It was something I looked forward to each and every time that I went with father to Islanders games when I was growing up. After the short drive from our home in East Meadow and our tickets were ripped at the gate (yes, real tickets that were ripped back in the day!), we would stop at a stand just inside the concourse to buy an Islanders program.
After my father would plunk down the $2, he would hand the program over to me and it was my job to check the last page to see if the box on the bottom of the Chevrolet add on the last page was signed by an Islanders player. If it was, I would have a great souvenir to take home but more importantly it would mean that my father would be able to participate in Score-O and have a chance to win a car.
At every home game, the lucky fan who purchased the program with the autograph on that last page would go on the ice after the second period and get two tries at shooting a puck from the red line into a small opening of a board that was placed in front of the net.
Harry M. Stevens was the concession company at the Nassau Coliseum back then and it was the responsibility of an employee to get an Islanders player to sign the program.
“He would get the autographed program and then he would discreetly have to place it amongst the piles that were offered for sale that night,” said Jim Johnson, who served as the Islanders’ Director of Marketing and Ticket Sales. “He didn’t tell the concession people but he knew what stand it was going to be sold at.”
Arthur Adler, who had a two-decade long marketing/advertising business relationship with the Islanders while also owning the team’s radio broadcast rights, had seen other teams doing a similar promotion and pitched the idea to the Islanders.
After all, it would be really tough to shoot a puck from the red line into a six-inch hole but it would be so entertaining for the fans.
“I thought it was a fabulous idea to add to some of the excitement between periods,” said Adler. “I got the local Chevy dealers to come on board and they said are we going to lose a car here? I said no. I’ve spoken to everyone and no one ever gets it. The contestants fall on the ice after they try and hit the puck.”
What also convinced the Islanders that nobody would win was when the board was placed in front of the goal during an Islanders practice and the players were asked to fire away.
“Nobody got in in,” said Kenny Hare, the Islanders’ Sales Director at the time who would be in charge of bringing the contestants on the ice for the promotion.
The Islanders players weren’t able to do it, but Islanders Country never received that memo.
“It was a monumental disaster,” said Adler.
Score-O debuted on October 13th, 1979 during the Islanders’ home opener, against the Buffalo Sabres. The Islanders lost the game 5-2, but there was quite a bit of excitement. The very first Score-O contestant was Norman Weidner of East Islip, an Islanders season holder from day one in 1972.
To the surprise of everyone, Weidner scored to win the car. That feat earned him the nickname “Norman One Shot”.
Actually, he should have been called “Norman Two Shot” because his first shot was very much off target.
“He took a shot and it must have been 50 feet to the left,” said Hare who offered Weidner some advice.
“Just keep your hands on the stick, do not wind up, and push it as hard as you can.”
On the second shot, the puck again went to the left on its edge but it started rolling and curved to the right and just before it got to the net, it fell flat and slid into the hole.
“The crowd went berserk,” said Hare who also handled “Celebrity Score-O” and among the stars that participated was radio legend Don Imus.
It was supposed to be impossible to win Score-O but the plan was to make it a must-see.
“We lost out on the excitement of this building up,” said Adler. “One Shot Norman just walked up there…”
…and everyone was stunned.
“It wasn’t just that I was shocked,” said Hare. “Who were shocked were the Nassau-Suffolk Chevy Dealers who were ready to kill themselves because they thought they were going to have to give out 40 cars.”
But that plan was scrapped when “One Shot Norman” blew the roof off the building that first night.
My father and I never purchased the lucky program but we did get to see Score-O winner number two. On February 12th, 1980, we went to see the Islanders face the Winnipeg Jets in a game that ended in a 0-0 tie. The Islanders had a goal waved off in that game so the only goal that counted that night was the Score-O contested who fired the puck right through the hole to win the car!
“A woman, in high heels, gets on the ice, has no idea how to hit a puck and puts it through this little hole in the board,” recalled Adler.
There was an original plan in place to giveaway one car. What was supposed to happen was for the Islanders to bring back all 40 contestants at the end of the season for a random drawing with the winner taking home a car. That plan was scrapped immediately when “Norman One Shot” did his thing.
But two winners by February? When nobody thought that anyone could do this?
Adler had some explaining to do.
“(Islanders owner) John Pickett said to me well that’s another one of your stupid ideas that’s for sure,” said Adler. “We lost two cars in one year and I lost the sponsorship after that.”
The intent of Score-O was entertainment.
“It was strictly going to be a fun thing between periods,” said Adler. “I assured the dealers that this is just going to be great publicity for their dealerships.”
Score-O created such a buzz that one day Wayne Gretzky shows up at the Islanders offices at Nassau Coliseum. He asked Hare if he could set up the board so the Edmonton Oilers could give it a try during their practice.
“I put the board on a dolly, wheeled it out, put it on the ice and set it up in front of the net,” said Hare. “All of the Edmonton Oilers were playing Score-O.”
Nothing lasts forever and Score-O was discontinued after a handful of seasons, but late in the 2006-07 season, the Islanders brought it back in a different format.
Through a promotion with a BMW dealer on Long Island, the plan was to have winners qualify for a chance to win an SUV. Three fans would be chosen to take shots at the goal covered by a board with a four-foot opening. The shots were taken from the hashmarks 12 feet from the goal, from the blue line, from the red line and from the far blue line.
One you missed, you were out and the last man standing would be brought back on Fan Appreciation Night with the other qualifiers to compete in the traditional Score-O where they would shoot the puck from the red line into that small six-inch hole.
Johnson, who left the Islanders organization in 1995, was at one of those games with his son Bradley on a night when something went terribly wrong with the contest.
It was announced that the winner of the contest that night was going to win the car.
“I turned to my son and I said I’m surprised they’re going to give a car away tonight in front of just 7,000 people,” recalled Johnson. “How can they give a car away when they’re basically shooting into an empty net?”
The first contestant shanked his shot from the hashmarks and missed the next completely. The second participant tries to stickhandle a little bit and then fires the puck on goal but just wide of the opening.
And then, the last guy fires the puck into the net and the siren goes off.
“Because he was the last guy, he won the car,” said Johnson. I look at Brad and I say now I know there’s something wrong.”
The next day, Johnson called some his former colleagues in the Islanders office to see if his instincts were correct and he was told they were not allowed to talk about it.
It was clear that something had gone terribly wrong.
That debacle was just a small part of the history of Score-O at Islanders games with most of the memories being positive, other than the Chevy dealers back in the day that never thought anyone would win.
The Islanders are doing a lot of great things during this 50th anniversary season with alumni appearances and promotional giveaway at home games.
The fisherman jerseys are even making a comeback, so why not Score-O?
“I got beat up for that also…that’s for sure,” said Adler, who was still with the Islanders when the fisherman jerseys originally debuted in 1995.
But how great would it be if they brought back Score-O for a night?
“I don’t know if they’re going to do it or not, but I’d love to be there for it if they did do it,” said Hare.
It would be awesome to see Score-O again, but if they do bring it back let’s hope that it’s planned and executed appropriately.
A “Norman One Shot” memory would be better than a promotion gone wrong.