The original owners were successful insurance executive Sid Salomon Jr., his son Sid Salomon III and Robert Wolfson. [55] The seven individuals recognized as builders by the Hall of Fame includes former Blues executives, general managers, head coaches, and owners. The Cardinals moved back to KMOX in the 2011 season, with conflicting games moved to KYKY, an FM station owned by the same group as KMOX. They waited for an authorization by 75% of the NHL Board of Governors for the sale and transfer of the club. 20 Years Ago, Blur's 'Song 2' Became an Unlikely Sports Anthem", "PLAY GLORIA! March 3, 2023 by Marcus Ashpaugh. While the Blues had returned to respectability on the ice, they were struggling off it. When the period of exclusivity expired without a deal, SCP jumped back into the picture. Figures are updated after each completed NHL season. On July 27, 1983, ten days before the deadline, the NHL approved a bid from businessman Harry Ornest and a group of St. Louis-based investors for the team and the arena. List of St. Louis Blues broadcasters | NHL Wiki | Fandom QR Code Link to This Post. As the team lingered on the shelf, management further demoralized the fan base by streamlining the books and trading its high-salaried players. Still desperate for a championship, the Blues made another controversial move in 1995, hiring Mike Keenan right off the staff directory of the Stanley Cup winning New York Rangers. SponsorPitch - St. Louis Blues While there were a number of interested parties, none had enough cash to meet Ralston's asking price. During the season, he publicly criticized Gretzky, who entered free agency after the season, declined an offer from the Blues, and took a less lucrative contract with the New York Rangers. Overview. The team slipped under .500 the following season and managed just 65 points in 1982-83. Beginnings and Stanley Cup Finals' appearances (19671970), Financial problems, near-relocation, and playoff streak (19701987), End of the playoff streak, lockout, and rebuild (19982011), Return to contention, first Stanley Cup championship (2011present), Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 16:20, "City Gets Big League Hockey; New Team Begins NHL Play in 196768 Season", "Musial Partner 'Biggie' Dies; Political Figure", "PHT Time Machine: When Blues skipped NHL draft", "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search", "The Lewiston Daily Sun - Google News Archive Search", "Davis Payne will remain team's head coach St Louis Blues", "St. Louis Blues for sale after five years of Dave Checketts' ownership", "Predators defeat Blues, advance to first conference final", "Gameday Lineup: Sept. 18 at Dallas; O'Reilly, Maroon, Parayko, Thomas and Kyrou expected to play vs. Stars", "Yeo fired as coach of Blues, replaced by Berube on interim basis", "Blues clinch spot in Stanley Cup Playoffs", "Blues Beat the Bruins and Get Their First Stanley Cup Finals Victory", "Blues win Stanley Cup for first time, defeat Bruins in Game 7 of Final", "St. Louis Blues beat Boston Bruins, 41, to win first Stanley Cup", "Black senator from St. Louis passed bill to make Blues official state hockey team", "Chapter 10 10.225. In 201213, the Blues completed the lockout-shortened season in fourth place in the Western Conference. Angry at having to play "second fiddle", the Blues elected to leave for KTRS in 2000. [7] Emile Francis would call it quits on May 2, leaving for the Hartford Whalers to become president and general manager. Albums. Blues games, many of which were crucial to playoff berths, would often be pre-empted for spring training coverage. Hi I have 4 tickets to the blues game tonight vs the San Jose sharks. They missed the playoffs for only the fourth time in franchise history. List Of St Louis Blues Owners. The Blues would underachieve greatly the following year as they posted a 32408, but they beat the Winnipeg Jets 31 in the Norris Division Semi-Finals before dropping to the Chicago Black Hawks in the Norris Division 24. The Blues became the first team in NHL history to finish first overall in the standings and lose in the first round of the playoffs. In each instance, the Blues were swept in four games, twice by the Montreal Canadiens and lastly by the Boston Bruins. Minority Owners [ edit] St. Louis has a record of 2-3 in games when bookmakers list them +180 or longer on the moneyline. St. Louis Blues (1939) - IMDb post; account; . Jeff Gordon writes: Controlling the Blues is a great honor for diehard fan Tom Stillman. [48] The longest-running fan publication, Game Night Revue, was created by a group of fans in the mold of the Chicago Blackhawks' Blue Line Magazine. The Black Hawks treated St. Louis as a secondary market, placing minor league affiliates there and even playing a few NHL games in St. Louis during the 1950's while the team still struggled to sell tickets at Chicago Stadium. For instance, Ornest asked many players to defer their salaries to help meet operating costs, but the players always got paid in the end. The Blues got off to a slow start in their initial season. In the hiatus preceding the NHL's Return to Play, several Blues players contracted COVID-19, which was cited by the coaching staff as one of the reasons why their play faltered in the playoffs. This led to a Norris Division semi-finals exit against the Chicago Black Hawks. St Louis Blues Players. This division was particularly weak, and in 197677, the Blues won it while finishing five games below .500, though this would be their last playoff appearance in the decade. The sale price for the team and building lease was reported to be $100 million. List of former Blues players set to return to St. Louis before the end After hockey resumed in 2005, a few months after GNR's final issue, a new publication, St. Louis Game Time, was formed by several former GNR staffers.[49]. The Blues lost more players as Jay Bouwmeester suffered a season-ending injury, and Jaden Schwartz missed a large portion of the season. The Blues were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings, in the following round. After two awful years, including what is still a franchise-worst 185012 record with 48 points in 1979, the Blues made the playoffs the following year, the first of 25 consecutive postseason appearances. [27] The bill was signed into law by Mike Parson, the Governor of Missouri, with the revised statute becoming effective August 29, 2019. It wasn't. However, despite the music stopping, the loyal Blues fans in attendance continued to sing loudly. san jose sharks vs . st louis blues - tickets - by owner - event sale The Blues announced plans for a navy third jersey featuring a new logo, with the Gateway Arch with the Blue Note superimposed over it inside a circle with the words "St. Louis" above and "Blues" below. Because they were not required to participate in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, they did not send a representative, which led the Blues to forfeit their picks. Incensed, Ralston Purina sued the NHL, padlocked the Checkerdome and abandoned the franchise, leaving a mess for the league to sort out. With silver-jacketed organist Norm Kramer pumping out "When the Blues Go Marching In," hockey became a happening in St. Louis. The Blues would go on to be upset by the North Stars in six games, thus failing to advance past the first round for the first time in franchise history. The Blues then fired 60 percent of their employees. Following the Black Hawks' championship in 1961, the team became much more successful at the box office in Chicago, thus St. Louis was no longer useful as a secondary market. They also provided the capital to build the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center), which opened in 1994. It was loud enough, TV cameras picked up the song loud and clear. Despite posting the second-best regular-season record in the entire league in 199091, the Blues were upset in the second round of the playoffs to the Minnesota North Stars, a defeat that was symbolic of St. Louis' playoff struggles. In 2001, the Blues advanced to the Western Conference Finals before bowing out in five games to the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche. On June 17, 2005, the Lauries announced that they would sell the team. The Blues missed the playoffs during the first four full seasons of new ownership. ST. LOUIS (KTVI) - There's been talk that the Rams move is great news for the St. Louis Blues: freeing up more money for St. Louis sports fans to spend on hockey. Berenson, who had played previously in Montreal and New York, commented: "In New York or Montreal, all you'd get would be a handshake.". [31], For the 201415 season, the Blues made a few tweaks to their jerseys. Caron was reinstated as interim general manager for the rest of the season, and general manager Larry Pleau was hired on June 9, 1997. The remaining staff included the accounting department, scouting staff, and coach Barclay Plager. After the 200405 lockout, the Blues' attendance suffered, but has since improved every year since its all-time low in 200607. MLS in July 2020 pushed the expansion schedule back by a year for both St. Louis and the Charlotte, North Carolina, team that began play last year, saying the Covid-19 pandemic had led to delays . David Backes was also announced as the new team captain. Just before the 2007 NHL trade deadline, the Blues traded several key players, including Bill Guerin, Keith Tkachuk and Dennis Wideman, in exchange for draft picks, though they re-signed Tkachuk after the season ended. Nonetheless, the team remained competitive for the next three years, despite never advancing beyond the second round. [25] This all but assured that Berube would have the "interim" tag removed from his title, which occurred two weeks after their Cup victory. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the six teams from the 1967 NHL expansion and is named after the W. C. Handy song "Saint Louis Blues". Stillman group acquires full ownership of St. Louis Blues Following the 198081 season, the television broadcasts moved from KDNL to NBC affiliate KSD-TV for the 198182 season, produced by Sports Network Incorporated (SNI), owned and operated by Greg Maracek who did the broadcasts with Channel 5 sportscaster Ron Jacober. He also purchased the Checkerdome from Ralston Purina for $5 million, then raised $3 million in operating expenses. The Blues' successes in the late 1960s, however, did not continue into the 1970s. [44] Beginning in 2018, the win song has been the aforementioned song recorded by The Urge. Brandon Saad and Robert Thomas both recorded a goal and an assist, helping the Blues earn a 5-2 win over the Predators at home 04:56 January 19, 2023 ST. LOUIS -- Brandon Saad and Robert. Dean told employes that the St. Louis-based firm had completed its second best fiscal year. A few weeks later, SCP withdrew and a month later, the Blues announced they had signed an exclusive letter of intent to negotiate with General Sports and Entertainment, LLC. Mike Keenan was hired as both general manager and coach before the abbreviated 199495 season, with the hope that he could end the postseason turmoil that Blues fans had endured for years. The current logo (shown in the infobox), is similar, but with the slightly darker shade of blue used since 1984. He made his debut two days later, wearing number 55 against the Phoenix Coyotes. While the Blues contended during this time period, they never passed the second round of the playoffs. New owners take over Blues BY TOM TIMMERMANN May 10, 2012 0 NHL commissioner Gary Bettman (left) introduces new St. Louis Blues majority owner Tom Stillman during a press conference on. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Vancouver Canucks, to whom they lost in six games. St. Louis Blues Music Genre Overview | AllMusic The Salomons sold the Blues to Ralston on July 27, 1977. Dan Kelly continued to broadcast the games on radio but was diagnosed in the summer of 1988 with lung cancer and died on February 10, 1989. Initially, the front of the jersey featured the team name above the crest logo, but was removed in 1987. Hull's 86 goals set the record for most goals in a single season by a right-winger (and the third-most overall at the time). These are the top-ten-point-scorers, goal scorers, and assist leaders in franchise playoff history. The St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history later that season. The elder Salomon was not enthralled with the idea of owning a hockey team initially, but his son persuaded him to take the plunge. The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis. They would finish second in the Western Conference, behind the Vancouver Canucks. According to Sutter, they wanted to stay in St. Louis because it reminded them of the rural Canadian towns where many of them grew up. Although they had finished in third place, St. Louis was regarded as fairly evenly matched with the other three Western qualifiers since only four points separated first and fourth place. You have permission to edit this article. The following season, 201314, the team hit the 100-point mark for the sixth time in franchise history, and gained a franchise record of 52 wins. Since the 201920 preseason, WXOS (101 ESPN) has been the flagship radio station for the Blues. From 1967 to 1984, the Blues jerseys featured a lighter shade of blue along with contrasting shoulder yoke and stripes. This list may not reflect recent changes . C Dave Checketts D John Danforth L Bill Laurie O Harry Ornest S SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC And within two years, Hull also was gone, left unsigned to continue a Hall of Fame career with Stanley Cup championships in Dallas and Detroit. After a strong second-half run, the Blues made the 2009 playoffs on April 10, 2009, after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 31. [22] This resurgence included an eleven-game winning streak between February and March, in large part thanks to the emergence of the eventual Calder Trophy nominee, rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington. The Blues skated back to KPLR 3 years later. Under Bowman, the Blues dominated the West for the next two seasons, becoming the only expansion team to compile a winning record, and they captured division titles by wide margins each year. [58] Gretzky had previously played for the Blues in 1996, although the Blues did not retire his number prior to its league-wide retirement. NHL president Clarence Campbell said during the 1967 expansion meetings, "We want a team in St. Louis because of the city's geographical location and the fact that it has an adequate building."[4]. The Blues were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion, along with the . St. Louis Blues - Owners | RetroSeasons.com The emotional win two days earlier notwitstanding, the Blues lost Game 7 of the playoffs in Calgary, falling short of the Cup finals. The moves kept. Nevertheless, the Black Hawks owners still owned the St. Louis Arena. He went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Stars the next year, scoring a controversial goal on the Buffalo Sabres' Dominik Hasek to clinch the Cup for Dallas. Looking at losses of more than $10 million over six seasons, the pet food giant put the Blues up for sale and in January 1983, announced it had a buyer in Saskatoon-based Batoni-Hunter Enterprises, Ltd. Batoni's president, Bill Hunter, said his group was ready to break ground on a $43 million building, which could be ready for the Saskatoon Blues in time for the 1983-84 season. Despite these losses, the Blues raced out to a 2182 start in their first 31 games. The team did not even participate in the 1983 NHL draft, forfeiting all of its picks. Local ownership group aims to 'put the Blues on solid financial footing.'. Moreover, for the first time in club history, the normally excellent support seen by St. Louisans began decrease, with crowds normally numbering around 12,000, notably less than the team's normal high (about 18,000 in a 19,500-seat arena). The jersey brought back the contrasting shoulder yoke and returned to the lighter blue of previous eras. However, the NHL Board of Governors rejected the deal by a 153 vote on May 18, feeling that Saskatoon was not big enough or financially stable enough to support an NHL team.[8][9]. For the first time in five years (that is, since the lockout), the Blues were in the playoffs. [a] The Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) is the team's minor league affiliate. The song has since been retired; the last time they played it was during the raising of the Stanley Cup Championship banner ceremony on October 2, 2019. Rivers also fills in on color commentary whenever Pang is on a national TV assignment for the NHL on TNT. This third jersey was unveiled on September 21, 2008, and debuted during a Blues' home game against the Anaheim Ducks on November 21, 2008. Blues Jump Blues/Piano Blues St. Louis Blues. Off the ice, the cash-poor Checketts operated with an Ornest-like budget; on the ice the team continued to stockpile picks and promise. [15] The team later traded veteran defenseman Bryce Salvador to the New Jersey Devils for enforcer, and St. Louis native, Cam Janssen. During the 2018 NHL offseason, the Blues acquired forward Ryan O'Reilly from the Buffalo Sabres via trade and re-signed Perron to a third stint with the team in free agency, while also signing forwards Tyler Bozak, St. Louis native Pat Maroon, and goaltender Chad Johnson. Sidney Salomon (right) and his son, Sid, express jubilation after the group of nine individuals they head from St. Louis were awarded a conditional franchise from the National Hockey League on April 5, 1966. The group spent $2 million to buy the franchise, $4 million to purchase the 38-year-old Arena on Oakland Avenue from Chicago's Bill Wirtz and $2.5 million more to renovate the building. He has covered the team since the 2005-06 season, including a dozen years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. [12] To date, this is the closest that an NHL team has come to folding since the Cleveland Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars after the 197778 season. Ornest ran the Blues very cheaply, though the players did not mind. Blues owners - STLtoday.com Checks were back in the Checkerdome. Like all NHL teams, the Blues updated their jerseys for the 200708 season with new Rbk Edge jerseys. Only Wayne Gretzky found the net more than Hull during any given three-year period. [13] Despite operating on a shoestring, the Blues remained competitive even though they never finished more than six games over .500 in Ornest's three years as owner. The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and have the most Stanley Cup playoff appearances outside of the Original Six. st louis blues traditions - legal-innovation.com The seats are in section 106 row cc seats 1-4. Fox Sports Midwest color commentator, Darren Pang, exclaimed he "just loved the crowd, they're singing!". Indeed, many of the Blues' players liked the fact that their families could hear the games on KMOX. On June 3, Ralston announced that it had no interest in running the team anymore. Blues Front Office Ownership Tom Stillman, Jerald Kent, Donn Lux, James Cooper, Jo Ann Taylor Kindle, Steve Maritz, Edward Potter, Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Taylor, David Steward, James Kavanaugh, John. St. Louis Blues owner Tom Stillman is a former lawyer who worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce where he was Chief Counsel for Export Administration. With Dorothy Lamour, Lloyd Nolan, Tito Guzar, Jerome Cowan. Things got worse after Keenan orchestrated a bold trade to acquire Wayne Gretzky late in the 1995-96 season. Jason Pippi stated "its just a testament to the passion Blues fans bring each and every night to the Cup (Stanley Cup) maybe? On December 27, 2005, it was announced that the Blues had signed a letter of intent to exclusively negotiate with General Sports and Entertainment, LLC. Instead, a Return to Play tournament was organized, starting in August 2020. [14] Davidson also installed a strong development program under head scout Jarmo Kekalainen, using the team's raft of high draft picks in 2006 and 2007 to select highly touted prospects such as T. J. Oshie, Erik Johnson and David Perron. In the Round Robin tournament for the four top-seeded teams of the conference, the Blues failed to get a win, and thus despite winning the regular-season conference title, they ended up being the fourth seed in the West. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. The team made headlines with free-agent signings and trades that landed stars like Brett Hull, Adam Oates, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Stevens, Grant Fuhr, Phil Housley and Al MacInnis. However, they were swept in the Stanley Cup Finals by the Montreal Canadiens in 1969 and then by the Boston Bruins in 1970. During this time, Doug Gilmour, drafted by St. Louis in 1982, emerged as a star. [24] Up until that point, the Blues were the oldest franchise to never win the Stanley Cup; they were also the last of the five surviving 1967 expansion teams to win the Cup for the first time. Phil Goyette won the Lady Byng Trophy for the Blues in 1970 and New York Rangers castoff Red Berenson became the expansion team's first major star at center. In 201415, the Blues won their second Central Division championship in four years and faced the Minnesota Wild in round one of the 2015 playoffs. [20] On November 19, 2018, the Blues fired head coach Mike Yeo after starting the season with a 793 record and replaced him with Craig Berube on an interim basis. Team owner puts St. Louis Blues up for sale 5 is #1 Show Me 5 Sally Sally Jessy Raphael at KSDK Today In St. Louis Be the first to know Making a Difference Mike Bush Fantasy Baseball. In 200910, despite not having a playoff year, the Blues had an average attendance of 18,883 (98.6% total capacity), selling out 34 of its 40 home games, which placed them seventh in the NHL in attendance. On March 17, 2011, it was announced that the St. Louis Blues were for sale. The moves kept sportswriters busy and fans captivated, and often infuriated opposing executives. His successor, William Stiritz, wanted to refocus on the core pet food business, and his personal sporting interests were in horse racing and not hockey. However, had the league not found a new owner by August 6, it would dissolve the team and hold a dispersal draft for the players. After his duties as interim coach for the rest of the 200910 season, Davis Payne was named the 23rd head coach in the Blues' history on April 14. The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. Weight was again traded in December 2007 to the Anaheim Ducks, along with a minor league player, in exchange for Andy McDonald. The slump haunted them, as they blew a 20 series lead to the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks, losing the first-round series in six games. He had 70 or more goals in three consecutive seasons, including 1990-91 when he scored 86 and the team finished with 105 points. While the Blues remained competitive, they were unable to keep many of their young players. In 1980-81, with Berenson behind the bench, the Blues had a 107-point season and put hockey back on the St. Louis radar. On March 17, 2012, the Blues became the first team to reach 100 points and clinch a playoff berth in the 201112 season under Hitchcock, qualifying for their first playoffs since 200809. Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. During most of Ornest's tenure, the Blues had only 26 players under contract23 in St. Louis, plus three on their farm team, the Montana Magic. The former New York Rangers goaltender promptly made multiple blockbuster deals, picking up Jay McKee, Bill Guerin and Manny Legace from free agency, and bringing Doug Weight back to St. Louis after a brief (and productive) stopover in Carolina. Bill Laurie, a former point guard at Memphis State University, had long desired to buy and move a National Basketball Association (NBA) team to St. Louis (coming close to achieving this in 1999, with an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the then-Vancouver Grizzlies), and it was thought that this desire caused him to neglect the Blues. The blue jerseys lacked the contrasting yoke until 1979. Subscribe with this special offer to keep reading, (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Ralston then filed a $60 million anti-trust lawsuit in U.S. District Court, claiming that the NHL broke federal antitrust laws and breached the duty of good faith and fair dealing by voting to reject the sale and transfer of the Blues to Hunter's group. In the offseason for the 201718 season, the Blues would lose David Perron to the Vegas Golden Knights via an expansion draft. Pronger, Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger were all sent packing. The move proved both ill-conceived and ill-timed, as the renamed St. Louis Eagles continued to lose money. The Blues also won the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals (165) in the NHL, as netminder Roman Turek finished with a 1.95 goals-against average. Los Angeles Kings vs. St. Louis Blues odds, tips and betting trends After an early-season coaching change brought Ken Hitchcock aboard, the Blues broke through this season with 109 points, two points removed from the best record in the NHL. Despite an impressive run into the end of the season, when they gained most points in the league from February 1, when Hitchcock was fired, to the end of the season,[18] the Blues were eliminated in the second round by the Nashville Predators in six games.[19]. Baie-Comeau Drakkar Players Bakersfield Condors Players Barrie Colts Players Barys Astana Players Belarusian Hockey Players Belleville Senators Players Bemidji State Beavers Players Bentley Falcons. In between seasons and during trade deadlines, the Blues became a must-see attraction. The season of 200809 saw the Blues play their last game on KPLR, which had the rights since the 198687 season (except for the 199697 season on CBS affiliate KMOV), electing to move all their games to FS Midwest, starting with the 200910 season. [17] During the 2011 NHL offseason, the team signed many key free agents, including Brian Elliott, Scott Nichol, Kent Huskins, Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner. Originally, the St. Louis Blues aired their games on KPLR-TV and KMOX radio, with team patron Gus Kyle calling games alongside St Louis broadcasting legend Jack Buck. The Salomons might have been the most generous employers in sports history. Last chance! Guided by young coach Joel Quenneville, built on the backline presence of MacInnis and Chris Pronger who came in the Shanahan deal the Blues embarked on one of their most rewarding periods. By 1986, the team reached the Campbell Conference Finals against the Flames. They faced the third-seeded Vancouver Canucks in the first round, but despite the team's tremendous run to end the season, the Blues would ultimately lose the series in a quick four-game sweep. Dean was the key figure in Ralston Purina's takeover of the St. Louis Blues after the 1976-77 season. On February 9, 2019, another tradition was born. In 1978-79, the Blues won 18 of 80 games, or just one more than the NFL's 1972 Miami Dophins. St. Louis CITY SC owner Carolyn Kindle says bumpy road helped in prep During the late 1990s, the Blues nurtured a new identity. John Kelly (son of Dan) and Darren Pang are the current team for television coverage, while Scott Warmann, Alexa Datt, Bernie Federko, and Jamie Rivers present the pre-game and post-game shows. Blues Chairman Tom Stillman confirmed . Under Arbour, the Blues essentially matched their 1969-70 regular season performance in their fourth season, and were still the best of the expansion teams; however, it was only good enough for second place in the West as St. Louis finished twenty points behind Chicago. Members of the Blues' all-local ownership group include Tom Stillman, Jerald Kent, Donn Lux, James Cooper, Jo Ann Taylor Kindle, Steve Maritz, Edward Potter, Andrew Taylor, David Steward, Jim. Ryan O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. However, after the period of exclusivity, SCP entered the picture again. On February 12, 2020, the Blues suffered another loss as defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suddenly collapsed on the bench in a game against the Anaheim Ducks, and would not come back to play again in the season. Bill Laurie - Wikipedia