58. Rogie Vachon and the L.A. Kings

In February of 1975, fans in the NHL had to do a double take when they looked at the standings. That's because alongside the Montreal Canadiens and the defending champion Flyers was a rag-tag group of castoffs who scored just often enough to give their goalie a lead, and he would do the rest. Rogie Vachon and the L.A. Kings were playing inspiring hockey and were on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week 50 years ago. After winning three Stanley Cups in Montreal, Vachon was now in his 4th season in Southern California and the 5'7 goaltender was bigger than ever as fans began to really notice they had something special as the last line of defense at the Forum in Inglewood. "Save, Vachon!" was a common phrase heard numerous times a game from Bob Miller, the voice of the Kings and a special bond between Rogie and the fans of L.A. was formed. He would go on to be the first player in Kings history to have his number retired in 1985 and 30 years later, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Despite never winning a Cup after his playing days in Montreal ended, Vachon made a lasting impression on Los Angeles as both a player and a General Manager. In 1988, under the ownership of Bruce McNall, Vachon was instrumental in making one of the biggest deals in sports history acquiring Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers. The Great One was now in L.A. and the NHL was about to explode on the West Coast. Hear how this hockey lifer who played as a kid with the grown ups and slept in the car when they would go grab a beer afterwards came from a rural farm in Canada and ended up being a member of royalty in L.A. The Kings Rogie Vachon on this weeks Past Our Prime podcast. Listen and subscribe to the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices