St. Louis Blues Hockey Legends

We chat with Red Berenson about his late, long-time friend and hockey buddy on this one. -- Goalies were picked first in the 60s expansion draft, but after that, Jimmy Roberts became the first skater picked by the Blues to start their franchise. Jimmy played a key role in the early succcess of the team. He also played with Cup winning teams in Montreal. Roberts was also a valued assistant coach with the Blues in the late 1990s. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2025. Enjoy!

The sport of hockey, and the Blues, have produced many unusual and interesting surnames over the years. In this episode, we focus on some of the more unusual, and sometimes funny, surnames and provide some background information on the person who bore the name. Hope you enjoy the journey back in time.

The Blues picked 2nd in the 1979 NHL entry draft and selected a big (for the time) forward Perry Turnbull. He wore the number 9 jersey and quickly became a favorite of many fans with his scoring touch and rough-and-tumble style of play. After a trade to Montreal, and another to Winnipeg, he returned to the Blues for another tour of duty in 1988. Enjoy!

Two of the people who were close to Ron Caron during his tenure with the Blues ('83-'94) were Charlie Hodges and George Csolak. Charlie worked in the PR office of the Blues and dealt with Mr. Caron regularly. George was a Blues beat writer for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat and covered "The Professor" closely and became friends. Stories from the Caron era of Blues hockey in this episode.

Nearing retirement, Jim Schmuke shares some of the behind-the-scenes stories from his years of ice maintenance, driving the Zam, and building maintenance for the Blues and their buildings. Also, a one-in-a-million story of how grabbing a game puck that made its way off the ice, turned into a romance and marriage for him and his wife. Enjoy!

Rising Blues star defenseman Bob Gassoff tragically died in a 1977 motorcycle accident at a team post-season party. Many think it was an event that may have prevented the Blues young stars of the era from winning a Stanley Cup. Gassoff's son Bob Jr. was born two months later. His relationship with the team, and its nurturing of him, has created an amazing hockey, and post-hockey, life. We touch all the bases with Bob Gassoff Jr.

It’s another “name game” pod with four of our recent legends…where we ask them to react to the names of people from their hockey lives. We throw rapid-fire names at the great, and mostly-retired, anthem singer Charles Glenn. Early Blues scoring superstar and Hall-of Famer Wayne Babych. The first St. Louisan to make the NHL, and likeable, gregarious tough guy Cam Janssen, and our inspirational hero for the 2019 Stanley Cup run Laila Anderson…with her dad Scott.

Laila was accepted as a sort-of team mascot during the Blues 2019 Stanley Cup run as she was battling a life-threatening auto-immune disorder. She required a bone marrow transplant and recovered in time to be part of all the fun. We chat with Laila and her father Scott about the challenges and the excitement of 2019 and life now as a happy, and more importantly, healthy teenage young woman.

Quite a few items have been accumulated at the man-cave bar of your host in 39 years as Blues PA guy. So, on this episode, the term "legend" takes on the meaning of "unauthenticated story". I hope you enjoy this visit to Tom's Bar.

This episode is a roundup of some of the great stories told by our Legends in the early days of the podcast. The Legends podcast launched in November of ’24 with popularity and downloads increasing greatly in the past few months. Many fans may have missed some outstanding content and stories. So, it's time to revisit some of the highlights from late ’24 and early ‘25.

Wayne Babych was an amazing athlete, who decided on a hockey career, even though he had other options. He was a shooting-star when drafted by the Blues and had instant success as part of the renowned “kid line” with Bernie Federko and Brian Sutter in the late 70s. If not for a succession of unfortunate injuries, he would likely be in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. He has a very interesting post-hockey life too. Enjoy our chat with the great Wayne Babych.

Cam Janssen, born in St. Louis and raised in Eureka, Missouri is the first ever born-and-raised St. Louisan to suit up in the NHL. He was famous for the rough stuff in hockey, and takes great pride in it. He spent several seasons exciting the crowds at the Enterprise Center. Cam has a great way of telling a story…Enjoy!

We re-connect with the long-time, fan-favorite National Anthem performer Charles Glenn. We’ll find out how he’s doing,and reminisce about his days bringing down the house with his iconic rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

We call it the Bonus Round...or Greatest Hits. Not part of our original podcast with these legends...We ask for quick reactions to the names of people in their careers. Always fun and interesting. Ken Wilson, Jamal Mayers, Joe Micheletti, Jim Thomas and Adam Oates all give their thoughts on the people they knew...and know.

A Hockey hall of famer who teamed with The Golden Brett to become the iconic Hull and Oates duo during his tenure with the Blues. Adam Oates was a college star at RPI…became an elite playmaking center in the NHL…and also spent time coaching after his playing career. From a rough start all the way to the Hall. Enjoy this episode with the great Adam Oates.

Memories abound when we chat with Jim, who covered the Blues for the last six years of his heralded sportswriting career. That includes the Blues Stanley Cup run in 2019. A little Rams, and a lot of Blues stories in this one. Enjoy!

Joe recounts his entry into coaching with the Blues and the "tough love" he received from HOF broadcaster Dan Kelly at the start of his illustrious broadcasting career. Also, an amazing serendipitous conversation with John Kelly that is key to his breaks in the business. Thoughts on his time in New York as well.

A man whose hockey life has taken many great and admirable turns. A Minnesota high-school state champion and University of Minnesota two-time NCAA champion. A Blues player and coach. A highly respected hockey analyst for Blues, Minnesota, New York Islanders and Rangers, and National broadcasts. Part 1 features his early life and Herb Brooks stories.

Jeremy Rutherford- the Blues writer for The Athletic, is also the author of 100 Things Blues Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. We talk about the franchise-changing occurences for The Note and JR adds never-before-heard WOW! nuggets to the story. And JR adds some thoughts about the state of the Blues heading into the '25-'26 season.

Blues fan favorite of the early 2000s. A college star at Western Michigan, a leave-it-all-on-the-ice type when he got to the Blues…and eventually a Stanley Cup champion with the Blackhawks. Now a hockey analyst for Sportsnet. "Jammer" takes us down memory lane.

Current Blues organist Jeremy Boyer joins us to talk about his tenure at games. But we also focus on the history of Blues legends of the keyboard and their contributions to the great tradition enjoyed by Blues fans since 1967. Jeremy does some playing as well.

Our conversation with Ken Wilson continues in this bonus episode. We hear about his thoughts on broadcasting in 2025, his memoir book, and get his reactions to the names of the people of his career. Enjoy!

Ken Wilson...famous for his "Oh Baby" call after exciting moments in a game...talks about his youth, getting started in calling games, entrance to St. Louis and Blues hockey, and how the "Oh baby" call got started. He also called one of the iconic moments in baseball history while working Cincinnati Reds games. Enjoy our visit with Ken!

Never before heard knee-jerk reactions to the names of the people in their hockey lives. The names of Plager, Hitchcock, Armstrong, Steen, Tarasenko, Perron, Chase, Lidstrom and more come up in this half-hour of fun. Enjoy!

David Backes came to the Blues with high expectations after an outstanding junior hockey and collegiate career. During his captaincy, the Blues went from a struggling team to a playoff team with Cup potential. He remains the only American-born Blues captain in franchise history. Now living in the Nashville area, we catch up with David and his life before, and after, hockey.

He's been a part of Blues game nights for going on four decades. Celebrating Blues goals in his special way has become a tradition and a thorn in the saddle of visiting players. A native St. Louisan Ron Baechle loves the team, the sport, and the fans. Enjoy getting to know more about The Towel Man on this episode!

An NCAA championship with Northern Michigan U. is a highlight of his hockey life. But that was topped by a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in his final year in the NHL. He came to the Blues and became captain at a difficult time in franchise history. Lots of great reminiscing with "Dally" on this one.

They called him "Bass" for short...and "Scud" for identifying his style of play. Bobby Bassen was like a scud missile flying around the rink and blasting the opposition. Small in stature, but huge in impact for the Blues teams of the 1990s. His father, Hank Bassen, was an NHL goalie, so the Calgary native came by his skates naturally. Enjoy the memories!

Barret Jackman-- 1st Round draft pick. Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) winner in 2003. A stellar NHL career which was hampered by injury and a work stoppage. But easily one of the best D-men in franchise history. Also tabbed as the successor to Bruce Affleck to run the Blues Alumni Association.

When every NHL team had someone to "police the rink", Twister was one of the best ever to throw hands in a hockey game. A career cut short by a motorcycle accident, he details some of the details of how he got to the NHL...and how he was determined to stay. And some amazing details on his unfortunate motorcycle incident. Enjoy!

Bonus round with Bowman, Liut, Berenson and Federko. They give their unfiltered impressions of some of the other stars of their lives and careers. Never before seen/heard content. Enjoy!

Mike talks about his life, career as a Blue. Why he was traded at the height of his career. And how he approaches being the agent for current Blues goalie Jordan Binnington.

You see him regularly on the Blues game telecasts analyzing from the studio. You know he's a former player. But do you know his full story as a person and great player? It's a major part of Blues history and it's all here in episode 11. Enjoy!

Many believe, with good reason, that he is the greatest hockey coach of all time. He led the Blues to the Stanley Cup finals in the first three years of the team's existence. He won the Cup in Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit. He's 91 and still going strong. Enjoy Blues and hockey history in our conversation with William Scott Bowman OC.

The first Blues superstar forward and later one of college hockey's all-time great coaches. We visit with "The Red Baron" about his famous 6-goal game, his early exposure to hockey in Saskatchewan, and his transition to coaching legend. He's 85, but you'd never know it...still sharp as can be. Enjoy!

From his early days struggling to make his kids teams in Alberta, to eventual NHL stardom, Garry shares the stories of his time...including that awful day in '77 when he lost a good friend, and we all lost a Blues star, in another Blues Hall-of-Famer Bob Gassoff. Enjoy the Garry Unger story!

We continue our visit with Susie Mathieu. Her memory is crystal clear regarding the history of the Blues. And she is happy to share her stories with us about Hull, Keenan and other personalities of her tenure. Enjoy!

Susie Mathieu not only was PR Director for the Blues, she practically ran the team single-handedly for a time. The stories are priceless. Enjoy!

Would the Blues have made it without him? No way to know for sure. But many would say hockey in St. Louis would not have been nearly as exciting and interesting had he not been the team's broadcaster in those early days.

From not being allowed to play on Sundays to the NHL and a Blues star in many ways for 40 years. We get the lowdown on a 100 point season in junior hockey and his path to the NHL and becoming a Blues executive.

Keith Tkachuk shares childhood memories, thoughts on being the father of two NHL stars, and other rememberances from a likely Hockey Hall of Fame career.

Chaser takes time out from his battle with leukemia at Siteman Cancer Center to be our first legend. He gives a health update, tells stories of his youth hockey days in Porcupine Plains, Saskatchewan. He provides details on his rise to the NHL, and how it happened. And, you'll hear about the Blues-Wings battle in '93 that featured the goalie fight and much more with Detroit enforcer Bob Probert. Many thanks to Kelly for being our first legend on this podcast.

This episode is essentially a test run with a few stories. 1) How I got the PA job with the Blues. and 2) My embarassing Wayne Gretzky story. I'm looking forward to doing this podcast with many outstanding guests and their stories. I hope you enjoy it and tell your friends to give it a listen. Thanks, Tom