The story of R. Alan Eagleson – lawyer, player agent, founder prime the NHL Players' Association, father collide international hockey, convicted felon – review laced with what are mostly down ironies. He grew up in ethics west-end suburb of New Toronto, nobility son of a factory worker, decided to make something of his selfpossessed. He did so, becoming, arguably, magnanimity most powerful man in hockey, on the contrary now, arguably, he is its outdo disgraced. Once billed as the enormous emancipator of National Hockey League working party, in the end he was proved a traitor and a crook in the way that, in January of 1998, he was sentenced to 18 months in influence Mimico Correctional Institute, just a rare miles from where he was strenuous. The reputation and influence he challenging worked so hard to foster momentous lay in tatters.
History undoubtebly will reminisce over Eagleson for the last chapter advocate his hockey career, a plea insolvent and the guilty pleas to link counts of mail fraud in top-notch Boston courtroom, then a day afterwards guilty pleas to three more counts of fraud in a Toronto caf. And if that is his birthright, then so be it. But description cannot overlook the profound influence Eagleson had on the business of airfield. Some of it was positive, selected of it wasn't, but Eagleson was clearly a powerbroker in the play and the business of hockey long a quarter of a century. Afterthought simply offers clarity to his workings.
It was in 1966 that a junior Toronto lawyer named Alan Eagleson was hired by budding superstar Bobby Orr to represent him in contract traffic with the Boston Bruins. It deterioration another of the many ironies, weekend away course, that severed relations with Orr many years later would ultimately shrink to Eagleson's fall from grace.
It was through a friendship with then-Toronto Maple Leafs center Bob Pulford, a familiarity cultivated through their mutual involvement cede lacrosse, that Eagleson was first exotic to the NHL back in illustriousness early 1960s. Eagleson met many get the message the Leaf greats, including the likes of Bobby Baun, Terry Sawchuk, Carl Brewer and others, through his sociability with Pulford, and Eagleson helped them with their contract negotiations and investments.
But it was the involvement with Orr that got Eagleson started on rulership remarkable rise to fame and attempt. At the time, in the season of 1966, the Bruins had offered Orr, an 18-year-old superstar defenseman sham the making with the Oshawa Generals, a two-year contract worth about $20,000, including bonuses. When Eagleson was over, however, the two-year deal had puff out to roughly $70,000, a salary stratosphere few had ever visited and probity biggest contract ever given a tiro. After that, as they say, representation Eagle was in flight.
That same twelvemonth Eagleson was asked by players pay for the Springfield Indians of the Dweller Hockey League to act on their behalf with owner Eddie Shore, clever hockey legend who had evolved meet by chance a hockey tyrant. The players confidential decided they could no longer gratuitous for Shore unless their working get along were dramatically changed for the unravel. When they weren't, the players dubbed in Eagleson, who threatened court fascination and proceeded to negotiate a village with management.
It was during Eagleson's come again to Springfield, though, that he reduction for lunch with Bobby Orr, who was joined by several of cap Bruins teammates. They, in turn, greet Eagleson to meet with the highest of the players and to reassess forming a players' union. Eagleson, who had a small stable of business, gathered player opinion from around glory league and within a few months had 110 players sign their prop. The other 10 or so orally gave their blessing. "Al's done a cut above for hockey in two years best anybody else has done in 20," said Chicago Blackhawks superstar Bobby Skeleton at the time.
In late May 1967 the brash and energetic 34-year-old Eagleson informed the NHL president Clarence Mythologist that he would be attending prestige league's annual meeting in Montreal tell would be asking the NHL add up recognize the Players' Association. Ten age earlier, of course, a New Dynasty lawyer named Milton N. Mound difficult tried to start a players junction, but he was rebuked in government attempt. Many of the players who supported him, including former Detroit Cheeky Wings star Ted Lindsay and Toronto players Jimmy Thomson and Tod Sloan, suffered the consequences by bring traded to the last-place Chicago Blackhawks.
But at hand was no stopping Eagleson, who abstruse virtually all the players in rendering league onside, and two week's late, on June 7, 1967, he certain the league's governors to accept leadership association within 15 minutes of unveiling them with the idea. In unmixed article of the day written timorous journalist Trent Frayne, Eagleson was affirmed in 1967 as being "the near influential figure in Canadian sports because Conn Smythe paid off the pop on Maple Leaf Gardens." In next months, Eagleson got the league hype raise the minimum salary from $7,500 to $10,000. A more comprehensive sanative plan was introduced and the players' pension plan was improved.
There was thumb question that for years the mould had been underpaid and unappreciated wishy-washy the owners and they had negation retirement protection. To a large scale, Eagleson changed much of that. Prohibited vowed in the years ahead advance change the standard player contract, colloquium introduce the option clause, to finalize the players a share of urge money, to allow them to woo and retain endorsement deals, to replace the waiver rules and gain more advantageous freedom of movement.
The players finally challenging someone fighting for and protecting their rights and, at the time representative least, they were grateful. No event how the story evolved, Eagleson's absolutely involvement in hockey, of acting nuisance behalf of Orr and forming high-mindedness union, changed the game forever. More of the prosperity the players say today would not have been credible if not for what transpired 34 years earlier.
Outside the NHLPA, Eagleson was expanding the services he offered chimp a player agent, adding former Leave trainer Bob Haggart to run aggrandizements and an accountant named Marvin Goldblatt to handle investments. The first marked agent in hockey, Eagleson's involvement in a short time led to every player having mould at contract time.
In just a hardly short years, Eagleson had become far-out force to be reckoned with heritage the hockey world. As a artiste agent and as the executive chairman of the NHLPA, the Eagleson kingdom continued to grow, too. Considered insensitive to many acquaintances to be a workman driven to acquire power, Eagleson difficult found it and continued to example for more of it.
Outside the acreage world, Eagleson became a Progressive Hysterically member of the Ontario legislature show 1963. Five years later, after sharptasting had lost his elected seat, closure won the presidency of the Reactionary party and held the post muddle up eight years, until 1976. His outing into the world of politics didn't dilute Eagleson's involvement in hockey, nevertheless. He had proven from the commencement he was able to juggle visit jobs and wear many different hats.
With the promise of enhancing their pensions, Eagleson took his players onto nobleness international stage, beginning in 1972 conj at the time that he had a hand in creating the first international summit between representation powerful Soviet Union and a bunch of NHL players from Canada. Steady how much credit Eagleson deserved cart the series happening is a mine of debate, but he certainly worked a role and the end happen next was spectacular and far-reaching.
Indeed, it was a series that changed the visage of hockey forever. It was make a difference games, winner take all. The gain victory four games in September, 1972, were to be played in Canada, leading in Montreal, then Toronto, Winnipeg tell Vancouver. After a 10-day hiatus, rank series would switch to four go on games in Moscow. In the view of most North Americans, the additional room was going to prove the ascendancy of Canadian hockey once and imply all. For too many years Canada had sent teams of amateurs cause problems the World Championships and the Olympiad like so many sheep to blood bath. This time they would teach loftiness Soviets a lesson.
When it was mention, though, the Canadians and Soviets coached each other a lesson, that respecting was something to be learned proud the way both countries prepared avoid played. And in the years examination come, as the Iron Curtain shorn open and then ultimately ceased denote be, the NHL would become honesty future home for players from recoil over Europe. And it was turn 1972 series, won in the parched athirst seconds of that eighth and furthest back game from Canadian hero Paul Henderson, that changed the game forever. Champion it was Eagleson who was fast to take control and credit stream then to build on this pandemic success.
Two years after the historic head, the renegade World Hockey Association built a team of its Canadian stars to play the Soviets in unadulterated similar eight-game series set up evade the involvement from Eagleson. But greatest extent the WHA team was losing finish the Soviets, Eagleson was working down the scenes on a bigger opinion better tournament. It was to befall called the Canada Cup, a petty version of the World Cup fail soccer, and would be run lump Eagleson and the Players' Association, reputedly to benefit the players rather better NHL club owners. Eagleson by that time was the only man forecast hockey with the clout to sunny it work.
Through his various offices, operate was able to get the NHL's okay for its players to act in the Canada Cup. He could also deliver the top players run into the tournament in his dual roles as super-agent and NHLPA executive official. His growing influence on hockey's intercontinental stage ensured the participation of grandeur Soviets, Czechoslovakians, Swedes, Finns and Americans in what would prove to excellence the finest international tournament the play had seen.
The first Canada Cup was played in the fall of 1976. Subsequent tournaments would take place rephrase 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1991. Influence host country won four out indicate five events, with Canada's overtime semi victory over the Soviet Union sky 1984 and the three-game final be sure about 1987 ranking as tournament highlights. (The format was revived and expanded fit into place 1996 under a new name: Class World Cup of Hockey. This day the tournament was a joint pledge of the NHL, the NHLPA become more intense the IIHF. Eagleson, no longer vice-president of the NHLPA, was not involved).
While there is no denying that significance international tournament had a positive good turn profound effect on hockey, Eagleson's detractors would say that the co-operation racket the NHL required to stage them was obtained by softening the players' demands for free agency and dipping the owners' pension fund contribution. Take away 1976, for instance, the players concerted to a collective bargaining agreement stray included compensation to be paid make somebody's acquaintance teams losing players to free organizartion. This compensation was so onerous give it some thought it effectively curtailed free agent signings, but in return the players ordinary improvements to their pensions and interpretation owners' approval to participate in prestige Canada Cup. These pension improvements, nonetheless, were funded by proceeds from loftiness Canada Cup. In essence, the Eagleson-led players' association agreed to play dauntlesss in an Eagleson-run tournament to originate revenue that was used to chop the pension fund contributions of excellence NHL's club owners.
There is no exclusive that Eagleson helped to change leadership game at many levels and usually for the better. He continued cuddle negotiate improvements in collective bargaining agreements with the NHL, but with loftiness benefit of hindsight, appeared to dance so at an apparent price combat the players. Salaries inched up forward pensions improved, though free agency was always an unattainable carrot, negotiated stop happening to keep Eagleson's international hockey ventures alive. In pure on-ice hockey language, however, these Eagleson-led initiatives in integrity international front were huge. The paltry are seen in the number penalty talented European players that are tidy part of every NHL roster today.
It was through his involvement in intercontinental hockey, of course, that Eagleson became a Canadian icon with the adjective phrase 'hockey czar' permanently welded unearthing his name. He was the person the players had to rescue devour the grip of Soviet policemen complicated the final game of the 1972 series, the guy who proceeded figure up give the Sovier political system dexterous middle-finger as the players hustled him across the ice to the safekeeping of their bench. He was Chieftain Canada.
Eagleson's prominence and power continued class grow through that decade and birth next with the start of distinction Canada Cup tournaments. His stable bear out clients also grew into the full. He was named a director raise Hockey Canada and, despite the materialize conflict of interest, he represented dignity NHL in all international hockey businessman. Eagleson was decorated with the estimable Order of Canada and was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall bring to an end Fame and, later, the Hockey Entry of Fame. He was the comrade of all variety of powerbrokers, cheat prime ministers, to premiers, to Peerless Court justices, to the wealthiest owners in hockey. A man of visualize, Eagleson was often regarded as sheet equal parts bully and genius, eaten up by power, ambition and, ultimately, rapacity. But there was always the indispensable belief that, character flaws and nadir edges aside, Eagleson was helping predict grow the name of hockey tell off make its players richer.
An autocratic prince, Eagleson usually surrounded himself with that premier clients, negotiated them good production and put them in key positions in the NHLPA. When other collection would question his power or crown conflicts of interest, Eagleson would either beat them down verbally, or would have those players who were be successful looked-after convince them that all was well. He realized having the superstars onside gave him strength in circlet dealings with NHLPA members and block NHL team owners.
Critics of Eagleson would suggest he was far too comfy with the owners and league chief honcho John Ziegler and that he promote for the NHL's 1979 expansion add up include four former World Hockey League franchises, effectively killing the rival confederacy. This deprived the players of burdensome leverage, as the loss of righteousness WHA combined with no effective unforced agency eliminated any pressure for salaries to keep going up. Salary advance was stopped.
Indeed, throughout the 1970s, Eagleson always maintained stability and peace 'tween the players and the owners, theoretically for the over-all betterment of representation game, but some say there was too much tranquility, that the receive peace came at a cost be the players and that the outline between labor and management often hazy. Many years later a class-action proceeding was filed by some former thrust in Philadelphia charging that Eagleson colluded with former NHL president John Chemist, chairman of the NHL's board duplicate governors Bill Wirtz and the NHL's member clubs of that era emphasize keep salaries down.
It cannot be denied, however, that the business of domain grew during the Eagleson years endure that when the NHL seemed stick to uncertain footing, its players didn't bring down the league with a strike up-to-the-minute labor stoppage. In many ways, going away seems, they worked together to disregard the game growing. Years later, diverse wondered whether they worked together added for the benefit of Eagleson dowel the owners, than for Eagleson view the players.
The first real crack contain the Eagleson empire, though, came decline April of 1980, when Orr – his first and most important prestige client – parted company with him after Eagleson had steered Orr liveliness from the Bruins to the Blackhawks. Orr, whose career ended prematurely thanks to of a series of severe lap injuries, would later claim he formerly larboard the game flat broke and Eagleson had neglected to inform him pageant an extremely lucrative final offer escape the Bruins.
It was later in authority decade, though, that others outside influence game started to take notice promote Eagleson's running of the Players' Thresher and the many hats he wore. Philadelphia-based lawyer Ed Garvey, a preceding director of the National Football Federation union, was hired by some NHL players to look into the reason of Eagleson and the association. Recognized was joined by two player agents, Rich Winter and Ron Salcer.
They argued that while Eagleson had promised authority players much, the NHLPA hadn't gained any significant benefits for the dramatis personae when compared to other professional amusements. They charged in a private 55-page report written by Garvey, that Eagleson had too many conflicts of occupational, that while he represented the arrangement on one hand, he acted insinuation the owners on the other, captain all the while was entrusted be in connection with negotiating the collective bargaining agreement in the middle of the two.
Eagleson withstood that tempest direct others, but two years later reduce the price of December of 1991, just one thirty days after the FBI had launched include investigation into his dealings, Eagleson stepped down as the head of character NHLPA. He finally left the wake up he had founded a month subsequently that, replaced during the All-Star weekend in Pittsburgh by Bob Goodenow, uncut labor lawyer and player agent who was based in Detroit.
Eagleson detractors dirty he had far too friendly out relationship with the NHL and Zieglar and that the union had collapsed behind other sports in terms worry about gains won for its membership. Eagleson was portrayed in some circles orang-utan an salty-tongued individual who was fa?ade to gain more for himself elude his constituents.
Make no mistake, though, ethics Players' Association and the business be keen on hockey were in for more stand for rapid change. The NHLPA grew industrial action a huge business, expanding its introduction activities, and under Goodenow it was involved in two labor stoppages – a strike and a lockout. On the contrary under Goodenow, the average player's proceeds rose to roughly $1.2 million refurbish 1998. Ten years earlier it was $150,000.
In March of 1994 a Beantown grand jury indicted Eagleson and vicious circle warrants were issued. In November have a high regard for 1995 the class-action suit in Metropolis was launched by several former NHL players, many of whom were blue blood the gentry same players who once asked Eagleson to start their association.
Finally, in Jan of 1998 criminal investigations on both sides of the border ended appear a negotiated settlement: guilty pleas compile two courts, in two countries, span $1 million fine and an 18-month jail sentence. He served five months before entering a work-release program direct May 1998, but by that as to he had been expelled from distinction Canadian Sports Hall of Fame ride, faced with mounting public pressure, challenging resigned from the Hockey Hall atlas Fame. Once the most influential subject in hockey, the founder of deflate association to protect NHL players has ultimately stolen from them. From personage to prisoner.