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ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues honored the team’s inaugural Hall of Fame class at the Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis on Friday night.
The inductees include Red Berenson, Scotty Bowman, Bernie Federko, Bob Gassoff, Glenn Hall, Brett Hull, Dan Kelly, Al McInnis, Bob Plager, Barclay Plager, Chris Pronger, Sid Solomon, Jr., Sid Salomon III, Brian Sutter, and Garry Unger.
Unger said he still gets emotional thinking about the support from fans when the team took to the ice at the old arena on Oakland Avenue.
“I got goosebumps just talking about it here now,” he said.
Berenson also attended Friday night’s ceremony and recalled the way St. Louis embraced hockey when the team joined the NHL in 1967.
“The fans just fell in love with the team,” Berenson said.
He believes fans appreciated the work ethic displayed by teams, which exceeded expectations. Since 1968, the Blues made it to the Stanley Cup Finals for three straight years.
Bowman, the legendary coach of those teams, said the St. Louis Blues franchise has found ways to overcome adversity.
“They had ownership changes, the team was going to move in the mid-80s somewhere, and one year they didn’t have draft choices,” Bowman said.
Pronger was also in attendance for Friday’s honor.
When asked how he describes St. Louis to those unfamiliar with the city, he said, “You get immersed in the community very quickly. Everybody’s very welcoming, and I think that’s why you see a lot of players stick around. They feel like it’s home, and they always want to come back.”
Federko echoed Pronger’s comments and said players want to be part of a franchise that can win.
“With Doug Armstrong and what the ownership group has done, they want to win,” he said.
Fans will be able to see banners honoring the team’s Hall of Fame members in the main concourse of Enterprise Center. To find more information, click here.
You can also see more coverage of the event on Bally Sports Midwest here.
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