crossing the line Crossing the Line.indd 1 9/5/12 5:22 PM g n si s o r c e n li e h t the outrageous story of a hockey original HarperCollins publisHers l td Crossing the Line.indd 2 9/5/12 5:22 PM K DERE WITH KEVIN SHEA N NDERSO SA FOREWORD BY BHOARBPBERYCO OLLRINRS PUBLISHERS LTD Crossing The Line REV.indd 5 8/28/12 12:36 PM Copyright © 2012 by Derek Sanderson and Kevin Shea Foreword © 2012 by Bobby Orr All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Triumph Books LLC, 814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610. This book is available in quantity at special dicounts for your group or organization. For further information, contact: Triumph Books LLC 814 North Franklin Street Chicago, Illinois 60610 Phone: (312) 337-0747 www.triumphbooks.com Printed in the United States of America ISBN 978-1-60078-680-8 Published simultaneously in Canada by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Crossing The Line REV.indd 6 8/28/12 12:36 PM This book is dedicated to the great many people who helped me get on my feet again. Bobby Orr was always there for me. Being helped up when I fell was one thing, but to stay sober, you need something more than that. I believe it is love—unconditional love. Very few of us find that in our lifetimes. I was blessed with my wife, Nancy, who gave me a reason and the strength to become someone new. My boys, Michael and Ryan, are my pride and joy. To be blessed with the kind of love I discovered is a godsend. I could never stay away from the bottle without my family. They give me that purpose every day. Crossing the Line.indd 5 9/5/12 5:22 PM Crossing the Line.indd 6 9/5/12 5:22 PM contents Foreword by Bobby Orr / ix Preface / xi 1 Central Park / 1 2 Mom, Dad and the War Years / 5 3 Childhood / 10 4 School Days / 17 5 The Start of My Hockey Career / 24 6 High School Hijinx / 39 7 Junior Achievement / 48 8 Memorial Cup Memories / 57 9 NHL Debut / 68 10 Final Junior Campaign / 75 11 Rookie Season: 1967–68 / 80 12 Sideburns and a New Assignment: 1968–69 / 98 13 Bachelors III / 111 14 A Team of Brothers: 1969–70 / 120 15 The First Stanley Cup / 136 16 Daisy’s and the Dynasty Denied: 1970–71 / 145 17 Second Cup: 1971–72 / 161 18 Negotiating with the WHA / 174 19 The Summit Series / 187 20 The Reserve Clause Battle / 191 21 Philadelphia Blazers / 199 22 A Return to the Bruins: 1972–73 / 216 Crossing the Line.indd 7 9/5/12 5:22 PM 23 My Last Days as a Bruin: 1973–74 / 228 24 Broadway and the Blues: 1974–76 / 237 25 Wild in the West: 1976–77 / 259 26 Rock Bottom / 265 27 The Blizzard / 273 28 The Comeback: 1977–78 / 291 29 Sober and Straight / 297 30 Starting Over / 316 31 Visiting Schools / 326 32 The Loves of My Life / 339 33 TV Broadcaster / 347 34 Financial Investor / 353 35 My Dad / 360 36 Against the Wind / 369 Acknowledgements / 373 Bibliography / 376 Index / 379 Crossing the Line.indd 8 9/5/12 5:22 PM ForeWord M y first memory of Derek Sanderson dates back to when we played against each other in junior. Although we were both property of the Boston Bruins at that time, Derek ended up playing in Niagara Falls and I became a member of the Oshawa Generals. Even back in those days, Derek had great skills on the ice and was a tough competitor. By the time Derek made the jump to the NHL with Boston in 1967–68, I had already completed my rookie year, and we won the league’s Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in back-to-back seasons. Those were great times for both of us, but our greatest accomplishment as teammates was being able to hoist the Stanley Cup in both 1970 and 1972. Unfortunately, Turk eventually decided to jump to the rival World Hockey Association, and things began to change in his life, often for the worse. He started down a slippery slope that no one could prevent, and all of us who considered him a friend could only wait and watch. At the appropriate time, many of us reached out to help Derek, and I am proud to say that he has beaten the demons that for so long controlled his life. Derek and I have been friends for over 40 years, and I can tell you that he is a “salt of the earth” type of person. In addition, he has an opinion on most topics and is not afraid to share those thoughts. Undoubtedly, you will read many of those ideas plus a ton of stories as you turn the pages of his book. During his lifetime, Derek Sanderson has been to the mountaintop and then to the valley floor as well, and now it is your turn to revisit both the good ix Crossing the Line.indd 9 9/5/12 5:22 PM