PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Defenseman Joe Watson was a key member of the "Broad Street Bullies" Flyers teams that won back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in the ‘70s. He looks back on his life, including that period, in a new memoir.
The Broad Street Bullies hold a special place in the hearts of Flyers fans, from their Stanley Cup victories to their 1976 win over the Soviet “Red Army” hockey team. But Watson — who spent 11 of his 14 NHL seasons manning the blue line for the Orange and Black — says their popularity and staying power really know no boundaries.
“Everybody remembers the Bullies and how we dismantled the Russians in 1976,” Watson told KYW Newsradio.
"A friend of mine was just over in Prague and he got off the airline, he hopped in a car and the cabbie asked him where he's from,” he said.
“He says, ‘Philadelphia.’ And the guy said, ‘home of the Bullies!’ And [my friend] said, ‘What?’ ‘Home of the Broad Street Bullies!’ Now, this is 8000 miles away. And when we went to Russia, the same thing happened when we were in Russia five years ago.”
Watson worked with Flyers writer Bill Meltzer on “Thundermouth,” which tracks everything from his life from growing up in British Columbia to starring with the Flyers.
"My wife convinced me to do the book,” he said “I thought about it for a couple of years, but she convinced me to do it.”
The Flyers legend has nothing but praise for his writing partner. “Bill Meltzer was the cream of the crop. He did a great job in the book and we got so many great reviews and I had (NHL legend) Bobby Orr do the foreword of the book,” he said.
“That's made a big impact and they say if it's good enough for Orr, it's got to be good enough for us — because he was the greatest player who ever laced a pair of skates up as far as I’m concerned."
"Thundermouth" is available for purchase at Watson’s website.