Official hockeyfights.com All-Time Top 10

[EDDIESHORETOEBLAKE]

Thanks Odjick - and a very nice Top 10 I might add . . .

[Big24]

Hey Bert. I actually didnt know that Nystrom and Cochrane had more than one fight until I found it on tape that I traded for. There were some really obscure fights on it.It had a couple of Nilan-Cochrane fights too. Nystrom clearly lost the 2nd fight and it broke my heart (he was my hero). The first fight was wild and brief but I though BN won. Cochrane was definately an innovator of the whole jersey shedding that Rob Ray later perfected. I would have liked to have seen Cochrane fight more elite heavyweights. It's funny how things go full circle sometimes too. Nystrom also lost clearly to Don Jackson that year. Jackson made a name for himself by breaking Harold Philipoff's nose and ending his career- Kocur did the exact same thing to Jackson.

[Bert14]

Big24, You know you've got some pretty rare footage there in that first Nystrom/Cochrane fight. Like I said earlier, that was a non-televised pre-season game so any footage would be very hard to come by. I disagree with you in that I thought the fight was very similar to their second fight, with Cochrane landing more and better. Incidentally, that same game as Nystrom/Cochrane 1, Hector Marini took a decision over Behn Wilson.

I agree with you that Cochrane did shed the jersey often and I always thought of him as a bit of a spotpicker. A really good fighter, who terrorized the Rangers, yet somehow managed to miss Fotiu and Beck. Of course, he had his opportunity to go with Fotiu in that preseason bench brawl but left that up to Cunningham, 3 times.

[Big24]

Actually Bert, the tape was made by a Long Island guy who sold tapes under the name "Phil Davis" but his real name was Steve. Marv Albert actually did a quick piece on him once. The guy was really the original hockey fight tape guru and I am sure he was very connected and could get footage from the Coliseum directly. Remember Bert, there's almost always a camera on. My buddy Tony is also fight tapemaker and he maintains our "archive". I could ask him to dig it up if you want to try to arrange a swap.

[oldtymehockey1]

Actually Big24, your friend Steve (aka Phil Davis) is a bit of a fraud. I saw that Marv Albert piece on an '80's tape and it was a CLEAR misrepresentation. The guy who actually started the whole taping concept (way back in the mid-1970's) was a guy named Sandy from New Jersey. He advertised in the Hockey News classifieds in the mid-'80's when the fight collecting boom occurred -and that's how I met him. Steve R and a guy named Boemer from MINN took Sandy's stuff and sold/traded it as their own....I used to spend HOURS at a time talking to Sandy on the phone back then - he was really into hockey fight and boxing video/footage....He was pretty pissed that Steve did the Albert interview and didn't give (Sandy) him any credit for orginally acquiring ALL of the footage from those early days....not trying to be a know-it-all , but just FYI....

[Blues 34]

I will give it my best effort stating first that I have only been following hockey close since 1990-91 and have very limited footage of the older guys.
here goes
1.Bob Probert
2.Dave Brown
3.Marty McSorley
4.Joey Kocur
5.Dave Semenko
6.Clarke Gillies
7.Terry O' Rielly
8.Jay Miller
9.John Kordic
10.Stan Jonathan

Actually that listes was different from my first( it helps to go through the thread but after watching my limited amount of old footage I have changed it. I dont have much to trade but there is anyway I could trade for some 70's aND 80'S footage, thanks guys.

[Odjick29]

quoteOriginally posted by Blues 34
I will give it my best effort stating first that I have only been following hockey close since 1990-91 and have very limited footage of the older guys.
here goes
1.Bob Probert
2.Dave Brown
3.Marty McSorley
4.Joey Kocur
5.Dave Semenko
6.Clarke Gillies
7.Terry O' Rielly
8.Jay Miller
9.John Kordic
10.Stan Jonathan

Actually that listes was different from my first( it helps to go through the thread but after watching my limited amount of old footage I have changed it. I dont have much to trade but there is anyway I could trade for some 70's aND 80'S footage, thanks guys.


Not a bad list, but that does not reflect from the 90's and up...I guess you have a mixture...I started as a fight fan around the same time you were and I created a list since then, I would be interested in seeing what your list would be from the 90's +

[Blues 34]

quoteOriginally posted by odjick29
quoteOriginally posted by Blues 34
I will give it my best effort stating first that I have only been following hockey close since 1990-91 and have very limited footage of the older guys.
here goes
1.Bob Probert
2.Dave Brown
3.Marty McSorley
4.Joey Kocur
5.Dave Semenko
6.Clarke Gillies
7.Terry O' Rielly
8.Jay Miller
9.John Kordic
10.Stan Jonathan

Actually that listes was different from my first( it helps to go through the thread but after watching my limited amount of old footage I have changed it. I dont have much to trade but there is anyway I could trade for some 70's aND 80'S footage, thanks guys.


Not a bad list, but that does not reflect from the 90's and up...I guess you have a mixture...I started as a fight fan around the same time you were and I created a list since then, I would be interested in seeing what your list would be from the 90's +
Odjick29 I actually had a top 20 from 90 on and I will list it as It originally was and then will list it with some changes I thought neede to be made after looking closer at it.

1.Probert
2.Kocur
3.Brown
4.Twist
5.Grimson
6.McSorley
7.Kordic
8.Miller
9.Mccarthy
10.Simon

Last two would be much higher had they stayed active.

11-20

11.Domi
12.Hunter
13.Semenko-Would be much higher if I had saw him more.
14.crowder
15 Ewen
16.Berube
17.Baumgartner
18.Mcrae
19.Byers
20.Chase-Had too get the little big man in there.

Hon mention to Link Gaetz because you have a possible champ if he had kept his **** together.

I also left out the Younger guys like laraque and Brashear and the like because they are still finding their place. I even Had a top 10 for young guys that I didnt list here.

I will now ammend my top 20 foe 1990-present
1.Probert
2.Kocur
3.Brown
4.Twist
5.McSorley
6.Grimson
7.Berube
8.Domi
9.Langdon
10.McKenzie-higher if he were more active.

11-20
11.Crowder-would be higher if he hadnt burned out so quick.
12.Baumgartner-Awesome technical fighter
13.Ray-an absolute Warrior had a big advantage when his jersey and pads came off and they came of too easy for it to be an accident. can you immagine probie fighting with Rob's style his Kayo's would have multiplied.
14.Ewen
15.Byers-Best at switching hands that I saw would be much higher had I saw more
16.Mcrae
17.McCarthy-much higher if not given his recent history
18.Simon-When he was active looked much like Dave Brown. Like Sandy mac he slowed down although I think he slowed down more due to injury.
19.Kordic-Only this low because much of his rep was made in the 80's although he was around in the 90's his battles with Miller were all time classics.
20.Miller-see Kordic awesome fighter just have limited footage.
Hon Mention-Gaetz-as i said in previous list im my opinion could have possibly been champ, he has noone to blame but himself.

Thoughts Odgick29

[Odjick29]

Looks pretty good, I don't know how Odjick didn't crack your top 20, he was a force in the early and mid 90's []...I think Chase could be a little higher, he was underated IMO, I loved watching that guy fight..nice list...I'll re-post my list from the 90's - Present, so you can take a look at it...

1. Probert
2. Brown
3. Grimson
4. Mcsorley
5. Kocur
6. Mckenzie
7. Odjick
8. Domi
9. Twist
10. Brashear

[Blues 34]

quoteOriginally posted by odjick29
Looks pretty good, I don't know how Odjick didn't crack your top 20, he was a force in the early and mid 90's []...I think Chase could be a little higher, he was underated IMO, I loved watching that guy fight..nice list...I'll re-post my list from the 90's - Present, so you can take a look at it...

1. Probert
2. Brown
3. Grimson
4. Mcsorley
5. Kocur
6. Mckenzie
7. Odjick
8. Domi
9. Twist
10. Brashear

Nice list too man I am glad that I found this site becaus most of my buddies are Baseball fans and dont want to talk much about hockey much less the scraps.

[Bull Terrier 92]

I'm a little late to the dance but here is my top 10 all-time - not much different from other lists we've seen.....

#1 BOB PROBERT Ruled the NHL from 87-93 and remained a top ranked fighter for several years after. Put together one of the most comprehensive fight cards ever including big wins over Semenko and Brown. Had high profile rivalries with Crowder and Domi and over 10 fights against Stu Grimson.

#2 DAVE BROWN A lethal lefty with a mean streak to match. Brown had lively feuds with Hunter, Kyte, Nilan, Miller, Odjick and Cronin. Demolished Kluzak and Schofield and is recognized for breaking the facial bones of Stu Grimson and Ken Baumgartner.

#3 BEHN WILSON "Big Behn" was the toughest member of the revamped Broad Street Bully teams of the late 70s and ranked #1 in the NHL from 79-83. Had a huge upper-cut and fought the best of his era including the likes of Jonathan, Gillies, O'Reilly, Probert, Schultz, Fotiu, Beck, Fraser, Wensink and Semenko. Also recorded a brutal KO over John Hillworth in Detroit.

#4 NICK FOTIU A former Golden Gloves Champion, Fotiu provided some much needed muscle for a Rangers organization that had been terrorized by the Flyers during the early to mid 70s. Scored important wins over Wilson and Holmgren and fought brawlers all over the NHL such as Durbano, Holt, McIlhargey and Williams. Rarely has an enforcer meant more to a franchise than Nicky did to the NYR.

#5 CLARK GILLIES Few fighters in NHL history were more dangerous or feared than a riled up Clark Gillies. Gillies trounced Dave Schultz, destroyed Ed Hospodar, cut through Dave Hoyda and dealt a rare defeat to Stan Jonathan. Had a great rivalry with Terry O'Reilly in addition to battles with Wilson, Holmgren, McSorley and Gare.

#6 JOE KOCUR Kocur's reputation as a vaunted KO artist preceded him to the NHL when he made his debut with Detroit in 1984-85. Joey's right hand devastated fighters such as Dalgarno, Kyte and Gaetz while testing battle hardened vets including McSorley, Hunter, Miller, Baumgartner and Probert. Famous for cracking Cam Neely's helmet in Vancouver.

#7. MARTY McSORLEY Replaced Dave Semenko as Wayne Gretzky's personal bodyguard in 1986. Followed "The Great One" to LA where Marty enjoyed his best success as a King between 88-93. During his career Marty went to war on numerous occasions against Tim Hunter, Dave Brown, Jim Kyte, Wendel Clark, Craig Berube and Bob Probert. McSorley's 93-94 slugfest with Probert is regarded as one of hockey's all-time greatest fights.

#8 JOHN KORDIC While not known as a power puncher, Kordic overwhelmed his opposition with a jack-hammer left and a jaw of granite. From 1985-90 few enforcers around the NHL could go punch for punch with "Rambo". Kordic had heated rivalries with Miller, McRae, Donnelly and Robertson and fought great individual battles against Coxe, Hunter, Tinordi and Clark. Unfortunately a highly anticipated Kordic vs. Probert match-up never materialized. [V]

#9 JAY MILLER Much in the tradition of past Bruin enforcers, Miller brought his lunch-pail work ethic to the Boston Garden on a nightly basis and rarely sent Bean Towners away disappointed. Jay had huge Wales Conference skirmishes with Brown, Kordic, Donnelly, Nilan and Maguire. Miller also dropped his gloves against Probert, Kocur, Semenko, Kimble and Churla. He often beat opponents with his great stamina, hand switching and punch taking abilities.

#10 DAVE SEMENKO A great Western Canadian brawler who doesn't get enough all-time recognition IMO. "Sammy" was a perennial top 5 enforcer in the early 80s and topped the league between 83-85. Semenko emerged as a certified monster from the WHA in 1979 and proceeded to throw his weight around against the most willing fighters the NHL could offer such as Playfair, Brown, Nilan, McGill, Delorme, Howatt and McRae. However Semenko always saved his best for the brutal "Battle of Alberta" series where he engaged Tim Hunter, Jim Peplinski, Charlie Bourgeois, Keith Hanson, Neil Sheehy and Joel Otto.

KOCUR 26 Just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your top 20 list and agreed with many of your selections. Hopefully I can get around to posting my top 20 and we can compare notes. [D]

REAPER How is your top 50 coming along? I have the goal of eventually completing a top 50 of my own. So far I've stalled at #25 but hope to forge on once I get some new tapes in. Please share your list once its completed. [)]

[EDDIESHORETOEBLAKE]

Great post BT92 . . . [D]

[Kocur 26]

quoteOriginally posted by Bull Terrier 92
[br

KOCUR 26 Just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your top 20 list and agreed with many of your selections. Hopefully I can get around to posting my top 20 and we can compare notes. [D]



Well thank you Bull Terrier, I really enjoyed your list as well...I mean it was almost as good as mine. [][D]

[Bull Terrier 92]

Thanks for the kind words ESTB and Kocur. Much appreciated. []

I also wanted to acknowledge a few fighters who weren't considered for my list (because of a lack of footage), but who are generally held in high regard by the hockey fight community. Kudos go out to Ferguson, Gassoff, Battleship, Maloney, Mann and Fraser. [box]

[Quiksilver]

I'd like to make a few changes to my top 10 if I could. Not too much of a change, but I change none the less.

1.Probert
2.Wilson
3.Brown
4.Gillies
5.Playfair
6.Nystrom
7.Fotiu
8.Kocur
9.McSorley
10.Wensink

I added Wensink and dropped Cochrane, also moved Nystrom up and Fotiu down. Minor changes, nothing to major. Hope this is ok ESTB.