Original Flyers forward Forbes Kennedy, who celebrated his 89th birthday back on August 18, 2024, was one of the toughest pound-for-pound NHL players of his era. In fact, he was one of the toughest from any era.
The longtime resident of Prince Edward Island (PEI) in the Canadian Maritimes is the eldest living Flyers Alum. The second eldest, AHL Hall of Famer Art Stratton, turned 89 on October 8.
This year, starting with the holiday season, the Flyers Alumni have launched a new program called Alumni House Calls. The premise of the initiative is simple: Flyers Alumni will periodically pay in-person visits to fellow Alumni who are no longer able to travel to get together events with their old teammates and friends.
Fittingly, the first "house call" was paid to "Forbie" Kennedy. On December 2, 2024, Al MacAdam met up in PEI with old teammate Joe Watson and the two men spent the day with Kennedy.
MacAdam himself is a PEI native. Flyers Hall of Famer Watson and Kennedy were teammates on the inaugural 1967-68 Flyers team as well as during a portion of the next season.
“Forbie was one of the toughest players in the league. No one wanted to play against him but it was good to have him on your side. Those guys are the best teammates. As a teammate, we always knew that Forbie had our backs. He wasn’t big (5-foot-8, 150 pounds) but he was a tough customer,” Watson recalled.
“Off the ice, Forbie has always been a good friend. Loves to have fun. Always with a cigar in his mouth. We had a lot of fun together off the ice. It was actually Forbie, right in our first year, who started the tradition of the boys going to Rexy’s after practice or a game.”
Located in West Collingswood Heights, New Jersey, Rexy’s became the hangout spot of choice for the Flyers players of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.
Along with Kennedy, MacAdam is one of a select number of PEI residents to play in the National Hockey League. MacAdam was part of the Flyers’ legendary 1972 Amateur Draft class and remained with the organization through the Stanley Cup winning 1973-74 season. He was subsequently traded to the Seals in the deal that brought Reggie Leach to the Flyers. MacAdam went on to become an NHL 40-goal scorer in his own right with the Minnesota North Stars and an NHL coach with the Chicago Blackhawks.
When the Flyers celebrated their 50th anniversary season in 2016-17, Kennedy trekked from PEI to Philadelphia to take part in the celebratory gala on January 13, 2017. The next night at Wells Fargo Center, he and the other surviving members of the 1967-68 squad were the centerpiece of the pregame ceremonial faceoff before the Flyers Alumni played the Pittsburgh Penguins Alumni. Watson played in the game, representing the Flyers of the 1960s and 1970s.
Several attendees from the Golden Anniversary celebration have since passed away including inaugural Flyers captain Lou Angotti and Don Blackburn. Kennedy still enjoys seeing visitors and spending time with family, but can no longer make long-distance journeys.
Philadelphia is 900-plus miles southwest of Prince Edward Island. Boston is roughly 470 miles away and Toronto is 1,050 miles to the west. The distance makes it impractical for Kennedy to get together with his surviving former teammates.
Forbes Kennedy played 603 career NHL regular season games plus a dozen matches in the Stanley Cup playoffs. After his playing days, Kennedy worked as a coach and a scout. His younger brother, Jamie Kennedy, also played pro hockey and is a fellow member of the PEI Sports Hall of Fame along with Forbie and MacAdam.
