Dave "The Hammer" Schultz

Often looked upon as the baddest man in hockey, Dave "The Hammer" Schultz's reputation tended to precede him.

He set the NHL record for most PIM in a season with 472 in 1974-75. He led the NHL in PIM in his first 3 NHL seasons and 4 times in total. He epitomized the Broad Street Bullies - also known as the Philadelphia Flyers - during their reign of terror to the Stanley Cup in both 1974 and 1975.

But hey, Hammer wasn't that bad of a guy! He was just doing his job. In fact, he was always troubled by hockey violence. After retiring from hockey he wrote in his autobiography ``I love hockey, and wish reckless violence wasn't part of it.'' He also criticized the Flyers style of play and resented having to fight Bobby Clarke's battles.

Nicknamed "Hammer" because of a devastating right hand, Schultz eagerly accepted the tough guy role once he turned professional. He found the rush intoxicating, although ultimately too consuming, and it paved his way to the NHL, wealth and status.

Dave didn't do much fighting at all as a kid playing hockey in Saskatchewan. It wasn't until his coaches suggested he could reach the big time a lot faster with his fists rather than his finesse that Dave transformed his game to slashin' and bashin'.

But Dave also proved he was a pretty decent hockey player for those who were willing to look past his penalty antics. He scored 20 goals in 1973-74 - the first year that the Flyers won the Stanley Cup. This despite sitting in the penalty box for a league high 348 minutes. He was also an effective defensive forward, although he was rarely given the chance to prove he could be more.

After devastatingly notable losses to Clark Gillies and Ken Houston, the Flyers moved Schultz in the Flyers in the summer of 1976. The arrival of fellow rough-housers like Jack McIlhargey and Paul Holmgren, Schultz was traded to Los Angeles for some draft picks. He was moved on to Pittsburgh the following year. With the Kings and Penguins in 1977-78, he led the NHL in penalty minutes for the fourth and final time. His 405 penalty minutes that season made him the only player in NHL history to break the 400-minute mark twice.

Schultz finished his career with the Buffalo Sabres in 1980. When all was said and done, the big left winger from Waldheim Saskatchewan played in 535 games and scored 79 goals. He added 121 assists for 200 NHL points. In the playoffs Hammer added 8 goals and 20 points and 412 PIM in 73 games en route to earning two Stanley Cup rings.

His single-season penalty-minutes record, which still stands today, is as unthinkable by today's standards as it probably was back then. He also holds the record for most penalty minutes in one playoff game, with 42 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 22, 1976. Going head to head with his archrival, Dave 'Tiger' Williams, Schultz picked up one minor penalty, two five-minute majors, a 10-minute misconduct and a double game misconduct.

While Hammer understood his role and knew it was necessary, he was never really comfortable with it. But he knew if he didn't do it he'd almost certainly be out of a NHL job.

"The fighting gave me notoriety," he recalls. "That part I loved, but (it) never came naturally to me. I had to think about it all time. I would sit there the afternoon of every game thinking about who I was going to fight and visualizing the fight. It was nerve-wracking. I was always afraid of that one punch, the one that would knock me out of my career. Fortunately, it never happened, I had some well-publicized losses but I never really got the whipping that would destroy my confidence and value.

"It was different then, the rules were such that you could really help your team if you scared the right (opponent). I knew what the Flyers expected and I just totally got caught up in it. I was this did from Rosetown, Saskatchewan, suddenly a hero in a city of two million, making all this money and being afraid of losing everything. I knew it was a special time and how lucky I was to be part of it. I did what I had to do to keep it going."

Dave, an interesting guy who's interested ranged from rock and roll (he once cut a record called "Penalty Box") to building model ships, now owns his own limousine service.