It was a really simple promotion back in the glory days of the Islanders.
Through a partnership with Wendy’s, if the Isles scored six goals in a home game at Nassau Coliseum, fans could present their ticket stub at Wendy’s the next day and receive a free bowl of chili. That promotion took a controversial, historic and memorable turn 43 years ago Sunday – November 13, 1979 – when the Islanders welcomed the Rangers to Uniondale.
The Islanders unleashed an offensive explosion that night and had an 8-2 lead over the Rangers through two periods. The sellout crowd of 14,995 was already guaranteed a free bowl of chili the next day, but the best was yet to come.
By the end of the night, the reward for the fans would double.
Allen Bernstein, a huge Islanders fan and the founder of Wenco Food Systems, the company that owned and operated 17 Wendy’s restaurants, made his way down to ice level to speak with public address announcer Paul Gourvitz.
Bernstein, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 65, asked Gourvitz to make an announcement that if the Islanders scored 10 goals, everyone will get “double chili.”
“I remember him coming up to me and saying, ‘listen, we got this promotion and I want you to make the announcement,’” said Gourvitz, who was the Islanders’ public address announcer from day one in 1972 through the first Stanley Cup Championship in 1980. “I do remember saying to Allen, ‘Is this approved?’ And he said yes.”
So Gourvitz proceeded to make the announcement, even though the Islanders had no knowledge of Bernstein’s idea and they had not given their approval.
“He makes the announcement and the crowd goes berserk,” said Kenny Hare, who was the Islanders’ Director of Sales at the time.
Hare was sitting in the press box next to Islanders General Manager Bill Torrey, who was not a happy camper when he heard Gourvitz make the announcement.
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“(Torrey) basically lost it,” recalled Hare. “He went berserk. He was almost hoping that we wouldn’t get to 10 because he would have had to face (then-Rangers Head Coach) Fred Shero and explain to him that he had nothing to do with this.”
Torrey was, to say the least, angered by the announcement, because the last thing he would ever want to do is embarrass another team, especially the Rangers. The architect of the Islanders’ Stanley Cup dynasty would never have approved that announcement because he had too much respect for the opponent.
“Not in a million years,” said Hare. “Bill Torrey was one of the most conservative old-time hockey people. He really wasn’t into any kind of promotional type stuff; it was basically hockey, hockey, hockey, and that’s all. Stay to the script. Play the games.”
But the announcement was made, and that set the scene for period three.
Walt Tkaczuk scored a power-play goal for the Rangers 33 seconds into the third period to cut the Islanders’ lead to 8-3. The Islanders were still well on their way to winning the game, but the only drama remaining was wondering if the Islanders could score two more goals and clinch “double chili” for the fans.
Just before the midway point of the third period, Gary Howatt scored at 9:17 to make it 9-3 Islanders. The Isles were now just one goal away from 10, and it wouldn’t take long to seal the deal.
“I remember the fans were cheering for the tenth goal,” said Gourvitz.
Less than three minutes later, Denis Potvin made it 10-3, sending the Nassau Coliseum into a frenzy.
“Double chili!” said Sports Channel color analyst Eddie Westfall moments after the goal was scored. “Allen Bernstein, who is a great Islanders fan, said if they get 10, we’ll double the chili, so it’s double chili night.”
“People were screaming, ‘Chili! Chili! Chili!’” said Gourvitz.
And with that goal from “The Captain,” Wendy’s was on the hook for 30,000 bowls of chili, and the Islanders had some explaining to do.
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“Of course, we get to 10 and they honor the double chili, and basically after that, Paul never made any announcements without our approval,” said Hare.
The Rangers would score two goals to make the final score 10-5 Islanders, but the night was about more than just a win over the crosstown rivals. It was an evening that created a unique moment and memory in Islanders history that, in reality, should never have happened.
But it did, and now that there is a nostalgic feel around Islanders Country during this 50th anniversary season, one has to wonder: could the Islanders and Wendy’s can bring back the chili promotion for a night? Would they still require the Islanders to score six goals?
Maybe make it three, like they did in 2009 when it was brought back for a short time, and if the Isles have four through two periods, somebody can go tell current public address announcer Alex Anthony to make an announcement…
On second thought, I’ll just leave the promotional planning to the Islanders organization.