And think about it, he's obviously been there for 52 years and he's the only person throughout the entire organization that's talked to every single player. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. Plager joined the Blues in 1968 in a trade with the New York Rangers. The latest STL Blues hockey news, NHL headlines, scores, standings and rosters. He also had health issues and underwent an exam for some scar tissue on his brain, believed to be the result of an injury suffered earlier in his career. "It meant a lot because our first years, those were the guys that were there. His number 8 has been retired by the Blues. I get asked about that a lot, Picard told the Post-Dispatch in 2011. All NHL team jerseys customized with NHL players' names and numbers are officially licensed by the NHL and the NHLPA. Some hockey portraits on this site are licensed from Images on Ice, Hockeys Photo Agency. With the 1967 NHL Expansion, many new jobs opened up in the National Hockey League, and Plager was acquired with Red Berenson by the St. Louis Blues from the New York Rangers, which held his rights. He was 46 years old and was an assistant coach with the Blues at the time of his death. [3] In 1920 Ekaterynoslavsky University was transformed into Ekaterynoslavsky (later in Dnipropetrovsk) Institute of Education, which operated until 1933. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. I didnt really realize who my dad was, as far as like people saying, Oh my gosh, your dad is Barclay Plager? said Karen, who was 20 when he died. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. NHL 2023. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Moments before, Billy had caught Ray Cullen of the Vancouver Canucks skating with his head down just inside the St. Louis blue line and, like a good Plager, had upended Cullen . In 1981, he was named assistant coach and had another stint as interim head coach in 1983. He had 12 goals and 46 assists in his seasons with the Blues and, more in keeping with his style, 540 penalty minutes. He played all 614 games of his NHL career for the Blues. He entered the hospital late in January 1988, and died on February 6, 1988, of a brain hemorrhage.[2]. Hes flying high up there right now, Helen chimed in. Jeremy Rutherford is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the St. Louis Blues. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. He is the author of "Bernie Federko: My Blues Note" and "100 Things Blues Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die." Barclay Plager was born on March 26, 1941. Here's what comes next. Catchers once in a lifetime lunge saves Cardinals, Four young people die in Old Monroe head-on crash, Governor threatens to keep Missouri lawmakers in session over transgender rules, Barat Academy in Chesterfield to close after years of financial troubles, Court records online include private information for thousands of Missouri residents, Why some St. Louis-area Roman Catholics are looking forward to parish reorganization. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. There have been hundreds of visits to Bellerive Gardens Cemetery over the years, but none like last week. They put the little one there, but I knew if I got it and when I got it, that was an automatic, that was the first place it was going to go, Bobby said. On Sunday, Bob was accompanied to the cemetery by his daughter, his grandchildren, Barclay's wife, Helen, and their children and grandchildren. Professional Hockey Player. . The oldest of three hockey playing brothers (with Bill and Bob), Plager played junior league hockey with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey Association before spending six seasons in the minor leagues, cementing a reputation as a hard-nosed defensive defenceman. St Louis Blues, stlouisblues.com and stlblues.com are trademarks of the St Louis Blues Hockey Club. Helen Plager, the widow of former Blues player and coach Barclay Plager, stood near the chapel of Bellerive Gardens Cemetery last Sunday and recalled what she whispered to her late husband during this years Stanley Cup playoffs. So perhaps Sept. 1 did have some significance after all. "I honestly don't have words for it," she said. He played with his other two brothers, Bill and Bob, in St. Louis for a total of four seasons. An original member of the St. Louis Blues, Plager would take the trophy to the burial place of his older brother, Barclay, who also played for the expansion Blues. I was busy with four kids and never really thought about what it meant until the years kept going by and by and by and my kids were getting older, Helen said. Originally his rights were held by the New York Ranges, but were acquired with future star Red Berenson by the newly enfranchised Blues in 1967. by It was in Boston this year, and we lost it the last time we were in there, the Stanley Cup, he said. On March 24, 1981, the Blues retired Barclay Plager's No. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Inquirer.com: Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barclay_Plager&oldid=1086719806, National Hockey League players with retired numbers, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from October 2015, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Retired with 44 goals, 187 assists, 231 points and 1115 penalty minutes in 614 games, all with St. Louis, Was the Blues' career leader in games played and penalty minutes at the time of his retirement, Played in NHL All-Star Game in 1970, 1971, 1973 and 1974, Led the NHL in penalty minutes in 1968 with 153 playing only 49 games, His No. General Manager David Poile of the Washington Capitals met today with David Welker, owner of the Fort Wayne Komets of the International League, to discuss the possibility of Fort Wayne becoming the Capitals' sole farm outlet next season. The Blues had the Stanley Cup, and following a time-honored tradition, current members of the teams management, coaching staff and players began passing it around the U.S., Canada and Europe. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Relevance is automatically assessed so some headlines not qualifying as Dnipro . But the trio of Plager brothers were better known for their physical play and willingness to stick up for teammates, and that was no better illustrated than in a game in Philadelphia. As the final seconds ticked off the clock in the Blues 4-1 victory, Helens thoughts were immediately with her late husband. He said, Its got grandpas blood all down here.. Ekaterynoslavsky University (now Oles Honchar Dnipro National University) was founded during the Ukrainian state of Pavlo Skoropadsky in 1918. Year should not be greater than current year. More Plager Pages. Add to your scrapbook. Rough and tumble Barclay Plager came to the Blues via the 1967 NHL expansion draft. The Plager family, bonded by Barclay's younger brother Bobby, is as close-knit as the stitching on the Blues sweater. 8 jersey has been retired by the St. Louis Blues, Biographical information and career statistics from, This page was last edited on 7 May 2022, at 23:03. I didnt expect that at all and I got the chills.. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. In 1981, Plager was named assistant coach of the Blues, and save for another stint as interim head coach in the 1983 season, served as such until his death from cancer in 1988. Kelly thought he had lost his lone opportunity. Or write about sports? His No. Who would have ever thought wed be doing that?, Kevin, an eighth-round draft pick of the Blues in 1989, said:You only see it on TV, and now to be able to touch it.. #stlblues #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/xT7uYShywx. He was also . I thought, Oh, man, we could have won it way back when.. Here was a guy who was a respected NHL player that gave up his NHL playing days to go down and actually play in the minors and coach at the same time. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Its fantastic! Helen said seconds after her lips came off. As the group giggled, Sgt.Wetzel, who led the police escort, stood nearby pinching himself. Dnipro News. / NHL.com Independent Correspondent. So they were my family. One of the most important parts of the team in the early days was Noel Picard. "My career was kind of at a standstill," Ramage said. 1 for sure, Karen added. Plager wore No. ROBERT (BOBBY) PLAGER OBITUARY. She had a lot of that stuff down in the basement, and they started clearing it out, and lo and behold, theres a jersey., That was the one thing he wanted, and I said, You can have it, Helen said. Barclay Plager never won a Stanley Cup as a player. -- When Bob Plager got word of when his day with the Stanley Cup would be, there was no doubt where it was going. Its super cool, Kevin said. (AP Photo/Boston Herald American, Ray Lussier). People send me cards and pictures in Montreal and I sign them all the time., Noel Picard looks on as Bobby Orr goes airborne after scoring the goal that won the Stanley Cup for the Boston Bruins on May 10, 1970, against the St. Louis Blues at Boston Garden. Together, the family held a toast to Barclay and each sipped champagne from the Stanley Cup. The crowd erupted as the replica was replaced by the real thing. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Buy his book. It's been great. "I remember Scotty saying the lineup in the dressing room," Bobby Plager once told the Post-Dispatch. And this time, he brought the Stanley Cup. Use arrows to navigate between autocomplete results. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. Learn more about merges. "He made a proposal, but he's a little more anxious than I am," Poile said. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Billy Plager was claimed by Atlanta and later had a second stint with Minnesota before wrapping up his career following the 1975-76 season. "So really, that's what I wanted, and that's what I got. "I want the best place for our young players' development but we also must look at things from a financial standpoint. That was the first time I teared up when they did that, Karen added. Suffering from dizzy spells thought to be the result of an old head injury, Plager was examined by a doctor following his stepping down as coach. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Missing are Barclay Plager and Gord Berenson. "It was Barclay, Noel, Jimmy Roberts, Dan Kelly, who announced our games, the Solomons owned us. He survived the operation, but when a new and rapidly growing tumour was discovered later that year, he refused treatment because he was informed that extensive brain damage might occur. "Thank you," Bob told the team in that moment. There was a problem saving your notification. Follow Jeremy on Twitter @jprutherford, https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2019/09/03124738/IMG_0825-1-converted-with-Clipchamp-converted-with-Clipchamp.mp4, https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2019/09/03130456/IMG_0840.TRIM-1-converted-with-Clipchamp.mp4, https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2019/09/03140812/IMG_0851-converted-with-Clipchamp.mp4. There was no way we were going to win. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/07/obituaries/barclay-plager-hockey-player-46.html. by (Photo courtesy Rachel Hecht). On March 1, 1969, former Blues coach Scotty Bowmanput the three Plager brothers, all defensemen, in the starting lineup at forward and played them on the same line together in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. When you see the sweater of mine thats down at the rink, with the blood on there, I say, Oh yeah, thats blood but it aint mine, he said. Copyright 1999-2020 St. Louis Blues Hockey Club and the National Hockey League. Front row, kneeling: Bob Plager, Terry Crisp, Jim Roberts, Claude Cardin, Wayne Rivers, Darryl Edestrand and Seth Martin. Were all numbers in our family, Kevin said. Player stats broken down into various categories; i.e. In addition, he is the Blues Insider for 101 ESPN in St. Louis. It was a bottle of champagne because you know those boys when they get in (the locker room), the first thing they do, they have the champagne in the Cup, Bobby said. Blues legend Bob Plager passed away on March 24, 2021, at the age of 78, after a car crash on I-64 in St. Louis. It was a dream season, said Kevin Plager, 48, one of Barclay and Helens two sons. You talk to some of the players and tell them to enjoy it now because you never know when this will happen again.". Unimaginable just unbelievable, Karen replied. Barclay Plager and Bob Plager were kneeling on the ice alongside their kid brother Billy, who was dreaming sweet dreams and squirting blood from a gash over his left ear. In 1981, Plager was named assistant coach of the Blues, and save for another stint as interim head coach in the 1983 season, served as such until his death from cancer in 1988. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. He passed away in 1988 from an inoperable brain tumor. Kirkland Lake, Timiskaming District, Ontario, Canada, Creve Coeur, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA. Subscribe to Stathead Hockey: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Hockey Reference Database. Oh, absolutely, 100 percent, without a doubt, Karri said. Oops, something didn't work. . The Plagers werent getting their hopes up last season, with the Blues sitting in last place in the NHL standings in January. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Barclay Plager was then a Blues assistant coach. The years and the decades would go by and the Plager kids and grandkids would hear the courageous stories about their father. He went too soon, thats all., Brothers Bob and Barclay Plager have their numbers retired in the rafters of Enterprise Center. "Barc got a hold of me, gave me some tough love initially. The laughter aside, the Plagers truly felt that Barclay was soaking it up. Barclay Plager was 46 when he died Feb. 6, 1988, from a brain hemorrhage. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. We were an expansion team. (Jeremy Rutherford / For The Athletic). To use this feature, use a newer browser. Barclay died from a brain tumor in 1988 at the age of 46. At least 6 people killed in crashes on I-55 south of Springfield, Illinois, Man dies after crashing into construction site in O'Fallon, St. Louis forecast: Gusty winds again Tuesday, Storm damages a 'labor of love' in Jefferson County, Blues take 3-0 victory over Winnipeg Jets, 32 years ago: Blues retire Bernie Federkos No. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. based on information from your browser. There was an error deleting this problem. Armstrong picked it up and said, Here we go. So we gave Barclay a little drink there, and then I look and everybody is pouring beers and saying, Heres to you, Barc! I said, I dont know whos buried beside him, but if he ever wakes up, hes going to have one heck of a hangover..