Johnstown, PA ~ January 17, 2009
Cambria County War
Memorial
Johnstown, PA ~
January 17, 2009
If the old Montreal Forum or
soon-to-be-demolished Yankee Stadium were the holiest cathedrals of professional North
American sport, where the home team ruled as royalty for so many decades and
where the patrons held awe and respect for their heroes and for the place where
they worshipped, the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, PA, is kind of like
the founding Methodist camp of minor-league sporting venues, where a more fiery
brand of religion was preached and the audience participation as it were came in
unpredictable forms.
Immortalized in the 1970s film Slapshot starring Paul Newman and the
"Hanson brothers," the War Memorial was home to the fictional
Charlestown Chiefs but in real life was home to the Johnstown Jets, inspiration
for the movie team that came from last place to win a league championship and
boost the sagging spirits of a blue-collar town facing the shutdown of its steel
mill, while setting penalty-minute records, hooking up with the booster club, and fighting with fans in enemy rinks
along the way. It was old-time hockey, 1970s-style, and the Cambria County War
Memorial epitomized the kinds of mid-century arenas found in small to mid-size
cities in the northeast, such as Syracuse, Binghamton, Utica, and the like.
Today the hockey is tamed of the rampant violence of years' past and the crowds
may be smaller and more family-oriented but the history lingers in the air. Real
life imitates art as the home team now takes the name Johnstown Chiefs, although
they've forsaken Paul Newman's blue uniform for the black-and-gold look of the
Pittsburgh teams. On the concourse wall, a running list encapsulates the names of performers, entertainers, athletes and
professional teams (real and fictional) who played for the people of Johnstown.
A cornered-off section of the concourse memorializes the Slapshot crew in
photos, posters, autographs and jerseys. And there is a war memorial room, with
uniforms and artifacts of the various great conflicts of the last century or
two. Very little of the arena seems to have
changed since it was built, although the shiny blue plastic seats look like
recent installations. In general, the Cambria County War Memorial remains a
veritable hockey shrine.
More Cambria
County War Memorial photos - page 2
This page copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Yasinsac.
Reproduction of text and/or photographs without the permission of Robert J. Yasinsac is
prohibited.
