George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927- September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor, and occasional amateur sportsman.
George was a truly fascinating individual. He was one of a kind in that he created his brand of journalism, dubbed “participatory journalism,” whereby he would play an active role in any sporting event so that he could later record the experience from the point of view of an amateur.
For the purpose of this article, I will focus on Mr. Plimpton’s NHL experience. It was 1977 when George attended the Boston Bruins training camp. According to Don Cherry, Plimpton had previously asked the Montreal Canadiens for a tryout but was denied.
George was nearly 50 years old when he attended the Bruins training camp on assignment for Sports Illustrated. By this time in George’s life, he had become well-known for his out-of-element forays into professional sports. He eventually wrote a book, Open Net, detailing his experiences.
Plimpton began camp with the Bruins in Fitchburg, Mass. At this time, the Bruins had recently dealt star players Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito. Although Plimpton was a complete novice to ice hockey, he was fortunate enough to have enjoyed the bonding he enjoyed with his Boston teammates.
Hall of Fame goaltender Gerry Cheevers said of George, “He was just an unbelievable person. He and I became very close friends”. “Maybe a year later, my wife and I went to New York to be present while he played in the New York Philharmonic. He played the triangle. It was about an hour [long], and I think he hit the triangle twice.
With a notepad tucked in his goal pads and guidance from Cheevers and fellow goaltender Jim “Seaweed” Pettie, Plimpton gave one of the unique portrayals of life as an NHL goaltender.
Cheevers would later recall, “All I really did was just brainwash him that you can’t fall. He was a tall and gangly guy.” I said, ‘George if you fall down, you’re going to stay down.’ He did a great job.”
When Plimpton got the call to don the pads in an exhibition game against the arch-rival Philadelphia Flyers, the writer found himself in the thick of a matchup between two of the toughest teams in the NHL. When the Flyers heard who the opposition goalie was that they would be facing, they agreed that they would allow him to survive his 5 minutes in between the pipes.
Flyers sniper Reggie Leach said, “We were told not to run him and go crazy and shoot hard pucks at him.” “Give him a feel of it, and that was about it.”
Plimpton let one long shot in during his 5 minutes of fame, but the most challenging moment came when Reggie Leach was awarded a penalty shot. After hearing the pleas of Bruins goaltender Gerry Cheevers not to embarrass Plimpton, Leach fired off a soft shot at the Bruins goalkeeper.
Cheevers would later say, “I don’t want to embarrass Reggie,” “But let’s put it this way, it wasn’t sudden death of the Stanley Cup [Final].
After Plimpton exited the ice and gave interviews away from the ice, the teams became embroiled in a bench-clearing brawl extending to the hallways adjoining their locker rooms. Sadly, Plimpton missed the fisticuffs, but he did try his hand at boxing when he sparred for three rounds with boxing greats Archie Moore and Sugar Ray Robinson while on assignment for Sports Illustrated.
To George’s credit, he had many other ventures into professional sports. In 1958, Plimpton pitched a postseason game against the National League while playing for the American League at Yankee Stadium. He would also try NFL football when, in 1963, Plimpton attended preseason training with the Detroit Lions as a backup quarterback. He ran a few plays in an intrasquad scrimmage. Plimpton would give NFL football a second shot in 1971, this time joining the Baltimore Colts and seeing action in an exhibition game against his previous team, the Detroit Lions.
Plimpton’s “The Bogey Man” chronicles his attempt to play professional golf on the PGA Tour during the Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer era of the 1960s. While with Sports Illustrated, Plimpton would also attempt to play top-level bridge and even spent time as a high-wire circus performer. If these endeavors weren’t amazing enough, Plimpton also attempted to perform stand-up comedy and several ventures into professional acting.
George Ames Plimpton
Be Like George Plimpton. He Always Kept His Stick On The Ice.
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Nice roundup of his Bruins adventure, cheers.