Hockey Programs

1954-55 Regular Season: Black Hawks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs       The Chicago Black Hawks were coming off a disastrous season in 1953-54 season, which saw the team set franchise records for fewest wins and points. That ugly season cost Head Coach Sid Abel his job, replaced by former Canadiens and Rangers defenseman Frank Eddolls. Eddolls was just 33 years old when he took the Hawks job, and had a daunting task ahead of him, trying to pull the woeful Black Hawks out of the NHL basement. Former Red Wings Head Coach Tommy Ivan was hired as General Manager after leading the Wings to three Stanley Cups. The team continued playing at Chicago Stadium, it's home since 1929.      Unfortunately for Eddolls, 1954-55 wasn't much better. Chicago still owned last place in the NHL, with an ugly 13-40-17 record. The Black Hawks were just nine points back of the fifth place New York Rangers, but 24 behind the fourth place Boston Bruins and 52 behind league-best Detroit. Chi...

1953-54 Regular Season Black Hawks vs. Boston Bruins       From 1944-58, the Chicago Black Hawks struggled mightily, both on the ice and at the box office. After appearing in the 1944 Stanley Cup Finals, the Hawks would miss the playoffs 12 times in that 14-year stretch, often buried in the basement of the six-team NHL. Attendance dropped to dangerously low levels, and rumors began swirling that the team was in danger of going out of business. Hawks owners resorted to scheduling neutral site games in multiple Midwest cities in hopes of drawing crowds. The other NHL teams at one point began sending talent to the Hawks to try to make the team competitive.        The team was coming off a surprise third-place finish in 1952-53, then stretched the powerful Montreal Canadiens to seven games in the first round. Former Red Wing Sid Abel returned as head coach, as did General Manager Bill Tobin. Home games were played at 16,666-seat Chicago Stadium.   ...

2016-17 Regular Season: Blackhawks vs. Carolina Hurricanes      The Chicago Blackhawks were near the end of a long stretch of dominance. Since 2008, the Hawks had made the postseason 8 straight years and won three Stanley Cups. The Hawks, led by Head Coach Joel Quenneville, had another dominant season in 2016-17. Chicago finished with the second-best record in the NHL, with a 50-23-7 mark, seven points back of President's Trophy-winning Washington. The Hawks were three points ahead of second place Minnesota in the race for the Central Division crown.      The Hawks had the ninth-best offense in the NHL in 2016-17, lighting the lamp 244 times. Patrick Kane led the attack, with 34 goals and 89 points. Artemi Panarin was the other Hawk with 30+ goals, as he potted 31. Four other players had at least twenty goals on the season: Jonathan Toews (21), Marian Hossa (26), Artem Anisimov (22) and Richard Panik (22).      Defense was about the sam...

1976-77 Regular Season Black Hawks vs. Colorado Rockies      Despite the picture on the front cover, this is actually a Chicago Black Hawks program from 1976-77. Many teams used Goal Magazine as the team's official program during this time. Tommy Ivan continued his storied career as Hawks GM, dating back to 1954 after coaching in Detroit. The Hawks were part of the Smythe Division in the Campbell Conference, along with the Colorado Rockies, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues and Minnesota North Stars. Not the strangest division setup in the league that year, but still rather spread out. By the way, "Black Hawks" was the proper way to write the team's nickname back then. It wasn't until the late 1980s that the Hawks dropped the space in their nickname.      Chicago had a miserable season in 1976-77, with a 26-43-11 record. However, this would still give them a third place finish in the mediocre Smythe Division, ahead of Vancouver and Colorado. In fact, ...