With the upcoming induction ceremonies of Lorentz and Crozier, some of us become a bit nostalgic in thinking of the yester-years of hockey: the French Connection, the Auditorium, Knox III, and other great hockey players that have been blessed to have skated on Buffalo ice.

I thought I would create a tread dedicated to the past greats and the building that we once called home, the Aud. This is where RJ's infamous "May Day" call rang out against the Boston Bruins.... and the old goal horn echoed off the now torn down walls, shattering the ears of those who were lucky enough to sit in the old orange and blue seats.....

http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id= ... L|BUF|home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IeYXKSG ... r_embedded

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"If he hits you, he hurts you. We're gonna put three guys on him" ~ Lindy Ruff

Some pics of Don (AudSabre) and I at the Auditorium. This was actually our first time in Buffalo, and yes, it was in the off-season, so we didn't get a chance to catch a game..... but we did see a part of history before it was brought to the ground.

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"If he hits you, he hurts you. We're gonna put three guys on him" ~ Lindy Ruff

I get stupid choked up every time I watch Aud tribute videos on YouTube.

I can't wait to go to the HHOF for the first time and see the orange chairs from the Aud, signifying for the first time an arena being inducted since the old barns of the Original Six.

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mechaphil

it certainly seemed up to par with the other great buildings, like olympia and boston gardens. shame the way they had to tear down those old places (but lets be honest, HSBC is a beautiful, modest facility) as opposed to the JLA. which is a fucking dumpasaurus. i still think MLG is the coolest fucking arena ever though.

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I hear ya man. We were talking tonight that we may have to stop off at the HHOF when we go on our road trip. This is something we have to see.

In the meantime, I was able to reunite two old friends thanks to my awesome and amazing girlfriend. The brick which we grabbed from the aud during demolition, and the gift she got me for our 1 yr anniversary..

A seat back from Memorial Auditorium!

I can't WAIT to get the French Connection to autograph this!

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

JLA was built much earlier than HSBC though. JLA is the same design as the old Richfield Coliseum, just south of Cleveland. Having been to both JLA and TRC, I didn't have a problem with either. I mean they are both from the seventies; aren't they? TRC opened with Frank Sinatra concert in 1974. JLA couldn't have been too far behind - was it?

Edit: JLA - opened 1979

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"I'll rap you with my cane; you pencil necked geek!!"

-Bowler, imitating Freddy Blassie, at the very first M & G.

its the shape of JLA. the scoreboard was HORRID till 2007, the seats are torn with duct tape on em, the concourse is painted black... its just bad.

richfield seemed like it was kept up. kinda sad it only lasted 20 years.

JLA seems more like nassau on long island to me.

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When are they supposed to be opened in the HHOF?

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"If he hits you, he hurts you. We're gonna put three guys on him" ~ Lindy Ruff

They should be on display now. They were collected back before the aud was taken down completely. I'll have to check the HHoF site to see if they have any info.

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

Well the JLA probably had worn seats because they were used! Nobody went to TRC except for some stretches of games when The Cavs were going strong, and for the MISL Cleveland Force for about a 5 year stretch.

My biggest gripe with TRC was that it was accessible from only one road - Rt. 303 (Streetsboro), and that was in the country, so park and walk were not an option. You had one exit ramp onto the Rt 303 from the 271. Now as TRC was south of Cleveland, virtually all traffic was coming from the same direction. Traffic heading south from Clevelands west side encountered the same problem with the 77 having only one exit of note to Rt 303. Anything approaching capacity resulted in traffic jams prior to, and after events.

May she RIP.

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"I'll rap you with my cane; you pencil necked geek!!"

-Bowler, imitating Freddy Blassie, at the very first M & G.

Yup, the seats, along with chunks of brick and the floor plans for the aud should be on display now.

"The seats are being kept in their current state, after a bit of dusting and touching up, of course. Even the gum on the underside of the seat will remain, a strange but very original memorial to the people that once sat in the nosebleeds--where the real fans watched games---and cheered for the Sabres.

The Aud seats will be available for viewing beginning at the start of the 2009-2010 season."

http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/06/me ... -fame.html

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy