On This Date in Sports March 11, 1979: Holt Fights the Bullies
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Randy Holt of the Los Angeles Kings stands up to the Broad Street Bullies gathering a record 67 penalty minutes. Holt’s efforts don’t help the Kings win, as they are doubled up by the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 at the Spectrum. The record 67 penalty minutes to top the old mark of 52 minutes set by Jim Dorey of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1968.
Randy Holt was born on January 15, 1953, in Pembroke, Ontario. Drafted 45th overall by the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1973 NHL Draft, Holt spent most his time in the minor leagues, before finally making it to the NHL to stay in 1977 after he was traded to the Cleveland Barons. When the Barons folded, Holt was selected by the Vancouver Canucks. However, his stay in Vancouver would be a short one as he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings after appearing in just 22 games.
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By the time, Randy Holt arrived in Los Angeles he had a reputation as one of the toughest players in the NHL. The toughest team at the time was the Philadelphia Flyers, who still had the reputation as the Broad Street Bullies, despite having their struggles in the 1978/79 season after the career-ending injury by Goalie Bernie Parent. By the time the Kings came into Philadelphia, the Flyers were playing better at 30-22-14 as Pat Quinn replaced Bob McCammon, behind the bench. McCammon was named coach after, Fred Shero left to take a job with the New York Rangers. The Los Angeles Kings meanwhile were a middle of the road team, sitting at 29-29-9 under coach Bob Berry.
The Kings had one of the league’s top scorers in Marcel Dionne, who fronted the Triple Crown line with Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor. However, they lacked defense and toughness leading to the acquisition of Randy Holt in the middle of the 1978/79 season. In his record-breaking penalty game against the Flyers, Holt was called for a minor early in the first period. At 14:58, Holt dropped his gloves and got in a tet-a-tet with Frank Bathe, leading to a five-minute fight major and a game misconduct. Earlier in the game, Randy Holt got in a scrape with Ken Linesman. At the end of the first period, Holt sought out Linesman sparking a bench-clearing brawl. When the dust settled, Randy Holt was given another five-minute fighting major and a triple game misconduct, raising his total to 67 to set the record as he was ejected from the game, having totaled more penalty minutes than minutes in the game. The Flyers would win the game 6-3.
Randy Holt would score just four goals with 37 assists in a ten-year career, playing with the Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals, before ending his career with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1984.