St. Louis Blues Hockey Legends

David Backes came to the Blues with high expectations after an outstanding junior hockey and collegiate career. During his captaincy, the Blues went from a struggling team to a playoff team with Cup potential. He remains the only American-born Blues captain in franchise history. Now living in the Nashville area, we catch up with David and his life before, and after, hockey.

He's been a part of Blues game nights for going on four decades. Celebrating Blues goals in his special way has become a tradition and a thorn in the saddle of visiting players. A native St. Louisan Ron Baechle loves the team, the sport, and the fans. Enjoy getting to know more about The Towel Man on this episode!

An NCAA championship with Northern Michigan U. is a highlight of his hockey life. But that was topped by a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in his final year in the NHL. He came to the Blues and became captain at a difficult time in franchise history. Lots of great reminiscing with "Dally" on this one.

They called him "Bass" for short...and "Scud" for identifying his style of play. Bobby Bassen was like a scud missile flying around the rink and blasting the opposition. Small in stature, but huge in impact for the Blues teams of the 1990s. His father, Hank Bassen, was an NHL goalie, so the Calgary native came by his skates naturally. Enjoy the memories!

Barret Jackman-- 1st Round draft pick. Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) winner in 2003. A stellar NHL career which was hampered by injury and a work stoppage. But easily one of the best D-men in franchise history. Also tabbed as the successor to Bruce Affleck to run the Blues Alumni Association.

When every NHL team had someone to "police the rink", Twister was one of the best ever to throw hands in a hockey game. A career cut short by a motorcycle accident, he details some of the details of how he got to the NHL...and how he was determined to stay. And some amazing details on his unfortunate motorcycle incident. Enjoy!

Bonus round with Bowman, Liut, Berenson and Federko. They give their unfiltered impressions of some of the other stars of their lives and careers. Never before seen/heard content. Enjoy!

Mike talks about his life, career as a Blue. Why he was traded at the height of his career. And how he approaches being the agent for current Blues goalie Jordan Binnington.

You see him regularly on the Blues game telecasts analyzing from the studio. You know he's a former player. But do you know his full story as a person and great player? It's a major part of Blues history and it's all here in episode 11. Enjoy!

Many believe, with good reason, that he is the greatest hockey coach of all time. He led the Blues to the Stanley Cup finals in the first three years of the team's existence. He won the Cup in Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit. He's 91 and still going strong. Enjoy Blues and hockey history in our conversation with William Scott Bowman OC.

The first Blues superstar forward and later one of college hockey's all-time great coaches. We visit with "The Red Baron" about his famous 6-goal game, his early exposure to hockey in Saskatchewan, and his transition to coaching legend. He's 85, but you'd never know it...still sharp as can be. Enjoy!

From his early days struggling to make his kids teams in Alberta, to eventual NHL stardom, Garry shares the stories of his time...including that awful day in '77 when he lost a good friend, and we all lost a Blues star, in another Blues Hall-of-Famer Bob Gassoff. Enjoy the Garry Unger story!

We continue our visit with Susie Mathieu. Her memory is crystal clear regarding the history of the Blues. And she is happy to share her stories with us about Hull, Keenan and other personalities of her tenure. Enjoy!

Susie Mathieu not only was PR Director for the Blues, she practically ran the team single-handedly for a time. The stories are priceless. Enjoy!

Would the Blues have made it without him? No way to know for sure. But many would say hockey in St. Louis would not have been nearly as exciting and interesting had he not been the team's broadcaster in those early days.

From not being allowed to play on Sundays to the NHL and a Blues star in many ways for 40 years. We get the lowdown on a 100 point season in junior hockey and his path to the NHL and becoming a Blues executive.

Keith Tkachuk shares childhood memories, thoughts on being the father of two NHL stars, and other rememberances from a likely Hockey Hall of Fame career.

This episode is essentially a test run with a few stories. 1) How I got the PA job with the Blues. and 2) My embarassing Wayne Gretzky story. I'm looking forward to doing this podcast with many outstanding guests and their stories. I hope you enjoy it and tell your friends to give it a listen. Thanks, Tom