This Day in Hockey History – June 15, 1987 – Hall of Fame in Hockeytown

Toronto, the home of the Hockey Hall of Fame, has hosted all of the formal induction ceremonies but for three. On June 15, 1987, the Class of 1987 was inducted at the Westin Hotel Renaissance Ballroom in Detroit. That was the only time the U.S. has hosted an induction since the ceremonies formally began in 1959.

The inductees included three players, one linesman, one builder, and five hockey writers. Having the writers outnumber the players did not sit well with some raising discussions of limiting the writers to no more than two a year. The issue was that the category was relatively new (having a large backlog of nominees) and did not require a three-year waiting period. With these newest reporters, the total in the Hockey Hall of Fame reached 39.

The other controversy surrounded the builder, John A. Ziegler, Jr. He was still serving as NHL president at the time. Since he had grown up near Detroit, that seemed to be the reason for inducting him in this particular year instead of waiting. He entered the presidency in 1977, succeeding Clarence Campbell, after having done some legal work for the NHL a decade earlier. One of his major contributions was arranging for four teams (the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets) to survive the end of the World Hockey Association (WHA) by joining the NHL in 1979. Ziegler stepped down in 1992 and was replaced by Gary Bettman. At the 1987 ceremony, Ziegler’s namesake son announced, “It is with great honor, pride and love that I induct my father in to the hockey Hall of Fame.” Upon accepting, Ziegler remarked, “I haven’t figured out why or how it’s happened, but I’m damned glad it did happen.” He was the 69th builder inducted.

In 1987, the Hockey Hall of Fame opened up the officials’ category to allow linesmen in addition to referees. As their first linesman inductee, they chose Matt Pavelich, whose career as an NHL official spanned 23 years. After a season in the AHL, he debuted at the beginning of the 1956-57 season (while his brother Marty still played for the Red Wings). Pavelich officiated 1,727 regular-season games (and another 14 as a referee) and 245 playoff games, totals only beaten by one person for each category. These playoff games included 56 Stanley Cup Final games. When inducted, Pavelich had already spent eight years as a Supervisor of Officials, and he continued in that role until the end of the 1993-94 season. Both Scotty Morrison and Frank Udvari noted that Pavelich was dedicated and hardworking. At his induction, Pavelich said, “This is a great game. I’ve had a lot of fun. I’ve given my all. Thank you all.” He was the 10th on-ice officials inducted but first linesman.

One of the three players in the Class of 1987 was center Bobby Clarke, former captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. During his 15-year career with the Flyers, he led them in back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975, won the Hart Trophy three times, made the All-Star team four times, and once each took home the Masterton, Pearson/Lindsay, and Selke. He was rough and one of the best checkers, but he also finished 1,144 regular-season games with 1,210 points (358G, 852A). Upon hanging up his skates in 1984, Clarke became the Flyers’ general manager, leading them to the finals in 1985 and 1987. After some moving around in the early 1990s, he returned to Philadelphia in 1994. “I had an opportunity to live my dream,” Clarke commented at the induction ceremony. “It’s up to us in hockey to keep the dream alive.” When asked about the pinnacle of his career, Clarke answered, “More important than any individual award was going into the Hockey Hall of Fame. For me, as an individual player, nothing is as good as going into the Hall of Fame in your own sport. That’s so special.”

The inductees also included Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jacques Laperriere. In 12 seasons, he helped his team win six Stanley Cup championships (though he missed one due to injuries). Despite never scoring more than seven goals in each regular-season, his steadiness in defense really worked in their favor during playoffs. He had won the Calder Memorial Trophy as a rookie and the Norris Trophy for best defense. Laperriere suffered a career-ending knee injury that forced him to retire in 1974. He then turned to coaching, working as an assistant coach for the Canadiens between 1980 and 1997. During that time, the Habs won the Stanley Cup in 1986 and 1993. Laperriere then served the Boston Bruins as assistant coach for four seasons before moving on to the New Jersey Devils. As a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Laperriere wanted to thank everyone. “My first thought was that I had a lot of help from a lot of people – coaches Toe Blake and Scotty Bowman, and, of course, all the great players on so many great Canadiens teams. This is a night that I will never forget.”

The remaining member of the Class of 1987 was a goalie, Ed Giacomin. In his decade with the New York Rangers, he played 539 games, the fourth-highest for a Rangers goaltender. With them, he had a record of 267-172-89 and a save percentage of .905. After missing the playoffs in his first season, they made it every other season he backstopped the team. During the 1970-71 season (and the following season), they set a franchise record of 109 points, and Giacomin (with Gilles Villemure) earned the Vezina Trophy. In 1972, they made it to the Stanley Cup Final. Despite holding the franchise records for shutouts, Giacomin was placed on waivers in 1975 and was picked up by Detroit. The goalie never quite felt at home there, especially once the Red Wings chose other goalies over him in 1977. He retired with 54 shutouts, which still ranks him at 23rd in the NHL. Giacomin stayed on working in Detroit, where he was inducted in 1987. “My biggest thrill would have been winning the Stanley Cup, but an individual can get no greater honour than this.”

At the time of the 1987 induction, the Hockey Hall of Fame honored 182 players. As of 2019, the Hall has 280 players, 109 builders, and 16 officials. Since 1993, the induction ceremony has been held only at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Additional Source:

• Keith Gave, “Players live out dreams” and “Five media inductees is bad news,” Detroit Free Press, 16 June 1987, p. 7D.