A Brief History Of The Air Hockey Table

Air hockey is a recreational game that is played between two people. It is played on a smooth surfaced table with each player brandishing a special paddle. The goal of the game is to knock a small disc back and forth while attempting to whack it in to your opponent's goal. The first player to score a predetermined set of goals or the one with the highest score after a set amount of time is declared the winner. And, like most popular games of its time, the history of the air hockey table is a unique and interesting one.

Three employees of the Brunswick Billiards Corporation, a Chicago based manufacturer, began work on a project that would eventually become the air hockey table in late 1969. The men were interested in creating a game that was played atop a completely frictionless surface. Although quite a bit of work was put into it, their project was ultimately scrapped and abandoned for several years. Then, in 1972, a fellow employee named Bob Lemieux came along and revived it.

The activity is played upon a special mechanized table that creates a cushion of air. When turned on, this cushion allows the small plastic pucks to glide around the surface. Each table hockey player uses a plastic mallet to smack the puck back and forth the length of the table. To prevent smash fingers, most mallets are made with a small ridge around the handle.

The hockey table was an immediate and total financial success. By the 1970's, table hockey enthusiasts had even began forming local competitive chapters. The intense interest surrounding the activity eventually led to the formation of air hockey associations. The groups were committed to sanctioning and organizing competitive tournaments. They also ensure that the rules and standards of the game are upheld.

The very first air hockey tournament was orchestrated and hosted by the game's manufacturer, Brunswick. The company had become disenfranchised with the image of their game and wanted to market it as a more serious sport. Their event was held at a New York City Holiday Inn in 1974 and offered a five thousand dollar prize to the first place winner.

In the late eighties, when newer arcade games threatened to diminish their significance, US Billiards started a campaign to breath new life into air hockey. The company, who was the only manufacturer of the tables at the time, revamped Brunswick's original design and began producing tournament worthy tables.

As of now, only eight foot tables that have been manufactured by the Dynamo corporation have been approved for tournament play. The United State's air hockey association chose the tables because of their high quality and popular design.

The basic rules of the game were determined by the game's major American association. A coin toss determines who gets possession of the puck before game play and making contact with the puck with anything other than the mallet is strictly forbidden. Stopping the puck by placing the mallet on top of it is also frowned upon automatically awards control of the puck to your opponent.

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Highest Valued WHA Hockey Cards From The 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Set

The 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee hockey card series featured 52 cards from number 290 to 341 that were not NHL cards. The World Hockey Association was in it's first year of existence and with stars like Bobby Hull, Gerry Cheevers, Bernie Parent and Derek Sanderson taken from the NHL, it looked like the league might be around for awhile. Although the first WHA series that was completely separate from the NHL didn't come out until 1974-75, O-Pee-Chee added on these 50+ additional cards at the end of the 1972-73 series.

Other than checkist number 334B, there are only three cards from the WHA portion of the 1972-73 series that are rated by Beckett Hockey Monthly. However, common cards from card 290 and beyond are worth up th $8 each, $3 to $5.50 more than other commons in the series.

Of course, number 336 of Bobby Hull is the top card. Hull's 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee card is worth up to $60. The card shows him as a Winnipeg Jet but isn't the only Bobby Hull card in the set. Hull is also included as an All-Star playing for the Chicago Black Hawks on card number 228. That card is worth $30. Not quite the value of his 1958-59 Topps rookie card ($3000), the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee card is the most valuable hockey card of Bobby Hull as a WHA player.

At half the value of the Bobby Hull card, number 340 with Gerry Cheevers of the Cleveland Crusaders on the front is the next most valuable of this group of cards. Cheevers was the top goalie in the WHA in that inaugural season and continued on with the Cleveland Crusaders until returning to the Boston Bruins part of the way through the 1975-76 season.

Gerry Pinder?!

The third and last rated card from the group belongs to none other than Gerry Pinder. The number 341 card of Pinder as a Cleveland Crusader is worth $20. The great Gerry Pinder played 223 regular season NHL games over three campaigns then followed that up with 353 in the WHA. Pinder began his NHL career with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1969-70. After two seasons in Chicago, he played one more in the NHL with the California Golden Seals before escaping to the WHA. After four seasons with the Crusaders, he played a half season with the San Diego Mariners then five games with the Edmonton Oilers in 1977-78 before hanging up the skates.

Pinder appeared in only five different sets of O-Pee-Chee hockey cards. Each of his hockey cards, including his 1970-71 rookie card is considered a common card, except for the 1972-73 card. We would have to assume that it's a case of scarcity. Gerry does appear in the 1973-74 Quaker Oats WHA set, as well.

Tom is the author of http://www.ohlalumnicentral.com/ (OHL Alumni Central). OHL Alumni Central is a daily updated blog featuring graduates of the Ontario Hockey League and their careers in professional hockey after leaving the OHL.

The centrepiece of ohlalumnicentral.com is the OHL Alumni Big List. The Big List is an on-going database of the whereabouts of all the active OHL grads.

The real Hockey fans

Hockey-the biggest game

I became a fan of hockey in 1963. I watched my first game at a friend's House as a freshman in high school. He was a fan of the Chicago Black Hawks. I've always been a fan of baseball and football fan but hockey was different. It was like a tug of war. Sometimes, the momentum would shift from minute to minute. Other times a team you want to control others and dominate them for entire periods. The players had different combinations of talent and tenacity.

Like other sports, many players were on the same team throughout their career. Only the player's name and his image will come to mind in their team's uniform. This was the old six NHL teams. The Chicago black hawks, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. I became a fan in Toronto. The Maple Leafs were broadcasting center point for Hockey Night In Canada. All teams were proud and ancient traditions. Each had players scoring star, top goalkeepers, defenders and at least one enforcer.

My favorite player was Frank Mahovlich. I got a kick out of watching him skate just above the blue line, settling with a slap shot, and rocket the puck as it was fired from a gun past the goalkeeper. I thought wow so many players to go through all that dipsy doodle and here this guy just blasts what. The leaves have offered in a contract dispute with the big m and the Chicago Black Hawks leaves 1 million for Mahovlich. The leaves first accepted and then rejected. A year after the leaves have won their last Stanley Cup in 1967 they traded him to the Red Wings. That's why I think the leaves (which have not won a Bowl since) are under "the curse of Frank Mahovlich. Of course I became a fan of the Red Wings instantly and then in 1971, a fan of the Montreal Canadiens as the Big M was traded again. Mahovlich won six Stanley Cups. Bobby Hull of the Black Hawks was more like Mahovlich with slap shot and of course the Boom Boom Geoffrion Canadiens has perfected the slap shot and was the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season.

In 1968, the NHL added the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings and the Oakland seals. In 1970, dreams have come true here in Buffalo, NY as the Buffalo Sabres became members of the NHL. In 1974 the Philadelphia Flyers became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. The Montreal Canadiens and then wheeled off four Stanley Cups in a row just to prove who really was boss. The Canada Cup and the Olympics created some of the biggest games in history.

Hockey now has 30 teams. The lack of an important contract TV hold the sport back by gaining the popularity it deserves. Three teams are in California, two teams are in Florida and one in Georgia, the Carolinas, Texas and Arizona. The sport is starting to cross racial barriers and vast global popularity is booming. They have many great players and stars led by Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

They say that if sport was presented in its original form, it would blossom in America. Get rid of instigator penalty combat. Hockey's superstars were protected in the NHL old by one, two or three players in each team you want to beat your brain if you put a good blow, slash, spear, or punch one of the skaters the best teams. Added the drama of the game. Today, controls "legal" open ice are causing more trauma and career ending injuries than ever. If someone delivered one of these controls "legal" in the old NHL, they would pay dearly to get drilled on several occasions. Goalkeepers are allowed to skate and move all over the place. I say that if you step outside the crease with the puck, you're a fair game. I like the two-line pass rule.

Fugues are fun to watch. Get rid of that crazy shootout. Let them go 5 minutes with about 4 and then 3 4 Play on play 3. A draw after that wouldn't be a sin and should be allowed. I swear that the NHL's leadership is listening to soccer moms instead of hockey moms. Stop submitting the rink aimed at children. Your marketing people are ruining the game. The light shows are cool but the music is terrible. Organ music old make it compulsory. Let the fans started cheering. About them and not on prod with prerecorded junk. If your fan cannot generate its own team of cheers, then send them to a soccer match. Check out a saber-leaves, Oilers-flames or game Rangers-Islanders. Don't need all that fake stuff to generate enthusiasm.

One last note. If TV fans cannot see the puck is because they have no idea what's going on in the game. It's not the visibility of fast moving puck. Real hockey fans know where is the darn puck and usually where it's going next. We take the hammers and bang up the team bus. Let's get back the biggest game where it belongs-for real hockey fans.

Charles Priore

Chicago Black Hawks Trivia

The price to pay for the new team during the first great expansion of the 1926-27 NHL was very convenient for today's standards. Major Frederic McLaughlin led the NHL to Chicago with the price of $ 200,000. On the advice of the brothers Patrick, the Major bought the WHL Portland Rosebuds and were renamed "Black Hawks". The Hawks received their team name of the famous Black Hawk Army Regiment of the United States. Major McLaughlin commanded the Regiment during the first world war. November 17, 1926, the Black Hawks made their NHL debut. Game # 1 was played at the Coliseum in Chicago. 9,000 fans applauded the hawks to a 4-1 victory against the Toronto St. Pats. Chicago Stadium was built for $ 7 million. 16 December 1929 was the first home game. The Hawks defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1. Arthur Wirtz and James Norris bought Chicago Stadium in 1936. In the same year the partnership started la Revue Hollywood ice starring Sonja Henie. Seeking new ways to invest your $ $ $, formed the International Boxing Club in 1949. Going their separate ways, Wirtz bought controlling interest in Black Hawks in 1952.

Hawks-Foundation MAX BENTLEY and DOUG: Max Bentley and Doug were the first brother teammates to lead the NHL in scoring. Doug led the NHL with 73 points in 1942-43. NHL career by Max Bentley was interrupted by the second world war in 1943. He returned to lead the NHL in scoring for the 1945-46 season with 31 goals-assists 30-61 points. Max was the first Chicago Black Hawk to be awarded the Hart Trophy. Max Bentley and Doug played together on the famous "Pony line". Bill Mosienko was the third member. Assembled from Black Hawks in 1946-47, received the name "Pony", from their speed of course. All 3 are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Doug Bentley was the first player to score 200 career as a member of the Black Hawks. 23 February 1950-Doug scored in a lost cause as the Rangers won 7-3. In 1950, Doug was named the top player Hawks history ... beating brother Max, mush March and Dick Irvin.

BILL MOSIENKO: Bill Mosienko started his career NHL goal scoring with a flurry. February 9.1942-goal # 1 came against Rangers ' Jim Henry. "Wee Willie" scored the second goal of NHL 21 seconds later. 23 March 1952-an NHL scoring record was established. The Rangers were leading 6-2 in the third period. 21 seconds later, the Hawks had reduced the score to 6-5. Bill scored his hat-trick! Mosienko was the first Black Hawks player to score 250 career goals. 25 November 1954-"Wee Willy" scored as Chicago lost to Montreal 3-2.

FACT OR FICTION? Black Hawks hold the NHL record for consecutive years not finishing in first place during the regular season. As a team, "Original Six", the Hawks entered the NHL in 1926-27. In the 41st year of existence Chicago finally finished first in 1966-67. Superstition claimed that their first Hawks coach Pete Muldoon, cursed them to first place in failure "after the first firing of the year. Chicago holds the record for consecutive shutout games be 8 ... a NHL record that will probably never equalled. Chicago went through not only 8 matches without WINS, they failed to score a goal. John Ross Roach has completed the record as Rangers and Hawks battled to a 0-0 tie.

Twenty-five years of intense research has led to the development of 120 years-Tough terrific Hockey trivia, a trivial expose the world of hockey. Along the way, Tom helped (using a family name) to Total Hockey and appeared on the news program of CTV W5 in 1995. Tom's passion for hockey also includes a collection of over 58,000 birth records and various other hockey information. Thomas King published "120 years-Tough Hockey-appalling banality" in 2008. You can purchase the book of 273 pages containing 600 trivia question & answers ... easy to very difficult ... to http://www.authorhouse.com send your comments to trivia-hockey@hotmail.com.

Hockey Betting Lines

If you really want to earn money, there are many opportunities lying on the ground that you can just pick and own. This line of thinking is basically applicable to anyone who desires to earn money. There are many ways of making money, but if you want it fast the legal way, then one option that you can take is hockey betting.

It may sound absurd, but people nowadays earn money from their winnings from hockey betting. What makes it quite peculiar is not the betting but the idea that people bet on the sport hockey. Some people might even be surprised that hockey still exists. However, it still does, and it has drawn a lot of people to bet on it. It may not draw a huge audience or a big market of bettors the way basketball or football does, but it still makes a significant following.

There are several ways on how you can bet on hockey. You can choose one of the different hockey betting lines for you to be able to bet on a National Hockey League game.

The first of the betting lines is the money line. This is actually the most common and the most basic betting line that is ideal for those who haven't tried hockey betting. The rules here are simple. For an instance, the Atlanta Thrashers will have a game against Chicago Hawks. It happens that Atlanta is the more favorable team based on statistics, so it might register +150 on the board. On the other hand, Chicago might have -170. This means that if you want to place your bet on Atlanta, you have to pay $150 and you will earn $100 if the team wins. Otherwise, if you want to bet Chicago, you only need to pay $100, and if you're lucky that they win, you will earn $170.

The next type of line is the puck line. In this type of betting line, the goals made by each team at the end of the game will determine whether the bettor will win or not. The odds are always set to either +1.5 or -1.5, for there can never be a tied game in hockey. If you placed your bet on the team with +1.5, you will win your wager if the team wins or losses by a point. On the contrary, if you bet on the team with -1.5, then you can only win your wager if the team won with two points or more.

Aside from those, you can also try the totals betting line. In this kind of betting line, the bettor will only have to guess whether the total goals at the end of the game is greater than or less than the goal to be posted by sports book. Usually, the total goals posted by the sports book would be at least 5 and most 6.5. The other betting line similar to totals is called the grand salami. In this betting line, all the goals for the day's tournaments will be summed up, and what the bettors will do is to tell whether it is more than or less than.

If you want to improve your winnings on hockey betting lines, you should rely on a trusted and proven system that can help you win more.

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The soul of a sports fan in Chicago

Growing a Chicago sports fan is a humiliating dependence.

I've been hooked since the day my father took first in the family to a White Sox game at the old Comiskey Park, when my young sister, which was used to watch the games on a black-and-white TV with UHF reception snowy, pronounced, "look, the play of colours!" I am absolutely hooked since I saw my first game Blackhawks at the since demolished at the Chicago Stadium. In a previous article, I tried to describe the ephemeral power that music has on our soul-namely, the power to transform our emotional state and lead us to another place. For better or worse, sport has such a transformative capacity.

Growing up, my dad shared subscriptions for a year or two for games Chicago Blackhawks hockey. It was during this time that I was able to enjoy the true beauty of hockey (along with 20,000 raucous fans). The momentum of the game can change in an instant; a control drive or a defensive play often means more than a major offensive pass or shot. That is what I love about hockey. More than any other sport, is seemingly minor elements which impact so much the present moment and the end result. In addition, the old Chicago Stadium (even then it was old, having been built in 1929) literally shook with every great pass or the stellar defensive play. It certainly shook even more when the home side scored, helped by the pitch incessant baritone of 3,663 tube Barton organ that want to signal a goal. As a music club, Chicago stadium was a sensual Temple which resulted in the senses, addicted patrons and begged him to seek higher levels of pleasure.

Unfortunately, the Blackhawks couldn't win the Stanley Cup. Although they had terrible teams in my heyday of childhood of the late 60 's and early ' 70, with players like Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Tony Esposito and Pit Martin, have failed to win the Cup. The most memorable and poignant, lost at home game 7 the Montreal Canadiens in 1971 after being ahead 2-0 in a game in late in the second period. A fluke goal from the centerline by Jacques Lemaire zipped past or Tony, cut the cable with 1 goal and gave the Canadiens the momentum above that they desperately need. They finally beat the hawks 3-2 to win another Stanley Cup.

Listening to those games on radio as described by the wonderful work Play Lloyd Petit, was emotionally spent. It wasn't just a fan at that point, but a member of the team, my emotions rising and falling faster than Jacques Lemaire turned. I was only eleven years old, but often felt that my emotional commitment exceeded that of most of the players or management.

Unfortunately, once again, being a fan of Chicago sports will guide you in emotional depth. Not only is the failure of my infinity hockey team loved it, but a collective failure to "win" the majority of Chicago sports teams. Yes, it is true that the Chicago Bears, under the tutelage of Mike Ditka, broke the streak in the 1985-1986 season. But let us not forget that the bears have won at least two more Super Bowls in years 80. Thanks Charles Martin of Packers for body slamming Jim McMahon in 1986 and dashing all hopes of a victory of the Super Bowl. It is true that the Chicago Bulls won big in the 1990s under the expert guidance of Phil Jackson and the magic of Michael Jordan. However, let us not forget the 1975 Western Conference finals when the Bulls stole home court advantage, went up 3 games to 2, but lost the next two games against the eventual champion Golden State Warriors.

The Cubs deserve an entire chapter of their own, but let me mention just a couple of years and names: 1984, Leon Durham; 2003, Steve Bartman. Enough said.

As for my other favorite team-the White Sox-at least they took their long drought by winning the World Series in 2005, the first time since 1917. Still, the 1983 playoffs, with names such as Britt Burns, Tito Landrum and Jerry Dybzinski persecute forever long tenured Sox fans.

But, back to hockey. In 1991, my wife and I had just moved from Chicago to San Antonio. During the Blackhawks surprising playoff run during the 1991-1992 season shortened by the strike, which ends with a visit to the Stanley Cup finals, we look at all the playoff games the local sports bar. There was no other place to get the television feed. Has become our routine. Every other night the Hawks want to gamble, and want to meet at the bar after work, enjoy a cold drink in the fervent heat of southern Texas and scream and shout for a victory. For eleven straight playoff games, the Falcons did just that. Until they reached the final against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Twenty years removed from dashed dreams of 71, I sit in a sports bar in a foreign city, mentally taken back in those days much themselves. I have reverted to that child of eleven-year-old whose every breath, every emotional ebb and flow, revolves around the success of his hockey team.

Instead of names like Jacques Lemaire, Ken Dryden, Henri Richard and Yvan Cournoyer steal my dreams, names like Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr beset my reality. The good side, Belfour, Roenick and Chelios are replaced, Esposito, hull and Mikita. The different names, though, does not produce a different result. In game 1, the Husk Hawks leads 3-0 and 4-1. I implore Eddie Belfour to hang onto the puck, but to no avail. Out a rebound, Mr. Lemieux scored the game winning goal with 10 seconds left to rally the penguins to an incredible victory 5-4. Pittsburgh using this initial momentum 1 game to sweep the hawks 4 games to none to win the Stanley Cup (although the series was actually closer than the score would indicate).

Chicago loses again and I am devastated once again. Swear off my addiction. After all, how silly is it left the soul ride on the wings of a sports team? I remain faithful to my commitment and stay off this drug. Then spring training, or Mini-Camp or pre-season starts again and I fall off the wagon sport forever be haunted by a last-second score by the opposing team.

I am a sports fan in Chicago.

http://www.dailyharangue.com

Harangue Daily was started by a group of friends who had a lot to say, but just agreed. These candid discussions on topics ranging from politics to music, art, nature, life, love, and the human condition has always been a free flow of ideas that serve to strengthen, rather than destroy, the bands of our friendship.

Top Attendance Records in Hockey and Number of Registered Players

Migliaia di persone partecipare a una partita di hockey solitaria, ma ci sono due partite di hockey che sono le prime due per un gioco solitario. La prima partita è successo il 6 ottobre 2001 per un gioco normalmente riconosciuto agli appassionati della University of Michigan e Michigan State University come "guerra fredda". Questa apertura di stagione è accaduto allo stadio di Spartan all'aperto di Michigan State. L'Università ha speso $500.000 su una lastra di ghiaccio per la pista e la temperatura era di 30 gradi, e il gioco ha attirato un pubblico di 74.554 spettatori oltre 55.000 spettatori a partita di campionato tra Svezia e Russia quando il gioco è accaduto a Mosca, ma la data è sconosciuta.

La più grande folla singola a guardare un gioco NHL era durante il 23 novembre 2003 Heritage Classic è stato quando 57.163 spettatori hanno partecipato il match tra i canadesi di Montreal e Lubrificatori de Edmonton al Commonwealth stadium di Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Montreal sconfitto Edmonton 4-3. L'unica cosa che rende questo match si distingue è che era l'unico gioco di NHL giocato all'aperto dal piste indoor sono giocate tutte le partite NHL. Il gioco di megastar che viene chiamato match di old timer con ex giocatori di lubrificatori e l'unico gioco che Wayne Gretzky ha giocato dal suo ritiro da professionista di hockey su e insiste sul fatto che il gioco sarebbe stato suo ufficiale e l'ultimo.

Giochi di hockey locale tipicamente non tirare nella quantità di persone che possono attirare squadre di hockey su durante un gioco solitario. Ecco perché più persone sono inclini a voler presenziare occasioni professionali rispetto alla minor league o partita di college/università, dal momento che non c'è più di una più grande curiosità su sport professionistico che una squadra locale a meno che non stai tifo per la tua città natale, ma sulla scala realistica la maggioranza delle persone trovare il brivido e l'emozione più grande per quelli professionali occorrenze. I due paesi top con giocatori di hockey registrati sono Canada con 543.390 giocatori registrati in terra e negli Stati Uniti arriva secondo con 435.737 giocatori registrati.

Slovenia viene in ultimo con 980 giocatori registrati così che mostra chiaramente il Canada e gli Stati Uniti sono le zone più calde a giocare a hockey dal momento che hanno la maggior parte delle persone registrate in ciascun paese. Hockey è e sarà sempre lo sport più caldo in Canada e negli Stati Uniti poiché attira nella maggior parte delle folle come conseguenza gli unici giocatori ottenere da altri paesi poiché non è un buon numero di cittadini americani stanno giocando hockey su sono più probabili per giocare a baseball, basket e calcio di hockey su ghiaccio

Il solo motivo è che del hockey di ghiaccio in autunno un basket di tempo identici e calcio iniziano quindi c'è qualche concorso per la partecipazione del pubblico e la copertura televisiva, ma hockey ottiene la loro quota di fedeli spettatori e partecipanti del pubblico. L'unica squadra finora che sta avendo un momento difficile successo che un campionato Coppa Stanley è il nero di Chicago falchi poiché hanno non hanno vinto un campionato unico dal 1961 over 40 anni fa 35 anni così si potrebbe unire la truppa di altri Chicago pro squadre che ha vinto campionati negli ultimi. Articoli del passato descritto Chicago ha con il peggior record in giochi e presenza fino a quando la squadra è stata acquistata e il nuovo proprietario aveva apportato alcune modifiche nel corso del tempo che aveva girato l'affare di presenze intorno, ma ancora non si ferma il fatto che i falchi neri non hanno vinto un campionato dal 1961 e a malapena nemmeno fatto ai playoff al termine della stagione in quanto erano normalmente fuori al primo turno.

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