RALEIGH -- It is Game Two of the Eastern Conference Championship between the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres. Former Major League baseball player Richie Hebner strolls through the hallways of the RBC Center prior to the start of the game.
As Hebner turns a corner, he runs into Hurricanes President and GM, Jim Rutheford. As the two exchange greetings, Hebner smiles at the Carolina GM.
"I remember shooting pucks at you," joked Hebner, now in his fifth year as a batting coach for the Triple A Durham Bulls. "And I think I beat you a few times too.
"You've really put a great team together down here. This is a team that could go all the way."
Although his first love is baseball, a sport he has been involved with
professionally for nearly four decades, hockey is a very close second.
"I love both of them because both are good sports to watch and play," said Hebner, 58 and a native of Norwood, Massachusetts. "When it was summer, I always played baseball. But when it came to wintertime, it was all hockey. Hockey was big in my hometown, especially with the fact that the Boston Bruins were nearby."
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Schedule / Links:
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| Gm. 1: CAR 5, EDM 4 | Photos |
| Gm. 2: CAR 5, EDM 0 | Photos |
| Gm. 3: EDM 2, CAR 1 | Photos |
| Gm. 4: CAR 2, EDM 1 | Photos |
Gm. 5: June 14, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Carolina (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
*Gm. 6: June 17, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Edmonton (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
*Gm. 7: June 19, 8:00 p.m. ET
at Carolina (NBC, CBC, RDS) |
| *if necessary |
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A graduate of Norwood Senior High School, Hebner lettered four years in baseball and hockey. But he was so good in hockey that he won scholastic All-America honors and was offered a contract by the Bruins to turn pro with them in 1965.
"There is no doubt that I could have made the NHL," said Hebner, who played in the majors for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs. "I played left wing and could score some goals. I had a pretty good shot. But I had a decision to make. I could either sign with the Bruins and be
assigned to their junior affiliate team in Niagara Falls, Ontario or turn pro in baseball with the Pirates.
"There weren't that many Americans playing pro hockey at that time, either. I knew the Bruins were putting together a good team that would have guys like Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito on it (and win two Stanley Cup championships).
"I decided to go with baseball. But I gave it only three years. If I didn't make it by then, I would give hockey a shot. And three years later I made it to the majors with the Pirates and was facing Bob Gibson of the (St. Louis) Cardinals in my first major league at-bat. So I think I made the right decision."
Whether he made the right decision or not, Hebner is still a big fan of hockey. His feelings for the game today are the same as he had as a child.
"I think it is great that so many more Americans are involved with the game today than they were when I was a kid," says Hebner, who now resides in Walpole, Mass. during the off-season with his wife and still plays some pick-up hockey. "I was 6-years-old when I began skating. As I grew older, I began playing with local teams for kids. As I
continued playing, I grew as a person as well. I had some pretty good coaches in my pre-high school days, as well as my high school days. They taught you to make sure that you were on time to practices and games. It was understood that no one wanted wise guys on the team. But we still had fun. The town of Norwood had, and still has, a nice program for the younger kids."
Hebner's greatest hockey thrills came as a player for his high school team back in Norwood.
"We had a good high school team that gained a lot of attention locally when I was there," Hebner said. "We won two championships while I was there. And it was nothing to play in some high school tournaments at Boston Garden with crowds of over 14,000 on hand. That is how serious high school hockey is taken in Boston. It is also an awesome thrill for high school hockey players to play before such a large crowd."
Hebner, who had the nickname of "The Gravedigger" during his playing days, sees the game of hockey opening up more than ever to Americans today.
"The Americans that are playing the game today are an inspiration to other American kids playing hockey at an amateur level," said Hebner, who still works as a grave digger as well as a funeral home director during the off-season, just as he did as a teenager. "When I was a kid growing up, the only American player I had to look up to was Tommy Williams (who played on the 1960 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team. He later played in the NHL with the Bruins, Minnesota North Stars, California Golden Seals and Washington Capitals). "Today there are so many more."
Hebner sees a good future for Americans in pro hockey.
"The amateur programs for American kids today is much better than when I was growing up," said Hebner. "There are more skating facilities today. And skating is so important. The more you do it, the better you become. The kids are now not only skating all winter, but all summer as well. The coaching techniques are much better too."
And Hebner still follows the NHL today. Besides watching the Hurricanes while he is working in Durham during the summer, Hebner follows the Bruins.
"I still follow the Bruins because I'm from that area," Hebner said. "They had a bad year this past year. They're making changes. And I think there will be more to come. When there is nothing going on at the Fleet Center in April with neither the Bruins or Celtics, that's bad.
"That's why it's so great to be involved watching the Stanley Cup Final with the Hurricanes. The atmosphere in the arena is electrifying. The area is becoming a great hockey area. The fans are great and the area has really grown hockey-wise.
"It's great to be a part of it."
