Stan Fischler, How Snow White Launched 80 Years in the NHL | PODCAST

Stan Fischler has been covering the National Hockey League and the sport of hockey for over 70 years. And his lifelong passion and illustrious career has resulted in his induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on Dec. 9.
"It happened so fast. I had no idea that I was being proposed," Fischler said about receiving the Hall of Fame call. "I was so surprised, I thought it was the fantasy Hall of Fame. I was stunned.
"My reaction is one of being grateful. I started out back in 1939 seeing my first game and now I'm inducted into the US Hall of Fame."
Fischler, who called his induction "beginner's luck" at the age of 89, didn't know it, but a serendipitous moment when he was 7 years old would change the entire trajectory of his life. And he has eight people to thank for it: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
In 1939, the only thing in the world that the 7-year-old Fischler wanted was to see the now classic Disney film.

"It was absolutely important for every kid to go see Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs," Fischler told the
Speak of the Devils podcast.
"My father says, 'I'm going to take you Sunday afternoon.'"
The movie was playing at the Globe Theater on 47th and Broadway in Manhattan. Fischler and his father took the subway to 50th and Eighth Avenue. But when they emerged from underground, they came upon a torrential downpour.
"It was pouring rain and we didn't have an umbrella. The theater was five blocks away," Fischler recalled. "My father said 'we aren't going to go see Snow White. We're going to go here, there's a hockey game at this place called The Garden.'"
The young Fischler had never heard of hockey, and never heard of The Garden. He thought they were growing vegetables inside.
"I started to cry my heart out. I said, 'dad you promised me Snow White,'" Fischler said. "He said, 'we aren't going to walk five blocks in the pouring rain. We're going to go here.' He dragged me in. I was so furious with him."
The game they watched was between the New York Rovers and Washington. To get even with his father, Fischler cheered for Washington, which won the game.
"My team won. My father's team lost," Fischler said. "Now it's Monday and my third-grade teacher calls on me to do a show and tell. I got up there and I did the hockey goalie. The goalie was the most intriguing thing to me. And I got an A.
"I said, this hockey thing ain't too bad."
Thus sparked Fischler's love of the game. There was a happy ending as the following weekend, Fischler's father did take him to finally see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
"After we walked out (of the movie), I said dad can you take me to another hockey game?" he said. "And he did the next day. From that point on, I never stopped going."
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Stan Fischler | Speak of the Devils