Beginning play in 1967-68, the new expansion teams were hampered by restrictive rules that kept all major talent with the Original Six. Though they struggled early on, the Flyers would prove by the early 1970s that they could challenge the Original Six. Center Bobby Clarke and goaltender Bernie Parent would emerge as the team's first superstars as the Flyers became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup in 1973-74, defeating Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins in a six-game Finals series.
The Flyers, however, were derided by other teams (and idolized by their fans) for being the "Broad Street Bullies" (the Spectrum's location on Philadelphia being Broad Street). Seven players racked up over 100 penalty minutes during that first Cup-winning season. They successfully defended their title in 1974-75 by defeating the Buffalo Sabres in another six-game Finals series. Despite failing to capture a third consecutive Stanley Cup in 1975-76 (being swept in the Finals by the Montreal Canadiens), the Flyers were still victorious against the Soviet Union's dominant Central Red Army team in a memorable exhibition game held on January 11, 1976 in Philadelphia, 4-1.
In 1979-80 they would go undefeated for a North American professional sports record 35 straight games (25-0-10), a record that still stands to this day. They failed to win the Cup that year, losing to the New York Islanders on a disputed off-sides call, 4 games to 2. The Flyers would return to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1984-85 and 1986-87 behind the goaltending of Pelle Lindbergh and Ron Hextall respectively, but would lose both times to Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers.
In 1992, the Flyers made an infamous trade to acquire 1991 first overall pick Eric Lindros from the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for six players (including Peter Forsberg), two future 1st-round draft picks, and $15 million. Lindros' playing career with the Flyers, beginning in 1992-93 and ending in 1999-00, showed glimpses of greatness but was marred by major injuries and bickering with General Manager Bob Clarke. While the trade yielded two Stanley Cups for the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise, the Flyers only had one trip to the Finals to show for it.
Philadelphia's alternate logo; a sleeker, more stylized version of the Flyer's main logo.
The Flyers name was chosen to convey the motion and excitement that was to be consistent with both hockey in general, as well as the new Philadelphia club. Despite the idea for the name being the brainchild of owner Ed Snider's sister, the name was officially chosen by then nine year old Alec Stockard, among others who had all unknowingly chosen the winning name in a mail in contest conducted by Acme Markets. However, Stockard had spelled his entry "Fliers", as it appears first in the English dictionary. To this day, it is unknown why the second spelling of the word, replacing the "i" with a "y" was chosen over the first. Some of the names that were considered but abandoned in favor of "Flyers" were: Lancers, Raiders, Royals, Sabres, Knights, Huskies, Blizzards, Ice Caps, Ice Picks, Greenbacks, Liberty Bells and Quakers.
The Flyers' logo was a creation of artist Sam Ciccone. Like the name, the idea behind the logo was to convey the motion and speed of hockey, while referring to both the sport and the city. Ciccone came up with the now familiar stylized P containing an orange hockey puck, with four wings coming off the back. This logo was reflective of both the team's new name and the city of Philadelphia. Although Ciccone created other designs, the P was almost instantly the clear choice for all involved.
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
The #31 jersey of Pelle Lindbergh (1981-86) has not been officially retired, but the Flyers have not issued that jersey since his death in November 1985.
*Most Goals in a season: Reggie Leach, 61 (1975-76) *Most Assists in a season: Bobby Clarke, 89 (1974-75/1975-76) *Most Points in a season: Mark Recchi, 123 (1992-93) *Most Penalty Minutes in a season: Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, 472 (1974-75) *Most Points in a season, defenseman: Mark Howe, 82 (1985-86) *Most Points in a season, rookie: Mikael Renberg, 82 (1993-94) *Most Wins in a season: Bernie Parent, 47 (1973-74)
Franchise scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers in the history of the Flyers. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.
Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
