50 years since he played pivotal role on Philly Flyers win
AUNDECK OMNI KANING—With time running out in game six of the 1974-1975 Stanley Cup finals, Reggie Leach and the Philadelphia Flyers were up by a 2-0 score over the Buffalo Sabres in a game played in Buffalo.
“I was on the bench, and Larry Goodenough, another of the new players on the team that year was beside me and Larry was yelling, ‘Reg we’re going to win the Cup!’ It was very exciting what was going on,” stated Reggie Leach, an Aundeck Omni Kaning (AOK) resident who was a member of that Flyers Stanley Cup winning team, having joined the team prior to that season in a trade with the California Golden Seals. “When the time ran out, I saw Bobby Clarke throwing his gloves in the air. I kind of went blank after that—we were all on the ice and it was insane.”
“Back then we didn’t have each member of the team parade around the ice surface with the Cup,” said Mr. Leach. “Bobby (Clarke) and Bernie Parent (Flyers goalie) did and the rest of the team followed them around the ice.”
Mr. Leach and the Flyers are celebrating the 50th anniversary this year of the team’s Stanley Cup win. He pointed out the Flyers recently published a story (on their history site) of Stuart Sacks of the Philadelphia Inquirer with the headline, ‘Reggie Leach was the final ingredient the Flyers needed to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions in 1975.’
It was a lifelong dream to win the Cup, said Mr. Leach, although he told the story of the tough times he experienced the previous years after being drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1970 (the year they won the Cup) in the National Hockey League amateur draft, not playing much for the team in 1971, and then being traded to the California Golden Seals, one of the worst teams in the league. He acknowledged he actually lost some interest in playing hockey at the time.
“After the Flyers won the Cup in 1973-1974 (against Boston in the finals), I was traded to the Flyers a week later (from California),” said Mr. Leach. “What a difference this made in my life. The thing with the trade from California was that I had rejected a trade they were going to involve me in a year earlier. I told our general manager that I didn’t want to be traded. He had drafted me out of junior hockey (with the Flin Flon Bombers of the Western Hockey League). I finished the year with California and then I got traded in May 1975.”
“I was 25 years old when I was traded to the Flyers,” said Mr. Leach. “I was really happy to be traded. In the article the Inquirer posted, Bobby Clarke, who I had played with in junior hockey in Flin Flon, told the story of Keith Allen (general manager of the Flyers) who had called him and asked ‘Do you think Reg Leach would be good for us?’”
“Bobby told Mr. Allen ‘Reggie will score 35 or 40 goals in a bad year for us. If you can get him, he would be good for us’,” Mr. Leach recalled.
However, by Christmas of 1974, Mr. Leach had only scored a total of five goals for the Flyers that season. But by the end of the season, he had scored a team best 45 goals (and 78 points). “Going to Philadelphia and playing for the Flyers was terrific, and hockey was a lot of fun again for me.”
“It was the first time (1974-75) I played in the NHL playoffs,” he said.
“I started my career in Boston for one-and-a-half years, I was only playing like one shift per game. When you aren’t playing you begin to question yourself. Then I got traded to California and at 21, I was the third oldest player on the team,” Mr. Leach explained. “By the time I was going into my third year in California things were tough; we were losing all the time. I had lost interest in playing hockey.”
“Everything changed for me, including my attitude, when I was traded to the Flyers,” said Mr. Leach. “I was really happy, but the tough thing for me is that I had not been playing much for two-three years, and now I had to get into game shape, learn about a new team and a new system, and become a team player.”
“Players like Don Saleski, Bobby Clarke and Dave Schultz were really good to me when I arrived, and they and the organization welcomed me like family,” he said. “I had to learn what it was to win again. I stayed after practice a lot to get into game shape. And learning the system implemented by our coach Freddie Shero was all good. It took a while, but then I got to play on the same line with Bobby (Clarke) and Bill Barber was our left wing.”
Skating on the ‘LCB line’ with his buddy Clarke and Barber worked. The line, named after the first letter of their last names, is one of the most famous in NHL history. They played together as a line for about seven-eight seasons.
“We are still considered one of the top 15-20 forward lines to ever play in the NHL,” said Reggie.
As for the 1975 playoffs, the Flyers “beat the (Toronto) Maple Leafs in four straight games in the first round.”
The Flyers then faced off against the New York Islanders in the semi-finals. After the Flyers jumped out to a three-games to none lead in the best four of seven games in the series, the Islanders won three straight to tie the series, with the Flyers winning game seven.
“The Islanders had been behind Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs, also 3-0, and came back to win in seven games,” recalled Mr. Leach. “I think we beat them something like 7-1 in game seven, but you could see they were an up and coming team and they drafted guys like Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy in 1977 (eventually winning four straight Stanley Cups).”
“We beat Buffalo in the sixth game of the finals 2-0,” said Mr. Leach. While the majority of the team’s goals and points came from the LCB line, the Inquirer reported, “The funny thing is that the Stanley-cup winning goal came after a tweak to the line. Coach Freed Shero put Bob Kelly on the line instead of Barber to start the third period of the scoreless game. It took 11 seconds to make history. “I just dumped it in around the net, and Kely came in out of nowhere and hit Jerry Korab behind the net,” Mr. Leach said. “He stole the puck and came right around the net and beat Roger Crozier.” Bill Clement added the insurance goal and Bernie Parent pitched the shutout.
A year later the Flyers were defeated in the finals of playoffs by Montreal in four straight games. But the games were close and Mr. Leach pointed out, “We didn’t have (centreman) Rick MacLeish (or goalie) Bernie Parent, although Wayne Stephenson in net had a really good year for us.”
After Mr. Leach settled in, he found his game in a major way. His best post-season was in the 1976 playoffs when he scored an NHL-record 19 goals (tied by Jari Kurri of Edmonton in 1985) and was named the Conn Smythe winner despite being on the losing side. Mr. Leach potted eight goals and 10 points on the way to the Stanley Cup in 1975.
“Winning the Stanley Cup was a once-in-a-lifetime dream,” stated Mr. Leach. “There have been a lot of players who played many years and never got close to winning the cup.” He ended up playing in three Stanley Cup finals in his career and a couple of semi-finals as well.
Nicknamed “The Riverton Rifle,” Mr. Leach scored a still-standing Flyers club record of 61 goals in 1975-76 and another 50 in 1979-1980.
Along with celebrating the anniversary of the Flyers winning the Stanley Cup, Mr. Leach can also celebrate that Netflix has released “The Underdog” a documentary about him.
The Daily Sporting News reported on May 27, that the release of the documentary chronicles the extraordinary life and career of Mr. Leach. The film, which is slated for release on July 26, will provide an intimate look into his journey of one of the most prolific goal-scorers in NHL history, a trailblazer who defied odds and inspired generations.
“Beyond the on-ice heroics, “The Underdog” shines a light on Mr. Leach’s profound cultural significance. As one of the few Indigenous players in the NHL during his era, he became a symbol of hope and resilience for countless First Nations communities,” the release notes. “The film explores the challenges he faced as an Indigenous athlete, the stereotypes he battled, and his unwavering commitment to his heritage. It also highlights his post-playing career advocacy, where he has dedicated himself to youth hockey programs and promoting positive role models within Indigenous communities, using his platform to inspire and uplift.”
