Philadelphia Flyers
The Broad Street Bullies: first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. They are the second NHL team to represent Philadelphia, with the first team, the Philadelphia Quakers, only playing one season in 1930–31. The team plays its home games at Xfinity Mobile Arena in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, an indoor arena they share with the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Part of the 1967 NHL expansion, the Flyers are the first of the expansion teams in the post-Original Six era to win the Stanley Cup, victorious in 1973–74 and again in 1974–75. Since their two Stanley Cup victories, they have been in the Final five other times, most recently in 2010.
- rivalry_name
- Battle of I-95
- era_origin
- 1974 (First regular season meeting)
- flying_fans_nickname
- Broad Street Bullies vs. The Capitals
- playoff_meetings
- Four series (1986, 2000, 2012, 2013)
- status
- Active and historic
Lore & Background
The Flyers play their home games on Broad Street, first at the Spectrum from 1967 until 1996, and then at Xfinity Mobile Arena since 1996. Their association with Broad Street, along with the players consistently brawling with other teams, earned them the nickname 'Broad Street Bullies' during the 1970s. The nickname was coined by Jack Chevalier and Pete Cafone of the Philadelphia Bulletin on January 3, 1973, after a 3–1 brawling victory over the Atlanta Flames. On December 11, 1969, the Flyers introduced a tradition of playing a recording of Kate Smith singing 'God Bless America' instead of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' at specific games.
In Their Own Story
The air inside the arena was thick with tension as the puck dropped for the opening face-off against Philadelphia. The roar of the crowd was deafening, a mix of anticipation and dread familiar to every Capital faithful who had faced the Flyers before. As the first whistle blew, the physicality immediately set in; sticks checked shoulders, and bodies collided with the ice, echoing the brutal history that bound these two franchises together for decades.
Reader's Guide
The Flyers were founded as part of the 1967 NHL expansion. Their first season was 1967–68, and they won their division despite a sub-.500 record. They missed the playoffs in 1969–70, recording only 17 wins—the fewest in franchise history. In 1973–74, they won their first Stanley Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins in six games. In 1974–75, they won their second Stanley Cup. Key players include Bobby Clarke (Hart Trophy winner), Bernie Parent (Conn Smythe Trophy winner), Dave Schultz (NHL record for penalty minutes), and Rick MacLeish (first Flyer to score 50 goals in a season). The team's home arena was the Spectrum from 1967 to 1996, and Xfinity Mobile Arena since 1996.
Did You Know?
- The Flyers' name was chosen by Ed Snider after his sister Phyllis suggested it, bypassing a planned name-the-team contest.
- The Philadelphia Quakers, the city's first NHL team, played only one season in 1930–31 and hold the record for fewest wins in an NHL season (4).
- The Flyers' tradition of playing Kate Smith's 'God Bless America' began on December 11, 1969, as a way to defray tensions during the Vietnam War.
- Bobby Clarke was the first player from an expansion team to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP.
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