playing hockey
means fighting, then take up golf, tennis - anything that stresses skill over
simple violence." As written by Dave Schultz in A Letter to My Son About
Violence, The New York Times, Feb. 7, 1982Left Wing Bill Barber

The Flyers drafted Bill Barber seventh overall in 1972, the highest position of
 any of the Broad Street Bullies. He reached the NHL in his draft year after
just 11 AHL games. He finished that season with 30 goals and 64 points in 69
games and was runner-up in Calder Trophy voting. During the 1973-74 season, he
had 34 goals and 69 points in 75 games and only accumulated 54 penalty minutes.
 He added three goals and nine points in 17 playoff games that year.

His production increased again for the 1974-75 season with 34 goals, 71 points,
 and 66 penalty minutes in 79 games. In the 1975 Playoffs, he had six goals and
 15 points in 17 games. A reason for his uptick in performance during the
1974-75 season was his installment onto the LCB line of he, Clarke, and Reggie
Leach.Bill Barber speaking at the AHL Hall of Fame in 2013. (PhotoGraphics
Photography/AHL American Hockey League (AHL) AHL Hall of Fame)

His production increased to a career-high the following season with 50 goals
and 112 points and was an All-Star for the first time. His career ended after
the 1983-84 season at 31 after he was unable to recover from knee surgery. He
captained the Flyers in 1981-82 and part of 1982-83. He finished his career
with 420 regular season goals, most in franchise history, and was a three-time
All-Star. The Flyers retired his number in 1990, the same year he was inducted
into the Hockey Hall of Fame and one year after the Flyers inducted him into
their Hall of Fame.

Following his playing career, he became a Flyers assistant coach for three
seasons before becoming the head coach of their AHL affiliate. He returned to
the Flyers for the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons and won the 2001 Jack Adams
Award. He became the Tampa Bay Lightning director of player personnel in 2002
and won the 2004 Stanley Cup with them, his third. He returned to Philadelphia
after the 2007-08 season and currently serves as a scouting consultant.Center
Rick MacLeish

The Bruins drafted MacLeish fourth overall in the 1970 Entry Draft but he never
 played a game with them. Instead, he started his professional career with the
Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Professional Hockey League. The Bruins
traded him midseason to the Flyers in a three-way trade, part of which involved
 sending Parent to the Maple Leafs. MacLeish joined the Flyers afterwards and
played in 26 games his rookie season.Rick MacLeish was the first 50-goal scorer
 in Philadelphia Flyers history. (photo: Bettmann/Corbis)

Two seasons later, in 1972-73, he became the franchise';s first 50-goal scorer
and also hit the 100-point mark for the only time in his career. He had two
productive seasons between 1973 and 1975, scoring 70 goals and tallying 156
points and 92 penalty minutes in 158 regular season games. He was really good
in both Stanley Cup runs, leading the postseason in points both years. In 1974,
 he had 13 goals and 22 points in 17 games and 11 goals and 20 points in 17
games in 1975.

MacLeish had two more productive seasons with the Flyers in 1975-76 and
1976-77, including 49 goals and 97 points in the latter. The Flyers dealt him
to the Hartford Whalers during the 1981-82 campaign and he finished his career
playing for the Penguins and Red Wings before retiring after the 1983-84
season. In 1990, the Flyers inducted him into their Hall of Fame. MacLeish
passed away in 2016 after suffering from multiple health issues.Right Wing
Reggie Leach

From Manitoba, Leach played junior hockey for the same team as Clarke, the Flin
 Flon Bombers. The Bruins took him third overall in the 1970 Entry Draft and
traded him to the Golden Seals midway through his sophomore season. He played
two full seasons with them before the Flyers acquired him in 1974. Before
joining the Flyers, he had 60 goals and 120 points in 250 regular season games.
 As a Flyer, he finished with 306 goals and 514 points in 606 games.Reggie
Leach played two full seasons with the California Seals before he joined the
Philadelphia Flyers and won the 1976 Conn Smythe Trophy. (Photo by Melchior
DiGiacomo/Getty Images)

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