Paul Stewart: Fond Memories of the Madhouse on Madison

Paul Stewart: Fond Memories of the Madhouse on Madison
- Paul Stewart

I was there the night Basil broke his leg and it was a scary sight. Back in the day tough guys had the most respect of anyone playing despite the usual ball busting. Basil used to ask Mike Peluso "how's Indy?" all the time as that's where the hawks farm team was at the time. That leg incident did make Basil a bit more humble.

During the anthem in the playoffs that Barton organ might as well have not bothered to play because you couldn't hear it over the crowd. My gramps knew Melgard and once in a while he'd climb the ladder to the organ loft and play it during the warmup. Seemed tough to do because there was a time delay after you hit a key. But he always had a huge smile on his face when he was tickling away at that monstrous keyboard.

And Bryan Lewis? Grade A+ jagbag.

Keep it coming Stewie.

6628 has the best Stadium and UC stories.

My memories of the Stadium go back to the epic wars between the Bruins and Hawks in 69-70. Still vividly remember the way cigar smoke hung up in the rafters and the way the building literally shook when the Hawks scored. Half the time, I could not see the action because of high up our seats were and everyone standing—I was too small.

Think of the players in those games: Orr, Hull, Mikita, both Espositos.

Hard not to become a lifelong fan being exposed to that at a young age.

And like you, Paul, my hockey bloodlines ran through Boston first (where I was born) and later Chicago. My most treasured sweater is a CCM throwback Black Orr 4.

Nice blog as always.

A great blog about a great place to watch a hockey game.

I have many memories of the "Old Barn", as a youngster growing up I was lucky enough to be one of the 16,666 people in the building. We all know it was probably closer to 20,000 in the building counting standing room.

I guess of all the memories I have of that place I remember these the most :

1. Bobby Hull becoming the first NHL player to score over 50 goals in a season. I never heard such a roar as Bobby beat Caesar Maniago of the N.Y. Rangers with his 51st goal. It sent chills up and down my spine. I can recall that goal to this day. What a thrill!!!

2. Game 3 of the 1961 playoffs against Montreal that went to triple OT and the late Murray Balfour scoring both goals for the Hawks. I remember the roar as Balfour scored the OT winner and Toe Blake running out on the ice and punching the referee for calling a penalty on the Canadiens in the OT which led to the winning goal. I can recall the ref's last name was McArthur and Blake was fined 2,000 dollars for the punch. A lot of cash in 1961. It was a school night and my dad was so happy that he let me stay home from school. My dad hated the Canadiens with a passion. I think the game got over about 1 O' clock in the morning. That was the only time my dad ever let me stay home from school.

3. The Hawks losing Game 7 of the finals 3-2 after being up 2-0. I can still recall Bobby Hull hitting the post which would have made it 3-0 and that would have been game time. The Canadiens were doing nothing up till that goal by Jacques Lemaire on basically a dump in type of shot. Unfortunately, a bad memory but, it still lives inside me.

4. The memory of seeing all the great NHL players of that era. Glenn Hall, Bobby, Stash, the Espositos, Orr, Howe, Beliveau, The Big M, Bathgate just to mention a few. Those are great memories of a great building.

5. The greatest memory of all was being there with three of the greatest people I ever knew: My dad, my brother and my uncle. They made me the Blackhawk fan I am today and I have passed that love of the Blackhawks on to my children and grandchildren.

Long Live Chicago Stadium!!!