After reading “Hammered: The Fight of My Life,” former “Broad Street Bullies” bruiser Dave Schultz’s soon-to-be-released (Oct. 21) autobiography, it’s clear now just what a complicated life he has lived.
What makes “Hammered” such a captivating read is that with all that has been documented over the past half century of fighting in hockey, and how the Flyers of the 1970s collected consecutive Stanley Cup championships in ways that glamorized visits to penalty boxes, readers learn that there was still so much more to know about the “Prince of Hockey Pugilists.”
Schultz, 75, wanted to get his life and career all on the record, finally, as he saw them unfold. Dan Robson, the longtime hockey writer, captures Schultz’s moods and his being in the here and the know, remembering, some happy, some extremely painful times of his life. Each of the 267 pages of “Hammered” has you feeling comfortable, as if sitting next to Schultz in his split-level condo on the Jersey shore, all the while sharing a beverage.
“We spent several years working on [‘Hammered’],” Robson told The Epoch Times on Thursday from his home base of Toronto, Canada. “From talking on the phone for hours, we became pretty close. It was a lot of fun for me to immerse myself in another era of hockey.”
Compared to other NHL legends, Schultz’s career didn’t last long. The 535 games that Schultz skated in from his debut appearance with Philadelphia in the 1971–1972 season (one game), to just 13 games with the Buffalo Sabres in 1979–1980, it was his dropping his gloves in the name of law and order on the ice that will forever be his NHL legacy. His 2,294 penalty minutes earned, including 472 ticks in the “sin bin” during the 1974–1975 season (an NHL record) remain the talk of hockey fans that span generations.
But, “Hammered” reveals a non-hockey, human side of a skating thug that so many loved to hate. The passing of his granddaughter Annalise before her 10th birthday is a haunting pain that has Schultz crumbling as he visits her grave.
“Hammered” is a beautiful love story, too. As a kid growing up on the prairie, in small towns stretched across the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan, the “Heart of the Wheat Belt,” Schultz meets the woman of his lifetime. Saskatchewan, which borders Montana and North Dakota, is where Schultz and Cathy meet, exchange love letters throughout their friendship and engagement, followed in marriage, and, sadly, through divorce.
“Dave came to Toronto, I went to Saskatchewan and chatted with his sister. I met with Dave in Niagara Falls, and spent a whole day discussing his life. He brought along his scrapbooks of his career. There was a lot of unfinished business that Dave wanted to tell,” explains Robson, who also has authored hockey biographies on Doug Gilmour, Johnny Bower, and Pat Quinn.
Along with Schultz sharing his teenage love for Cathy, during the intimate atmosphere “Hammered” offers, there is a dark side of his life that he now only allows to become public. Hidden from family and friends since his childhood in Waldheim and Rosetown on the prairie, to being active with the Flyers’ Alumni in retirement, Schultz details a period where he was molested by an adult. This is another example, as Schultz bares his soul, drawing from experiences in rinks and growing up in small towns.
“Hammered” also educates hockey fans about Schultz never setting out to fight. Growing up, quite the opposite was true for Schultz. It was his big brother, Ray Schultz, whom he depended on to watch his back. Perhaps the biggest story coming out of “Hammered” is how Schultz finally arrived at the Flyers full-time. Who knew, or remembers, that Schultz actually signed a contract with the New York Raiders for the 1972–1973 inaugural season of the upstart World Hockey Association? He did. However, with a promise from Flyers’ owner Ed Snider of being brought to Philadelphia, and given a two-year deal, Schultz waved bye-bye to the Raiders, and the rest worked out well in his career.
“When Dave was traded in September, prior to the start of the 1976–1977 NHL season, he was blind-sided by the move. He felt that he was a prominent part of the team. Dave was very loyal, and wanted to end his career with the Flyers. After the trade, it was as if he lost something in his game. It was as if the sand was running down an hour glass on his career. Leaving the Flyers left a real sadness, and bitter taste in Dave’s mouth,” Robson said.
Schultz’s battles with alcoholism and depression aren’t hidden in “Hammered.” He tells of friends and former teammates such as Bill Clement checking in on him. At times, Schultz has found it difficult to get out of his condo and find comfort in conversation with others. Today, Schultz is committed to using his platform to speak out on abuse and alcoholism framed around flashbacks. “Hammered” reminds all, especially men who have faced such challenges, to tell their story.
Schultz is proud to be remembered as one of the toughest enforcers of all time, and his role with the Flyers. Beyond the riveting battles recalled between Schultz and fellow NHL tough guys Clark Gillies, Keith Magnuson, and Terry O'Reilly (Schultz rates as his toughest opponent), there is a warm, happier climate today, at this stage of Schultz’s life, that brings about a smile in the book’s final pages. “Hammered” offers the right dose of hockey medicine to get the new NHL season off on the right skate.
