30 years later, he’s still sticking by Mcsorley story
It’s one of the coolest pieces of hockey memorabilia I possess. And 30 years later, Marty Mcsorley’s stick still carries great memories.
It started with a simple question I asked to the thenlos Angeles Kings defenseman following their morning skate, June 3, 1993, at the Montreal Forum.
“Can I get a stick?” It was an innocent enough request, one I posed to several NHL tough guys between 198595, building a nifty little collection from some of the most intimidating players in the league, including my favorite Bruin, Brian Curran, and Philadelphia Flyers heavyweight Dave Brown, to resident enforcers like Todd Ewen, Ken Baumgartner and Donald Brashear.
Acquiring each stick yielded its own unique tale, but it was my meeting with Mcsorley in Montreal that has become the stuff of Hurley hockey folklore.
Breaking in as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the early ’80s, Mcsorley gained notoriety with the Edmonton Oilers. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound defenseman served as the bodyguard to future NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky. And when Gretzky was dealt to the Kings in 1988, “The Great One” insisted Marty be part of the deal. Together they helped forge a hockey hotbed in Hollywood, culminating with the Kings’ first-ever trip to the Stanley Cup Finals five years later.
Getting into Game 1 at the Montreal Forum was simply a stroke of good luck. I was invited by my friend Gene to collect sound bites for a radio station. I jumped at the chance.
The game itself quickly turned into a blowout as the Kings hammered the Habs, 4-1, with Gretzky adding a memorable empty netter from an impossible angle.
I interviewed Mcsorley in a cramped locker room following the game, in what proved to be my first-ever Q&A. My execution was a work in progress. Listening back to the tape, I can’t help but wince. I stuttered repeatedly and my voice cracked. Despite all this, Mcsorley stayed a true professional, fielding all my questions in an engaging manner.
I’d previously met Mcsorley earlier that year, following a practice at the Boston Garden. It was during our initial meeting when I originally asked him for a stick, but since the team was embarking on a lengthy East Coast swing, he couldn’t spare one.
“Get me next time,” he said.
I thought the morning skate of Game 2 was the perfect time, so as he was leaving the ice, I made my pitch.
“Hey Marty, can’t stick around for Game 2,” I said. “I’m heading back to Boston … can I get a stick?”
He briefly paused, taking a quick look around the runway.
“Go by the locker room and I’ll slip one to you,” he whispered. “Just don’t show it to anybody, because a bunch of other people have already asked me for one.”
I quickly headed over watching Mcsorley dart inside the dressing room before emerging to hand a stick to a burly security guard, giving him specific marching orders.
“Marty doesn’t want you hanging around with this,” the guard reiterated. “Do you have a car or something you can put this in?”
“Yes, I do,” I said. He handed over the Christian 2020 Excell, Snap Wax sticky to the touch, and I quickly made my way to the exit. Little did I know that I landed what Montreal Canadiens columnist the late Red Fisher would have probably dubbed “the motherof-all hockey mementos.”
Later that night I met up with my friends to catch Game 2 at the Powderhouse Pub in Malden, telling them about my trip. The Kings took a 2-1 lead late in the third period, before Canadiens coach Jaques Demers stepped in asking the officials to measure Mcsorley’s stick with 1:45 left in regulation. It turned out it had an illegal curve, prompting a pivotal penalty.
The Habs took full advantage netting the gametying tally on the power play, before defenseman Eric Desjardins buried the game-winner in sudden death overtime, leaving us stunned.
Then it suddenly hit me: “You don’t think Marty thinks I tipped off the Canadiens, do you?”
“Probably not,” my friend Griff replied. “But one things for sure… He’ll never give out another stick again.”
I headed home and upon closer inspection noticed my stick had the same banana-sized curve. It was so distinctive, so top-heavy, that it would literally tip over when I tried to stand it on its side.
The illegal stick proved to be the turning point of the series, as Montreal won the next three to clinch the Stanley Cup. Los Angeles failed to win another postseason game for the remainder of the 20th century, missing the playoffs in five of its next seven seasons. But the Kings finally snapped the streak, winning the Stanley Cup twice in 2012 and 2014, lifting any rumblings of a curse.
Six seasons later, I caught up with Mcsorley after he signed with the Bruins in 1999. I told him I still had the stick he gave me back in ’93, and he simply smiled.
“That’s great to hear,” Mcsorley said. “So many times, I give stuff out to people only to see it for sale somewhere.”
Turns out he didn’t think I was a Canadiens spy after all.
My stick-collecting days came to an end around 1995, after I joined the sports media ranks full time, but they’ve left a lasting impression.
Today, Mcsorley’s stick stands prominently in the corner of my office next to Curran’s black Sherwood 7030 I got in 1985. And while it may be a little dusty, and the Snap Wax melted, it’s still the ultimate Stanley Cup souvenir, and a true testament to my hockey stick-to-itiveness.
And nothing can ever take that away from me.
Christopher Hurley is a hockey stick connoisseur and a multimedia sports journalist with the Lowell Sun. Contact him at churley@lowellsun.com