St. Louis Blues–Philadelphia Flyers brawl
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The Blues–Flyers brawl was a fight involving players, fans, and police officers that took place during a National Hockey League (NHL) game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the St. Louis Blues on January 6, 1972, at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. St. Louis-based television station KSDK called the event "one of the worst player-fan-police fights in hockey history".[1]
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Date | January 6, 1972 | |||||||||||||||
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Arena | Spectrum | |||||||||||||||
City | Philadelphia |
At the end of the second period, with the Flyers leading 2–0, Blues head coach Al Arbour, followed by Blues defenseman Bob Plager, approached referee John Ashley on a ramp leading off the ice to complain about his officiating. While on the ramp, fans began pouring drinks on and pelting Arbour and Ashley with trash, and, after Plager said one fan "took a swing at [Arbour]", Plager rushed into the stands to confront the fan. He was quickly joined by other members of the Blues team as a largescale brawl broke out between the fans and players. A large group of police arrived and, after about 25 minutes, were able to restore order. Arbour and several other players received injuries that required multiple stitches, while several police officers and fans received minor injuries.
After discussions with officials, the game was allowed to continue, with the Blues scoring three unanswered goals to win the game. Following the game, the police arrested Arbour and three players—John Arbour (no relation), Phil Roberto, and Floyd Thomson—who were charged with disorderly conduct and assault and battery on police officers, though these charges were later dropped. Reporting on the event in the 2020s, KSDK called the event the "wildest night in franchise history" for the Blues,[2] while the SB Nation affiliate for the Blues listed the brawl as the number one fight in the franchise's history.[3]