Coates Has Carved Own "Corner" of Flyers Lore

On April 1, before the Flyers play the Buffalo Sabres at the Wells Fargo Center, the team will honor Steve Coates for his 43 years of broadcasting for the team. He will be retiring at the end of this season.
"Coatesy" is one of a kind.

Similar to Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman Joe Watson, you can hear Steve coming a mile away because of his distinctive voice and boisterous laugh.There are no strangers with Coatesy.
He'll talk hockey and joke around with anyone, anywhere and at any time. He's got an anecdote, a joke (often the off-color variety) or an impassioned rant for every topic. There's a legion of stories and tall tales by and about Steve, some of which are even repeatable in polite company.
The most famous one, perhaps, is the story of Coatesy getting a breakaway and dumping the puck in the corner rather than going in on the goalie. There's a simple explanation behind it -- he'd pulled his groin moments earlier and needed to get to the bench ASAP -- but it's a quintessential story from his playing days.
It dawned on me the other day just how much a part of my own life as a Flyers fan since childhood -- and then as a hockey writer -- Steve Coates has been even though he never played a regular season NHL game for the club. His five career NHL matches were played in a Detroit Red Wings uniform. Nonetheless, Coatesy has been part of the Philadelphia hockey scene as a player in the minor league farm system in the mid-1970s with the old Richmond Robins and then as a broadcaster.
I first saw Coatesy when he was a member of the long-defunct AHL version of the Philadelphia Firebirds in 1978-79. A feisty, scrappy role player, Coates was a fan favorite at the Civic Center.
One of Steve's Firebirds teammates, albeit just for 16 games, was enforcer Paul Stewart (later a longtime NHL referee and a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame as the only American to both play and officiate in the NHL). A colorful character in his own right, "Stewcat" and Coatesy became fast friends during their brief time as teammates.
"The Firebirds at the time were a Colorado Rockies affiliate, which meant we weren't very good," Stewart recalled. "It wasn't the happiest time of my caeer but I did have some fun off the ice. Coatesy was a big part of that: good teammate and a really good guy."
Stewart recalls one time, shortly after his arrival with the club, Coates hosted a team party at his house. It was intended as a players-only get together. But the Firebirds' eccentric coach, Armand "Bep" Guidolin, had invited himself to the party.
"When I got there, Coatesy was agitated. He told me that Bep had shown up at the door three hours ago, and Steve had to feed and entertain him all that time til the other players showed up. I couldn't help but laugh," Stewart recalled.
"Another time, we were playing the Maine Mariners, the Flyers' affiliate, in their building. I bit off a little more than I could chew. I tried to fight four Firebirds at the same time. They beat the crap out of me.I was a bloody mess. Both my eyes swelled shut. It wasn't pretty. But the only Firebird who tried to help me out was Coatesy. A picture of Steve assisting me off the ice afterwards was published in Sports Illustrated. That's the only way, at least as players, Coatesy or I would get in Sports Illustrated."
Off the ice, Coates was a summertime camp counselor at the day camp owned for several years by longtime friend Bob Clarke. After the Firebirds relocated from Philadelphia to Syracuse for the 1979-80 season, Coates retired as a player and began his prolific 43-year broadcasting career.
Along the way, he wore many different hats on the air (often literally!): host of the Pepsi Postgame Show, intermission interviewer, TV color commentator, radio color commentary, studio analyst, host of the popular "Coatesy's Corner" intermission feature. service as a between-the-benches commentator, part-time Philadelphia Phantoms color analyst, a regular panelist on the Broadcasters' Roundtable podcast and more.
Steve is unapologetically old-school in his hockey preferences. He's long carried a torch for "old-time hockey"; lamenting the decline of open-ice hitting and fisticuffs in the sport. He was no fan of U.S. Hockey of Fame linesman Kevin Collins in particular, because Collins was very zealous about jumping in to physically restrain and separate would-be combatants. Accordingly, a contingent of Flyers fans used to come out to Flyers games sporting t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan, "Coatesy is right: Let 'em Fight!"
For years, Coates has been a fixture at Flyers Alumni Association events. He used to play in the Alumni team's fundraising benefit games at local rinks across the tri-state area: inevitably doing his "puck-on-a-string" sight gag to score a penalty shot goal.
Coates has also emceed a slew of Alumni gatherings through the years. Most recently, he emceed a portion of the "Friday Night Fights" speaker dinner at 2300 Arena in South Philly in March of 2023. At other times, he's been an auctioneer at the Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp, Alumni Golf Invitational and other fundraisers that support the charity work the Alumni do in the community.
Speaking personally, I always enjoy talking to Coatesy prior to or during intermissions at Wells Fargo Center games. Additionally, if I need a good anecdote for an historical retrospective on a Flyers player or coach, Steve is the go-to guy.
My favorite Coatesy story of the family-friendly variety happened pregame before the final day of the 2016-17 regular season. I brought my then seven-year-old son, Benjamin, to the game and introduced him beforehand to various people including Steve.
Coatesy asked Benjamin who his favorite player was. When my son replied that it was Steve Mason, Coatesy said, "Uh, oh. You've got a goalie on your hands here! Now, OK, Ben, are you sure you don't mean Steve Coates?"
My son nodded.
"Ah, well. I don't blame you," Coatesy said.