No. 8 answers 18
Lynnfield resident and Big Bad Bruin Ken Hodge hitsthe links with North Shore Golf
By Bob Albright
When not mucking it up in the corners of the old Boston Garden, Ken Hodge has called the North Shore his home for more than 35 years.
North Shore Golf caught up with the former Boston Bruin great at his spacious Lynnfield home nestled no more than a 3-wood away from the fairways at Sagamore Spring Golf Club to catch up on his well-honed golf game, the NHL lockout, and of course, his glory days with the Big Bad Bruins.
An eventual three-time NHL All-Star, an admittedly reluctant Hodge came to the Bruins from Chicago along with Phil Esposito and Fred Stanfield in a 1967 deal that is still considered grand larceny in hockey circles. Paced by the famed Hodge-Esposito-Cashman line, the Bruins quickly rose from the cellar to the dominant team of their era, winning two Stanley Cups and in the process creating a love affair between the city and the team.
At 60 years old, Hodge still keeps busy. In addition to his job as an executive with a printing company in Chelmsford that he has held for the last 18 years, Hodge also makes it a priority to spend time his wife of more than 40 years, Mary, their five children and four grandchildren. He still finds plenty of time for the links, however, where he’s a single-digit handicap and a long-time fixture on the local Pro-Am and charity tournament scene.
In the winter months, Hodge still laces up the blades often to play in a steady slate of alumni games where he has had the opportunity to play with all three of his sons. He’s still known to make more than few goalies squirm with his famed lethal wrist shot.
Let’s see, a wrist shot from the slot versus a pitching wedge from 110 yards out? Sounds like as good a place as any to tee off this 18.
1. What are the transferable skills, if any, between golf and hockey?
I think the comparison of the motion of the wrists and arms is comparable to the shooting of a hockey puck. I think the most important thing in golf is following through, and I think if you look at anyone taking a slap shot or a wrist shot in hockey, the follow through is very important.
2. Growing up in Canada, did you have much exposure to the game of golf, and how did you get introduced to the sport?
Growing up in Canada, golf was basically for the elite. It wasn’t as widespread or as popular as it is today. Sports like tennis and golf weren’t played that much. It wasn’t really considered a sport to be involved with. It wasn’t the macho thing to be carrying around a set of golf clubs with your buddies, plus it cost a lot of money and there wasn’t a lot to go around. My introduction came through going to junior training camp in St. Catherines and guys were playing golf.
3. Was there one course that the Bruins of the early ’70s called home?
The Colonial. George Page, who was the owner of the Colonial at the time, basically gave us the opportunity to play at the country club. Eddie Johnston was very friendly with the head pro, Sammy Videtta. We had a good rapport with a lot of the local pros. When we were in our heyday in the 70’s, they were at all the games and they were all a part of us maturing and growing up, and we frequented a lot of their clubs as guests and played in Monday Pro-Ams.
4. Of all the teammates you’ve had on the ice, who’s the best golfer?
A lot of the guys have honed their games and did very well. Bobby (Orr) has really come on strong as a golfer and Derek (Sanderson) has always been involved in the game and is a good golfer – if you can believe his handicap. Eddie Westfall, Eddie Johnston, (Gerry) Cheevers, we’ve got a lot of good golfers. A lot of the guys are as competitive on the course as they were on the ice.
5. What’s the best charity tournament you have played in?
I like playing in tournaments that allow you to play your own ball. The scramble format is good and it does help expedite a round at a course when you have a large number of players, but I like to play my own ball. But I try to make it fun when I play in those.
There’s enough time when you’re playing with some buddies to take it serious, but with these charity matches they’re exactly what they’re suppose to be: a chance to meet and greet some people and raise some money for a very good cause.
6. Best local course you’ve played?
Oh boy, that’s going to get me in a lot of trouble. Probably the course that really endears itself to me the most around here is Salem Country Club. I think it brings everything into play. It’s an old Donald Ross golf course that really brings out the best in your game. It’s not an overpowering course in terms of length, but it surprises you how long it can be on some holes.
7. Where else do you like to play in the area?
I love Granite Links although you can get caught up in the scenery. I love playing Pinehills. The part of being a celebrity that has been tremendous is some of the courses I’ve had an opportunity to play. I’ve played Sankaty Head, Farm Neck, Kittansett – so many great courses. I love playing Andover Country Club. I think Andover is one of the toughest golf courses around here.
8. What’s your undoing on the course?
Probably consistency. Keeping a mental approach to the game. I find it very demanding to stay mentally focused for 18 holes. There are also so many things to work on in golf and truthfully I don’t think we practice as much as we should as an average golfer. We take our clubs out of the trunk of the car and expect to shoot a 65.
9. Is it safe to say that sports rivalries in the ’70s were more intense than they appear today?
Yes. I would say so because we saw each other a lot more and played each other a lot more. You have to remember that when I started playing there were only six teams and we saw each other 14 times a year. A lot of those games were back-to-back Saturday and Sunday and they were very fresh in both the players’ and the fans’ minds. Anything that boiled over in the game Saturday night would not only be in the media, but would be played up from the players’ standpoint as well.
10. What was it like to go from the Bruins to the Rangers in 1976?
I hated every minute of it truthfully. If I had to do it over again and I had my choice of which team to go to, I would not have gone to the New York Rangers. It was just not a situation that was good for my family or me. They were in a rebuilding mode and it was just a very unsettling time for my family and me.
11. The Big Bad Bruins are almost as legendary for their antics off the ice as on it. Who was the ringleader the night that you guys busted Phil Esposito –hospital bed and all – out of MGH and wheeled him down the street to a nearby watering hole?
I think we all were. We were over at a bar called the Branding Iron, which was coincidentally owned by George Page and Bobby (Orr). We were just over there drinking, and, like I said, we were a close fraternity and someone mentioned that Espo was close by and let’s go get him. Once again, it was an era when you could get away with doing things like that because we were the Bruins. You know we didn’t do any real damage and we went and got him. Bobby Orr was used as the ploy to get the nurses away from the station so we could get him down the hall.
12. Given some of the well known extracurricular activities, how were you guys able to be as successful as you were on the ice during that era?
The chemistry really jelled, and I think we worked at making that chemistry. We set some rules in the locker room that on the road you would have to stop by and have a drink as a team before you did anything else. We made the same rules at home where after a game someone would pick a place and the whole team would show up, husband and wife or boyfriend and girlfriend whatever it was, to be together. It was mandated and if you didn’t show up there better be a damn good reason why you didn’t.
13. You scored 50 goals in 1973-74, more than 40 goals three times and notched 105 points twice. Did you ever feel that those accomplishments got lost in the shadow of some of your more high profile teammates in Boston?
No. I was very proud of my accomplishments. I knew I was part of a team. I knew that Cashman and Hodge were as important to the team as Esposito as Orr. We played together as a team so anybody’s accomplishments never overshadowed the fact that we wanted to win these two Stanley Cups, and the sin of it all is that we probably should have won more, truth be known.
14. Many have said that in your day the Bruins enjoyed a goal-a-game home ice advantage playing at the Garden. True?
Maybe more. I would think that if you were not a physical team and didn’t like that style of play, coming into that building would be pretty intimidating. That’s just how we were back then. If somebody got in trouble it was all for one and one for all. I don’t think I realized what an intimidating place it was until my first trip back with the Rangers. It was a different feeling, very different.
15. Which side do you come down on in the current labor-management impasse?
It’s tough to relate to the numbers that they are passing around. I don’t think anyone is going to win in this whole deal, and I think that the fans are the losers. I think the league and the players have a tremendous PR job ahead of them to get the fans back to the buildings. How they are going to do it, I don’t know.
16. Back in your playing days could you ever foresee a situation like that?
We weren’t making the type of money nor did we have the situation that these players have today to withstand a long lockout. The majority of guys had to go and get jobs in the summer time. You’re talking about guys making $15, $20, $30 or $40,000 a year.
It was talked about striking a couple times, and I was there when the players’ union was formed and Alan Eagleson came into the room and talked about it, and it was a scary thing. You were talking about bucking a trend that had gone on for quite some time.
17. What was it like to come full circle and watch your son, Ken Jr., break in on the same ice and with the same team that you starred for?
Goosebumps. It was a feeling of a greater sense of accomplishment of raising a son and having him get to play in the old Boston Garden – all three of my sons got the chance to play there. Just getting the chance to sit in the stands and watch your children play, it’s something that will be a part of me for a long time.
18. You came to Boston along with Phil Esposito and Fred Stanfield (for Gilles Marotte, Pit Martin and Jack Norris) in a trade that paved the way for two Stanley Cups. Did you have any feeling back then it would turn out that way?
Absolutely not and there’s not one of us that can say that we did. None of us could have envisioned what was going to take place here with hockey in New England. Who knew? We knew that we were going to play with the greatest player in the world in Bobby Orr. We just didn’t know how far our games would blossom as well.
