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Phil Esposito
A Trailblazer for Italian-Canadian Hockey Players
Written by Alex Magli
Phil Esposito was born on February 20th, 1942, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada (Drager). Esposito came from a humble blue-collar family as his father worked at the Algoma Steel Mill in the Sault and immigrated to Canada from Italy (CBC). Eposito and his brother Tony first learned to play hockey at the park across the street from their childhood home (CBC). Eposito was never the best skater and did not take hockey too seriously as he always believed he would be working at the Algoma Steel Mill with his father for the rest of his life (CBC). Working labour was an occupation many Italian-Canadian immigrants did after immigrating post-World War II, and it was common for their sons to follow suit and work in the same sector (Russo).
Eposito began to take hockey seriously after being cut at the age of twelve from his Bantam team and then cut from his midget team at the age of 14 (Hockey Hall of Fame). He then improved his game and played for the St. Catherine’s Tee Pees, then the St. Louis Braves, where he became a complete player for the Pro level. Esposito became a member of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1963 and went on to play 1,282 games in the NHL with the Blackhawks, NY Rangers, and most notably the Boston Bruins.
Esposito has various notable accomplishments in the sport. Eposito is a two-time Stanley Cup winner, a captain for Team Canada in the Historic Summit Series win over the USSR, and he retired as the second leading all-time NHL goal and point scorer, and third in assists (Hockey Hall of Fame).
My objective was to spotlight Phil Esposito as a pioneer and trailblazer for Italian-Canadians in hockey when creating this project. Epoisto’s various contributions and accomplishments during his playing career, I felt, need to be celebrated further as he is a proud member of the Italian-Canadian community. In his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Phil and his brother Tony have inspired many future NHL players and athletes, and I feel Eposito helped pave the way for future Italian-Canadians to pursue sports, especially hockey.
Eposito was an exceptional leader and a well-respected individual in the world of hockey. Hockey Hall of Famer, Bobby Orr, gave the credit to Eposito for the Boston Bruins success as the team went from last in the league to Stanley Cup Champions once Eposito was traded there from the Blackhawks (Olsen). “I know Phil has scored a lot of points, but to my mind, he’s even more important off the ice. He’s the main force that holds us together” (Olsen). Eposito’s leadership abilities were also on display during the famous 1972 Summit Series as Canada took on the Communist USSR during the height of the Cold War. Eposito and his brother Tony were the only Italian-Canadians selected on Team Canada for the Summit Series, which helped bring interest to Italian-Canadians in hockey. The Canadian Encyclopaedia described Eposito in the series as “the inspirational leader of Team Canada during the dramatic Canadian-Soviet Hockey Series of 1972” (Dreger). After a game four loss to the USSR on Canadian soil, Eposito’s famous speech is also widely considered one of Canadian sports history’s most significant moments (Kelly). Eposito’s speech helped motivate the team to persevere and defeat the USSR and helped unite Canada in triumph over communism during the tense times of the Cold War. His passionate speech, leadership and outstanding playing performance in the Summit Series was praised by then Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, so much so that he awarded Phil the Order of Canada in 1972 (Drager).
The results of Eposito’s remarkable hockey career helped put hockey in Sault Ste. Marie on the map. Fifty-three Saultites have since been drafted into the NHL following and during Eposito’s career (Eliteprospects). Many of the Sault players were very successful such as Ron Francis, who surpassed Eposito’s record and is currently 5th all-time in NHL Points, and Marty Turco, who became one of the best goaltenders of the 2000s (Elite Prospects). Esposito also helped out Indigenous players and youth. One notable Indigenous athlete he mentored was former player turned NHL Coach of the Year Ted Nolan, who grew up in poverty on Garden River Reserve outside the Sault (Postmedia News).
The park the Eposito brothers grew up learning to play hockey across from their childhood home was named in their honour. Eposito purchased his hometown OHL Soo Greyhounds until he eventually sold the team off to move to Tampa, Florida. In Tampa Bay, he became a founding member of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992 and currently serves as the team’s radio colour commentator (Burns). In 2017, the NHL recognized both Eposito and his brother Tony as the top 100 players all-time in the league’s centennial season (Hackel). In 1984, Eposito was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (Hackel). Furthermore, the two brothers were inducted in the Sault Ste. Marie Walk of fame and the Italian-Canadian Walk of Fame, located in Little Italy, Downtown Toronto (Martin).
Phil Esposito’s contributions to the game of hockey both on and off the ice have made him a trailblazer for Italian-Canadian hockey players. He was an inspiration who united the country during the difficult times of the Cold War and helped pave the way for many Italian-Canadians to pursue sports. For future research on Phil Esposito, the one thing I would have liked to have done was interview Eposito himself. The two brothers no longer reside in the Sault anymore, but having a first-person account of his life story would be incredible. He was and still is an inspiration to children of Italian Immigrants in Canada, and his legacy as an Italian-Canadian sports hero shall never be forgotten. Phil Esposito is one of the most influential figures in the hockey and sports world, as he proved that immigrants could make an impact in sport throughout North America.
December 2020
Bibliography
Burns, Bryan. “How Phil Esposito Named the Tampa Bay Lightning.” NHL.com, TampaBayLightning.com, 30 Nov. 2017, www.nhl.com/lightning/news/how-phil-esposito-named-the-tampa-bay-lightning/c-293511432.
CBC. “Brothers: The Phil and Tony Esposito Story.” YouTube, 12 Oct. 1999, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM-yyoXfjdw&t=470s.
Dreger, Derek C. “Phil Esposito.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2009, The Canadian Encyclopedia. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/philesposito.
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Hackel, Stu. “Phil Esposito: 100 Greatest NHL Players.” NHL.com, 1 Jan. 2017, www.nhl.com/news/phil-esposito-100-greatest-nhl-hockey-players/c-284852638.
Hockey Hall of Fame. “Esposito, Phil — Biography — Honoured Player — Legends of Hockey.” Hockey Hall of Fame, www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jspmem=p198401&type=Player&page=bio&list=. Accessed 5 Nov. 2020.
Kelly, Malcolm. “Summit Series: Russians Outclass Canada, Esposito Fumes | Hockey | CBC Sports.” CBC.ca – Watch, Listen, and Discover with Canada’s Public Broadcaster, CBC Archives. www.cbc.ca/sports-content/hockey/opinion/2012/09/summit-series-russians-outclass-canadaesposito-fumes.html. Accessed 7 Nov. 2020.
Martin, Carol. “Meet Five New Members of Sault Ste. Marie’s Walk of Fame.” SooToday.com, 6 June 2007, www.sootoday.com/local-news/meet-five-new-members-of-sault-ste-maries-walk-of-fame-110167. Accessed 8 Nov. 2020.
Olsen, Jack. “OH BROTHER! A PAIR TO WATCH.” Sports Illustrated, 29 Mar. 1971. https://vault.si.com/vault/1971/03/29/oh-brother-a-pair-to-watch.
“Phil Esposito Main Menu.” Esposito’s Legends of Hockey, www.legendsofhockey.com/Legendsofhockey/Phil%20Esposito/ape-bio.html. Accessed 6 Nov. 2020.
PostMedia News. “From a First Nation Reserve to the NHL and Latvia: Ted Nolan Shares His Remarkable Hockey Journey.” Nationalpost, 25 Apr. 2017, nationalpost.com/sports/hockey/nhl/from-a-first-nation-reserve-to-the-nhl-and-latvia-ted-nolan-shares-his-remarkable-hockey-journey. Accessed 11 Nov. 2020.
Russo, Teresaa. “Week 2 Lecture: Italian Immigrant Experience.” Italian/Canadian Studies, 16 Sept. 2020, Brock University. Brock University. Lecture.
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