Danny Lawson WHA
Danny Lawson recalled the WHA's wild side:
According to Lawson, things were equally exciting off the ice (as told to Murray Greig): "The off-ice stuff was just wild. One night after a game in New York the team stopped off at a little bar in Blackwood, New Jersey. It turned out that a gang of bikers used this bar as one of their favorite hangouts, and they showed up just after we got there. They started mouthing off, and one of them threw a shot glass at our table and hit Marcel Paille in the head.
"That did it. A big tough defenseman named Dave Hutchinson ran over and grabbed the biggest biker and was getting ready to plow his face through the window when the guy reached up with a choke wire and tried to get it around Dave's neck, so Dave dragged him outside like a side of beef and proceeded to beat the sh** out of him. By this time everyone else was fighting and throwing bottles and glasses, and a couple of minutes later a whole squad of cops showed up.
"It was pretty messy. Guys were cut up, and thee was blood all over the place. But it sure brought our team closer together. Bernie (Parent) ended up with a broken finger, and he missed game because of it, but word never leaked out about how it happened. The club did some fancy talking and none of us faced serious charges. It was all covered up."
According to Lawson, things were equally exciting off the ice (as told to Murray Greig): "The off-ice stuff was just wild. One night after a game in New York the team stopped off at a little bar in Blackwood, New Jersey. It turned out that a gang of bikers used this bar as one of their favorite hangouts, and they showed up just after we got there. They started mouthing off, and one of them threw a shot glass at our table and hit Marcel Paille in the head.
"That did it. A big tough defenseman named Dave Hutchinson ran over and grabbed the biggest biker and was getting ready to plow his face through the window when the guy reached up with a choke wire and tried to get it around Dave's neck, so Dave dragged him outside like a side of beef and proceeded to beat the sh** out of him. By this time everyone else was fighting and throwing bottles and glasses, and a couple of minutes later a whole squad of cops showed up.
"It was pretty messy. Guys were cut up, and thee was blood all over the place. But it sure brought our team closer together. Bernie (Parent) ended up with a broken finger, and he missed game because of it, but word never leaked out about how it happened. The club did some fancy talking and none of us faced serious charges. It was all covered up."
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