Ed Snider won league-wide respect for his five decades as the heart and soul of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Photo Provided by The Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers will take to the Verizon Center tonight to face the Washington Capitals with high hopes, as the game marks the opening of their first-round playoff series, and heavy hearts due to the Monday passing of founder Ed Snider. The architect for the beloved franchise succumbed to bladder cancer at age 83, two days after the club secured a postseason berth by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St., setting up any true fan’s wish for the team to claim a third Stanley Cup championship.
“Ed Snider was the soul and the spirit of the Flyers, who have reflected his competitiveness, his passion for hockey, and his love for the fans from the moment he brought NHL hockey to Philadelphia in 1967,” National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman said of the chairman of Comcast Spectacor, the owner of the club that Forbes notes as being worth $660 million. “While the loss of Ed Snider tears a hole in the heart of the Flyers and the city of Philadelphia, and leaves a massive void in the city’s sports landscape, it also challenges all who knew him to carry forward the great works that are his legacy.”
Having founded the squad in ’66, the Washington, D.C. area product oversaw such a surplus of success that only the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins have amassed a better winning percentage, with no unit making more appearances (8) in the Stanley Cup Finals since their inaugural, and victorious, trip in ’74. Reverence and regard came his way easily, leading many acquaintances and hires to eschew addressing him by his first name and to refer to him formally. That admiration for his example became apparent New Year’s Eve when this season’s roster members, coaches, and support staff visited Mr. Snider at his Montecito, Calif. mansion, where head coach Dave Hakstol spoke of the joy in seeing “the light and fire in his eyes.” Nearly three decades prior to that experience, South Philly inhabitant Joseph Messina commenced his connection with the icon, whose inspiration to bring hockey to the City of Brotherly Love was born Nov. 29, ’64 when, following a basketball game in Boston, he observed fans looking to secure tickets to a Bruins game.
“I had the pleasure of working for the Flyers from ’88 to ’97,” the resident of the 2700 block of South Marvine Street said. “He was the epitome of class. He set an example for an organization that was truly a family. He has meant more to a sports organization and city than any owner in sports history. He will be missed.”
Born Edward Malcolm Snider, he became a partner in a record company following his graduation from the University of Maryland. At 31 years old, he acquired a seven-percent stake in the Philadelphia Eagles, holding vice president and treasurer duties. While his pigskin pursuits proved profitable, it was to be hockey that would make him a legend.
Unlike many expansion teams across all sports, the Flyers impressed immediately, even taking the St. Louis Blues, the eventual league runners-up, to a seventh game in their initial playoff experience in ’68. Six years later, they were the champions, repeating with the same group of scorers and tough guys in ’75. The following year, he scored major points with fans of his charges’ often maligned physical style of play when he told the Soviet Union’s Red Army Team, which had vacated the Spectrum ice as a protest against rough checks, that if it did not return to complete the Super Series matchup, the Soviet Hockey Federation would not receive pay. The visitors complied and fell 4-1, with the Flyers being the lone NHL club to achieve a victory against the Red Army unit.
While Mr. Snider achieved acclaim for reverent exchanges with Flyers personnel, he also aspired to encourage budding practitioners of the sport, with the 2005 creation of an eponymous youth foundation his chief means to help youngsters to strive to become the next league superstar or to feel a greater sense of confidence and direction. More than 3,000 inner-city children and young adults, from Philadelphia and Camden, receive free tutelage, with many individuals excitedly heading to Rizzo Rink, 1101 S. Front St.
“Like all of his endeavors, Ed dedicated himself wholeheartedly by personally funding the charitable organization and its programs and rink projects,” foundation co-chair Bill Whitmore said. “… We should all celebrate the wonderful impact on our community that was born of Ed’s incredible vision for what can be when we commit our time, effort, and resources.”
Mr. Snider also influenced the professional aspirations of Whitman denizen Mark Casasanto and peers from the opening team at the CoreStates Center, the Wells Fargo Center’s first incarnation.
“It was an exciting and educational experience that opened the door to all future career paths,” the resident of the 300 block of Daly Street said. “The most amazing thing about it is this – many of my colleagues and interns who traveled this same road with me are all prominent event professionals in the area and beyond. I guess it could be said that Mr. Snider’s influence went far beyond his beloved Flyers. In a very ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ sense, seemingly, all roads lead back to Ed Snider. From all of us, thank you!”
“He gave the last ounce of his indomitable energy and strength to live through this hockey season, but now the Flyers must win without him,” his children said of their patriarch, whose accolades include induction into the Hockey, United States Hockey, Philadelphia Jewish Sports, Philadelphia Sports, and Flyers halls of fame, the ’05 Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s William Penn award, and a ’12 charitable work commendation from the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association. “… We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support from the community, his friends, and all those who were fortunate to have been touched by him in some way, large or small.”
Packer Park resident Paul Stricker hones deep devotion to the Fly Guys and believes that even death will not slow Snider’s likewise strong interest.
“A lot of people say it’s a shame Ed won’t get to see his Flyers in the playoffs,” he said. “I think he has the best seat in the house.” SPR
Contact Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
