In both 1974 and 1975 goalie Bernie Parent, center Bob Clarke (both also Honoured Members of the Hockey Hall of Fame) and their Philadelphia Flyer teammates captured hockey's "Holy Grail", the Stanley Cup, for one of the truly seminal events in the then three century history of William Penn's "greene countrie towne" on the Delaware River. Flyer coach Fred Shero would always say that when you win the ultimate prize you will "walk together forever", and now almost four decades later that is exactly what these players are now doing in bronze as well as a seven foot tall statue of Parent, Clarke, and the Cup was unveiled at the corner of 11th Street and Pattison Avenue in front or "Broad Street Bullies" and Xfinity Live on Saturday, March 30.

Designed by STATUES.COM, the statue was custom designed, created and built over a period of nine months by a talented sculpting and fabrication team who specializes in statue manufacturing. The team included Lead Production Manager Vasilios Karpos, Lead Foundry Manager Ken Donnelly, artisan foundry refining by Miguel Cardoso and Yanni Trastsis, silicone mold construction by Karpos and Trastis and clay sculpting construction by Virgil Oirtle and Karpos.

Sculpting began from scratch using fine artistic clays based off of the famed photo as a direct reference to create detailed accuracy of not only that moment in time but of both players portraiture, uniforms and the Stanley Cup itself.

After the seven-foot tall model was completed and approved, a silicone mold was constructed followed by highly skilled bronze foundry work, finishing the over 400 lbs. bronze monument. The entire process took almost nine months to complete at the company's studios in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Lifting the Cup is pretty easy but winning it is extremely hard," Clarke said in brief remarks "For our group of players, this statue represents them as Stanley Cup Champions who will always 'walk together forever' as Fred Shero said."

I was there as well on the afternoon of May 19, 1974 when Parent and the Flyers shut out the Boston Bruins by a score of 1-0 on a first period goal by Rick MacLeish, and although I was not a player or a coach but just a member of the media that day (that's me in the avatar above drinking from the Cup in the Flyers' lockerroom that day) I will never forget the event and feel that in a way I, the 17,000+ others in the Spectrum on the steamy Sunday afternoon, and the the literally millions who lined Broad Street for the parade a few days later will in a sense be "walking together forever" as well as this rag tag bunch of Canadian kids brought the whole Delaware Valley together as one that day.

It was a thrill to be sitting on an old Spectrum folding chair at the ceremony with so many other folks who there as well in 1974 as the statue was unveiled. I have tried to memorialize today's event with a gallery of photographs I took of my old friends some 39 years after they first carried the Cup around the ice in the Spectrum that once stood just a few hundred feet away.

And now -- starting with the original event -- here are the pictures ...


Parent and Clarke carry the Cup after winning it in 1975 for the second time in a row....


...and now they will do so "forever" in bronze.


Flyer and Hockey Hall of Famer Bill Barber greets the fans.


Ed Snider and Bernie Parent


"Arnie", "Hound", "Little O", "Thunder Mouth", and "The Rifle"


Clarkie addresses the crowd ...


...as does Bernie...


...as workers prepare to unveil the statue "Walk Together Forever".


The shroud is lifted...


...and the statue revealed!


Don Saleski, Orest Kindrachuk, Joe Kadlec, Ed Snider, Bernie Parent, Bob Clarke, Reggie Leach and Bill Barber


Bernie holding the Cup


Bernie and Clarkie


The "LCB Line" reunited


"Walk Together Forever"


Clarkie in bronze


Bernie in bronze