height_ft played_for shoots weight_lb birth_place career_end position height_in birth_date article_title name career_start
5 new knights san diego mariners edmonton oilers vancouver canucks indianapolis racers york golden blades new york raiders new jersey left 180 sherridon , mb , can 1977 centre 11 28 september 1948 gene peacosh
 gene peacosh 1964
gene peacosh

eugene michael `` gene '' peacosh -lrb- born september 28 , 1948 -rrb- is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 367 games in the world hockey association .
he played with the new york golden blades , new york raiders , new jersey knights , san diego mariners , edmonton oilers , vancouver canucks , and indianapolis racers .
gene peacosh was one of the best hockey players to come out of british columbia during the late 1960s and early 70s .
despite being born in manitoba , he grew up in the okanagan valley in british columbia , and that is where his hockey career began .
as a junior , gene quickly established himself as a prolific goal scorer .
he was drafted into major junior hockey and continued to top team and league scoring statistics .
gene eventually ended up playing for the infamous johnstown jets in the ehl .
of course gene had no way of knowing that the team he was playing for would one day be used as a model for the hollywood blockbuster movie slap shot , starring paul newman .
in four seasons gene scored almost 200 goals and accumulated over 400 points , and served as the team 's captain .
it should go without saying that the hollywood version of the team had little resemblance to the real jets , except in as much as hockey was a much rougher , nastier sport in those days , and a talented player like gene had to keep his head up at all times if he was interested in keeping it on his shoulders .
of course he did receive help from a man named `` dick paradise '' , who would pummel anybody that crossed any lines with one of their star players -lrb- or was unwise enough to make fun of his name -rrb- and later the infamous tough-guy ted scharf .
in the movie slap shot a character is featured by the name of olgie ogelthorpe , which was a kind of sloppy anagram for a goon gene encountered only too often by the name of bill `` goldie '' goldthorpe .
after turning down a contract from the montreal canadiens franchise , gene decided instead to play in the now defunct world hockey association -lrb- a professional hockey league designed as direct competition to the nhl , which featured such stars as bobby hull , gordie howe , mark howe , derek sanderson , and many more -rrb- .
gene 's scoring touch remained constant as a pro , averaging approximately a goal every other game .
he occupies a high position in the wha record books .
career achievements : 1967 won the bchl -lrb- bcjhl -rrb- scoring championship with 94 points , while playing for the penticton broncos .
gene led the team to win both the regular season championship and fred page post-season championship as well .
wherever he went he scored goals .
frequently players moving from junior to pro are unable to continue scoring , but gene did not miss a beat scoring 37 goals as a rookie in the wha .
he did suffer from the dreaded sophomore jinx , scoring only 21 goals the following season , but then registered two very impressive seasons with the san diego mariners scoring 43 and 37 goals respectively .
gene was still putting the puck into the net in 76-77 , despite being moved from san diego to the edmonton oilers , and finally to the indianapolis racers -lrb- the two latter teams would shortly see wayne gretzky added to their roster -rrb- .
teams : 1966-67 , penticton broncos , bchl , 51g , 43a , 94pts .
1967-68 , swift current broncos , wcjhl , 52g , 48a , 100p .
1968-69 , johnstown jets , ehl , 44g , 43a , 87p .
1969-70 , johnstown jets , ehl , 49g , 66a , 115p .
1970-71 , johnstown jets , ehl , 51g , 66a , 117p .
1971-72 , johnstown jets , ehl , 43g , 64a , 107p .
1972-73 , new york raiders , wha , 37g , 34a , 71p .
1973-74 , new york golden blades/new jersey knights , wha , 21g , 32a , 53p .
1974-75 , san diego mariners , wha , 43g , 36a , 79p .
1975-76 , san diego mariners , wha , 37g , 33a , 70p .
1976-77 , edmonton oilers/indianapolis racers , wha , 27g , 30a , 57p .
