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Inquirer editorial: Snider made hockey part of city's identity

It's as simple as this: no Ed Snider, no "Broad Street Bullies," no consecutive Stanley Cup championships, no Philadelphia hockey tradition to excite millions of Flyers fans during the National Hockey League team's nearly 50-year history.

Ed Snider greets ex-Ranger Mark Messier as ex-Flyer Bob Clarke watches before the drop of the puck at an alumni game on Dec. 31, 2011 at Citizens Bank Park. The alumni game was part of the NHL's Winter Classic. Snider died Monday at the age of 83.
Ed Snider greets ex-Ranger Mark Messier as ex-Flyer Bob Clarke watches before the drop of the puck at an alumni game on Dec. 31, 2011 at Citizens Bank Park. The alumni game was part of the NHL's Winter Classic. Snider died Monday at the age of 83.Read moreRON CORTES / Staff Photographer
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It's as simple as this: no Ed Snider, no "Broad Street Bullies," no consecutive Stanley Cup championships, no Philadelphia hockey tradition to excite millions of Flyers fans during the National Hockey League team's nearly 50-year history.

Snider, 83, died of cancer Monday at his home in Montecito, Calif., his family said. Among his mourners, count the thousands of participants in programs offered through the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, which maintains hockey rinks and provides equipment and coaching to inner-city children in Philadelphia and Camden.

Philadelphia had flirted with pro hockey before, but it didn't take off until Snider, Jerry Wolman, and their partners purchased a franchise for Philadelphia when the NHL expanded from six to 12 teams in 1967. The Flyers made the new Spectrum on South Broad Street their home and, in 1974, became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. They did it again in 1975.

Known for a tenacity that often led to fisticuffs on the ice, the Flyers didn't mind fighting for Snider. "He was a great owner, and it wasn't just because he wanted to win all the time," said Bob Clarke, captain of the '74 and '75 teams.

The Flyers had Snider in mind as they pursued a playoff berth this season knowing that he was ill. Achieving that goal Saturday was a fitting tribute to the man who added hockey to Philadelphia's identity.