He was always the outspoken, eccentric man behind the Orange and Black. Truth is he bled those colors the same way the fans that enter Wells Fargo Center do night in and night out.
The man behind the Flyers, chairman and founder Ed Snider, passed away on Monday at the age of 83.
Known to everyone as Mr. Snider, for so many in this generation, he is the savvy business mogul who couldn’t change the course of any season with a meeting or a move or spark motivation, but instead often sprinkled a little more green into the organization or wrote another check with the hopes of buying so much more than someone’s talent at a sport, to buy a trophy and a championship.
Only in the later years of his life, right up to his passing, has this changed. The Flyers are in a sort of rebuilding mode, not far from returning to contention with a fruitful and ambitious group waiting in the wings, and a handful of players already at the NHL level that would fill out any team’s core.
It was honestly refreshing to see. Sure, when Ron Hextall was promoted to GM following the 2013-14 season, it was another piece of the past getting a leadership role.
But it has been very different.
Hextall didn’t mess around when it came to the coach and went outside the box in his new hire. He worked tirelessly to make two deadline trades that turned two veteran defenseman with very little to offer the Flyers in their current state into three quality draft picks.
And Snider was completely on board.
This would seem like a shocking development. Snider was different on the day of Dave Hakstol’s hiring. He didn’t steal the spotlight as the team made a leadership change behind the bench. There were no sound bites about culture changes or the league or anything of that nature.
Perhaps that’s because throughout the last five years, the gradual change in culture was already taking place.
Snider will always be a Philadelphia legend. Once an owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, he embarked on a journey in 1966 to bring Philadelphia a hockey team. What he really did was build a tradition that has spanned generations, now nearly 50 years in the making. The Flyers are as much a part of Philadelphia as any of the other three teams, cheesesteaks, the Liberty Bell and Ben Franklin.
He did much more than just head the organization. He helped oversee the construction of the Spectrum, which was affectionately known as "America’s Showplace." It was meant to be a building for hockey and basketball. It turned into the ultimate entertainment venue of its time.
And there will always be the Broad Street Bullies, the era of Flyers hockey that produced two Stanley Cup championships, changed the game of hockey and turned a bunch of rough-and-tumble, hard-headed goons into Philadelphia’s favorite sons.
But in recent years, more and more of those pieces are fading into the past. The Flyers first coach and the GM of the 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup teams, Keith Allen, passed away in February 2014. The Spectrum was reduced to rubble in 2011 after closing its doors for good in October 2009.
Most recently, Snider also battled cancer. It was revealed that he was in the process of undergoing treatment in May 2014 and he announced he was cancer-free as of September 2014, but struggled with his health up to his passing. Snider had resided in California for most of the last year of his life. In October, when the Flyers opened their home schedule, Snider was not in attendance. It was the first time in 49 seasons that Snider was not able to attend the home opener.
Then came the annual team picture, taken just a few weeks ago. Again, Snider was not able to attend. The current Flyers took notice and the run to the playoffs was immediately dedicated to him. The Flyers locked up their playoff spot two days ago on Saturday.
As the years of a championship drought continue to pile up for the Flyers, it’s important to remember Ed Snider for where his heart was through the years. He was mourning the losses of close friends and colleagues, those who were there for the franchise’s finest hour. He was mourning the loss of the building he helped turn into a multi-million dollar enterprise.
He was also giving back to the community. Snider’s company, Comcast-Spectacor, is responsible for the developments of Flyers Skate Zone, which has four locations in the Delaware Valley. Snider also founded the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, proving the opportunity for inner-city children to play hockey while learning life skills and getting an education.
But with the team and organization, Snider was often seen as the thorn in the side, never knowing when to leave well enough alone. He never had the patience that everyone wanted him to have. Ironically enough, Hextall has that patience and the shoe is now on the other foot.
There was a method behind his madness.
He wanted to win – as so many do. He wanted the Flyers to return to glory. He wanted another parade.
Call it what you want, but Ed Snider possessed the same qualities as the fans who enter Wells Fargo Center to watch the same organization he started 49 years ago. He wore his heart and emotions on his sleeve and did so with the same passion that Flyers fans exude.
It’s all the more reason he should be remembered fondly every time the Flyers take the ice, especially now, at the time of year he loved the most, the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
