Team canada, headed by harry sinden, would take on the soviets in an eightgame series for. Summit series 72 presented by lexus, a 90minute documentary with limited commercial interruption, will be a featured component in the launch of the nbc sports network as it debuts at 4. Many believe this special series changed hockey forever. Bobby clarke, alexander ragulin, yevgeny poladjev, vladislav tretiak and an unknown official during game 2 of the summit series on 4 september 1972 at maple leaf gardens in toronto, ontario, canada. David mcdonald university of wisconsin madison and james g. Sep 20, 2012 home news kevin peters on the cold war politics of the 72 summit series. But during the cold war things looked very different, evenand especiallytoward its end. When the cold war became hot the summit series between. Canada was represented by world hockey association players instead of the national hockey league players that played in the 1972 summit series. Sep 02, 2012 clarke, in the 2011 documentary cold war on ice. In canada, paul hendersons goal is considered to be one of the most famous in the history of the game. The series is also seen by many canadians as an important win in the cold war. In 1972, cold war drama played out on ice in the canadaussr hockey series aka. Hockey put canadas cold war perceptions on ice open this photo in gallery.
Take a look at the summit series of 1972 as russia and canada faced off. The drama kicked off in 1972, with the summit series eight games that pitted a canadian allstar team with a handful of future hall of famers, in. Canadas goalscoring hero from the 1972 summit series, said in an interview. Taking place in the context of the cold war, the series was unusually intense. The main idea of this source is to tell about the cold war. Transcripts of the interviews with paul henderson and anatoly firsov are available online. Sep 09, 2012 by the end of the game, they could barely get off the ice because it was so bad. It is by far the best documentary available for sale, and is a true must have. Summit on ice madefortv documentary, malofilm video, 1996 red files. Summit series 72, said of breaking kharlamovs ankle. This was the first time the best nhl players almost all canadians at that time would play internationally, taking on the. Team canada, headed by harry sinden, would take on the soviets in. Jan 02, 2012 cold war on ice, produced by 51time emmy awardwinner ross greenburg, chronicles the historic 27day summit series in september of 1972 between a team of nhl allstars from canada and the soviet national team during the height of the cold war.
Hershberg george washington university tell the story of the 1972 summit series, one of the greatest sporting events in canadian history. Ted gottfried is a fulltime writer and author of 25 books. To accompany the launch of its new 24hour sports network, which coincided with the conclusion of the nhls winter classic, nbc sports network also decided to debut a documentary about the summit series from 1972. The reaction to canadas win in the summit series illustrates just how much the world has changed in the past 40 years. Cold war on ice summit series 72 hd full film, released in feb 2014. Cold war on ice, produced by 51time emmy awardwinner ross greenburg, chronicles the historic 27day summit series in september of 1972 between a team of nhl allstars from canada and the soviet national team during the height of the cold war. Our battles with the soviets began as a proxy for war, and became a paradigm for. Jun 06, 2012 the series evolved into a fight to uphold canadas honor. The 1972 summit series between national hockey teams from canada and the ussr was the first time that canadian professional hockey players faced the soviet unions national team. At its beginning, few saw the summit series as anything more than a working vacation for canadas hockey pros. The 1972 summit series between national hockey teams from canada and. This essay will firstly address the reasons on why the summit series was needed to cool tensions. Hockey put canadas cold war perceptions on ice the globe and. It was at the height of the cold war and the series was seen as a test of political superiority.
When the cold war became hot the summit series between the. The cold war on ice historical website of the montreal. In hockeys 72 summit series between canada and soviet. Red army explores how hockey was political in cold war russia. Cold war on ice, produced by 51time emmy awardwinner ross greenburg, chronicles the historic 27day summit series in september of 1972 between a. Jan 26, 2015 red army explores how hockey was political in cold war russia. It was hard for him to explain to young people who dont remember the cold war what it was like back in 1972, harper said. Led by legendary forwards valeri kharlamov and boris mikhailov, and backstopped by the youthful vladislav tretiak, the red army proved to be worthy opponents for a habs team led by guy lafleur, bob gainey and ken dryden. Three years after the summit series and at the height of the cold war, the worlds top two hockey powers went headtohead. Hockey put canadas cold war perceptions on ice the. The amazing canadasoviet hockey series of 1972 takes you to the back rooms of the diplomats and apparatchiks who sanctioned this unlikely confrontationand then puts you on the ice for the rest. By the end of the game, they could barely get off the ice because it was so bad. Hockey put canadas cold war perceptions on ice the globe. Canadas 1972 hockey triumph played role in ending cold war.
This essay examines the question, how did the 1972 summit series affect international relations between canada and the soviet union in the 1970s. Cold warera hockey was the game at its best rolling stone. Doc extended essay how did the 1972 summit series affect. Despite the soviet union having won nine consecutive world championships between 19, those had come against amateur competition the soviets would have no chance against canadas best nhlers in the 1972 summit series. Played against the backdrop of the cold war, the series was the first time the soviet national team played team canada with players from the nhl.
Cold war on ice summit series 72 hd full film, released. Summit series 72, many former players and journalists recount the tension of the. Kevin peters on the cold war politics of the 72 summit series. Apr 10, 2020 it was at the height of the cold war and the series was seen as a test of political superiority. Soviet sport wars, pbs tv series, abamedia, 1999 note. In 1972, hockeys cold war boiled over the new york times. The first four games were played on canadian soil, in four different cities. Cold war on ice, produced by 51time emmy awardwinner ross greenburg, chronicles the historic 27day summit series in september of 1972 between a team of nhl allstars from canada and the soviet. In hockeys 72 summit series between canada and soviet union. Aug 31, 2012 hockey put canadas cold war perceptions on ice open this photo in gallery. It was the greatest hockey series ever playedand it changed the game forever cold war evokes as never before those legendary 27 days in september 1972. Canada initially dominated in the 1920s when ice hockey was first.
Mostly we remember the eight bitter battles between team canada and the. In canada, the summit series is a source of national pride, and is seen by many as a landmark event in canadian cultural history. Though there were 3,000 canadian fans in moscow and national tv coverage. Dec 28, 2011 cold war on ice, produced by 51time emmy awardwinner ross greenburg, chronicles the historic 27day summit series in september of 1972 between a team of nhl allstars from canada and the soviet. I dont know what i was thinking at all it was an awful thing to do. This is shown when it says that the cold war was the period between the end of wwii and the end of the ussr and was seen as a rivalry. Summit series matching the soviet national team against allstars from the professional. It started as a friendly cultural exchange intended to signal a thawing of eastwest relations and firmly establish canada as the worlds true hockey superpower. Apr 14, 2018 how did the events of the 1972 summit series on and off ice, as experienced by the players and the fans reflect the period of the cold war and the two very different societies each team represented. In this article, matthew struth tells us the story of the summit series, a number of ice hockey games that took place at the height cold war. When the american pingpong team played in china in 1971, it was seen as a. The series evolved into a fight to uphold canadas honor. Sep 20, 2016 the drama kicked off in 1972, with the summit series eight games that pitted a canadian allstar team with a handful of future hall of famers, in effect, against a soviet squad that people.
Canadian over confidence, the shock of the 73 russian win in game 1, phil espositos speech after canada lost game 4 in vancouver to fall behind 211 in the series and were solidly booed, paul hendersons heroics the winning goal in each of the last 3 games, the alan eagleson incident in game 8, the. Its easy to look back on the collapse of communism and conclude that it must have been inevitable. But from the start, the 1972 summit series was all about politics. These games took place during detente and were anything but friendly when the american pingpong team played in china in 1971, it was seen as a. The 1974 summit series was the second of two competitions between soviet and canadian professional ice hockey players. Ice hockey was one of the most intense international sports during the cold war, yet two of the biggest powerhouses, canada and the soviet union. Home news kevin peters on the cold war politics of the 72 summit series. It was the first competition between the soviet national team and a canadian team represented by professional players. Canadas goalscoring hero from the 1972 summit series, said. Superseriya sssr canada, known at the time simply as the canadaussr series, was an eightgame series of ice hockey between the soviet union and canada, held in september 1972. The 1972 summit series between the best from russia and the best from canada turned out to be one of the most significant events, not only in hockey history, but also in canadian history. In 1969, hockey canada won concessions from the international ice hockey federation iihf to allow minor league players at the 1970 world. When the american pingpong team played in china in.
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