Feb 27, 2023
Legendary Boston sports
photographer Steve Babineau ("Behind
the Lens: The World Hockey Association 50 Years Later")
joins the pod this week to discuss his new, lovingly-curated
collection of largely never-before-seen images of the colorful
1970s challenger hockey league that helped kick-start a life-long
love for photography - and a 50+ year career behind the lens
shooting some of the game's biggest stars.
A teenaged "Babs" was there at
the old Boston Gardens on October 12, 1972, when the inaugural puck
was dropped in the history of the New England Whalers (vs. the
Philadelphia Blazers, on the second-ever day of WHA action) -
unwittingly capturing some of the very first images of the
revolutionary circuit that would ultimately give minor-league
journeymen, NHL elder statesmen and even fledgling junior hockey
phenoms (like a 17-year-old wunderkind named Wayne Gretzky) a
chance to not only play, but creatively thrive.
And that guy Gretzky?
Well, we'll let Babs tell you that story!
+ + +
RUN (DON'T WALK) TO GET Steve's book (co-authored with Brian Codagnone) "Behind the Lens: The World Hockey Association 50 Years Later" from ECW Press NOW!