New York Islanders

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With author Greg Prato, Mike and Dan travel back to the Islanders' inaugural 1972 season to learn about Arnie Brown, a former Ranger who did not enjoy his short stay on Long Island. The original Islanders were worse than bad. They were, at the time, the least successful team in NHL history. When he acquired the 31-year-old Brown in October of 1972, Bill Torrey was probably looking for a veteran leader and someone who knew how to play defense. What he got was a combative malcontent who openly wanted to be traded and was ready to play the heel, often to hilarious ends. But Brown's eventual trade months later led to the acquisition of not one but two Islanders legends - one four decades later. Prato tells us about his indispensable book "Dynasty: The Oral History of the New York Islanders, 1972-84" as well as his latest, "Hapless Islanders: The Story Behind the New York Islanders' Infamous 1972-73 Season" and some of the stories surrounding that season. Along the way we discuss names like Ernie Hicke, Brian "Spinner" Spencer, Denis DeJordy and...uh... Tony Orlando? It's a wild ride in the Wayback Machine.

Thanks again to Greg for coming on. Order "Hapless Islanders" from Amazon today and also pick up a copy of "Dynasty" if you don't already have it. And check out his music writing at Allmusic.com and Guitar.com.

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Our theme is "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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