Playoff beard
A superstition where athletes stop shaving during playoff runs.
A playoff beard is a superstition in which a male athlete stops shaving once his team begins postseason play, continuing until the team is eliminated or wins a championship. The practice originated in ice hockey during the Stanley Cup playoffs and has since been adopted across many sports, with fans also participating. The tradition began in the early 1980s with the New York Islanders. According to player Mike Bossy, teammate Butch Goring likely started it. The 1984–85 Detroit Red Wings were the first team documented to wear them; forwards Ivan Boldirev and Danny Gare began the practice in January 1985 to inspire four straight wins, and defenseman Brad Park coined the term “playoff beard.” The 1980 Islanders included Swedish players Stefan Persson and Anders Kallur, leading some to suggest tennis champion Björn Borg’s habit of not shaving during Wimbledon may have influenced hockey. Hall of Famer Denis Potvin noted that the Islanders’ early-round schedule of four games in five nights made the beard a natural occurrence. Some players, like Jim Dowd and Roberto Luongo, have trimmed their beards after a loss to try to change the team’s luck. The 2009 Red Wings used the slogan “The beard is back” during their Stanley Cup Finals run, where most players on both teams—including Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux—grew beards. In 2009, the Beard-a-thon campaign encouraged fans to grow playoff beards for charity, raising over two million dollars in its first four years with more than 22,000 NHL participants. In June 2015, NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus told the Chicago Tribune he had lobbied the NHL to discourage the practice, arguing it makes players harder for viewers to recognize. The playoff beard has spread to Major League Baseball, the Canadian Football League, the National Football League, and, to a lesser extent, the National Basketball Association. In the NFL, players such as Mitchell Trubisky, Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, Brett Keisel, Julian Edelman, and Jake Plummer have grown them. After Roethlisberger’s beard helped lead the Steelers to Super Bowl XL victory, David Letterman shaved it on the Late Show. In association football, Sheffield United striker Alan Cork did not shave during the club’s 1993 FA Cup run to the semi-finals.
- First documented team
- 1984–85 Detroit Red Wings
- First team documented to wear them
- 1984–85 Detroit Red Wings
Lore & Background
The tradition began in the early 1980s when the New York Islanders decided to grow beards during the playoffs. According to Islander Mike Bossy, it was likely started by teammate Butch Goring. The 1980 Islanders were the first team documented to wear them, and the team included two Swedish players (Stefan Persson and Anders Kallur), leading to speculation that tennis champion Björn Borg's custom of not shaving during Wimbledon may have influenced the practice. Some players have said the beard is both a reminder of team unity and a way to get a player thinking about the playoffs from the moment he looks in the mirror in the morning. The 1984–85 Detroit Red Wings were the first team documented to wear them in writing. Wings forwards Ivan Boldirev and Danny Gare began the practice in January 1985, trying to inspire the team to win four straight games. Defenseman Brad Park called it his 'playoff beard,' thus coining the phrase. Hall of Famer Denis Potvin said that the Islanders of the 1980s would 'play four games in five nights in the first round and it was just something that kind of happened.' The player stops shaving when his team enters the playoffs and does not shave until his team is eliminated or wins the Stanley Cup. According to some observers, one may trim the beard after a loss in an effort to change the team's luck; Jim Dowd and Roberto Luongo are examples of players who did this.
Reader's Guide
The playoff beard has become a widespread tradition in ice hockey and beyond. In the NHL, the 2009 Detroit Red Wings used the slogan 'The beard is back' for the final series of their 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs run, and most players of both the Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins (including Penguins owner Mario Lemieux) grew beards during that Finals. The tradition is practiced by nearly all North American hockey leagues, including high school leagues, NCAA hockey teams, and minor league affiliates. In 2009, the Beard-a-thon campaign was launched to encourage fans to grow their own playoff beards for charity; in its first four years, more than 22,000 NHL fans participated and raised over two million dollars for charities. In June 2015, Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Sports, told the Chicago Tribune that he had been lobbying the NHL to discourage the practice, arguing that it hinders the ability for viewers to recognize players. The playoff beard has expanded into Major League Baseball, the Canadian Football League, the National Football League, and to a lesser extent the National Basketball Association. Fans often grow beards as a sign of support while their favorite team is in the playoffs.
Did You Know?
- The 1980 New York Islanders were the first team documented to wear playoff beards.
- Brad Park of the Detroit Red Wings coined the term 'playoff beard' in 1985.
- The Beard-a-thon charity campaign raised over two million dollars in its first four years.
- NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus lobbied the NHL to discourage playoff beards, citing viewer recognition issues.
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