Syl Apps was one of the first players to be originally inducted into the Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Fame in 1994, which is relaunching with a special celebration on Saturday against Columbus.
During his speech at center ice, Apps gave a special mention to Tony and Carol Barr, a couple who met in October of 1977 because he was their favorite player.
“It was a marriage made in hockey,” Tony said. “If it wasn’t for hockey, we would’ve never met.”
Carol was a part of the Penguins’ Booster Club, which was hosting a dinner to celebrate a new season. Tony, who was a season ticket holder, attended and sat with a couple who knew Carol.
“We got on the subject of who is your favorite player, and I said Syl Apps,” said Tony. “They told me that they had to introduce me to a lady in the club because she is crazy about him.”
That introduction happened at the next game. A few months later, as part of the Booster Club, Tony and Carol had the opportunity to fly out with the team to California.
“We actually flew on the team plane. Well, I had my eye on her, and I knew that I only had a week to impress her,” Tony said. “I think I did, and we had a wonderful trip together. When we got back, I asked her out on our first date on April 15, 1978, and we went and saw the movie The Omen.”
Less than one year after that first date, Tony and Carol got married in February of 1979. As the huge Penguins fans that they are, they knew that their wedding day had to be on a day when the team didn’t have a game.
“No one would have been at our wedding; we were all fans. We all wore our game shirts for the pictures,” Carol said.
And as for their honeymoon, there had to be hockey involved. With a bit of help from one of their friends in the front office at the time, they got to see a once-in-a-lifetime event at Madison Square Garden.
“It just so happened to be the Russian Summit Series when [Vladislav] Tretiak and them played the NHL for the All-Star game. We sat 12 rows off of the ice to watch that game, and that’s what started our honeymoon.”
Over the course of their 46-year marriage, Tony and Carol have had the chance to go to some of hockey’s most iconic arenas: Nassau Coliseum, Brendan Byrne Arena, the Spectrum in Philadelphia, the Met Center, Maple Leaf Gardens, the Hartford Civic Center, and so many others.
And before they even met, they were both in a road building to see their all-time favorite make history for himself.
“In Detroit, we were at the old Olympia. She was there, and I didn’t even know her yet. That is when Syl scored his 99th point, his highest points in a season for his career,” Tony said.
Over the years, both Tony and Carol had the chance to witness many incredible moments throughout the Penguins history. But just like current captain Sidney Crosby, they also carried superstitions of their own.
“Our daughter and her husband went to Game 7 in Detroit back in 2009,” Carol said. “But we said that we wouldn’t go because every time we did, they lost.”
“She wanted us to go, but I said, ‘Jennifer, I cannot jinx this.’ It was a sacrifice worth making,” Tony said.
Through the Booster Club and their season tickets, Tony and Carol have had the opportunity to build relationships with so many people in the organization, including Apps himself.
“Every time that he comes back to Pittsburgh, he stops and sees us,” Tony said. “He knows where we sit, and he comes right up to our seats, and we talk for a whole period. We know his whole family.”
They still attend games to this day, which have taken on an even greater significance in their lives. Jennifer teaches music at Hillcrest Intermediate School, and has had her class sing the National Anthem at PPG Paints Arena.
“She directs the kids, and they’ve been here three times, and they’ve learned O Canada,” Tony said. “She’s doing it again this year on December 21 when they play Montreal, and you can guarantee that we will be here for that."
