ST. LOUIS — Bernie Federko was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (or sounding even more impressive in French, Temple de la Renommee du Hockey) in 2002. At the moment, there are 294 players honored in the Hall in Toronto, making it a rare honor for a player. The Blues on Monday announced that they are starting their own Hall of Fame to honor the most illustrious to wear their uniform, with Federko as one of the charter members.
And it’s still a big deal for him.
“It’s always an honor,” he said. “I think it’s a really special honor to everybody who’s ever inducted. A Hall of Fame means exactly that, it’s a Hall of Fame, and it means that you’ve been very much admired or respected by the organization, by the fans, by the teammates, management, whatever it is. It’s certainly something you never take lightly and any time a call comes to you as a player, it’s a huge honor to be part of that group.”
The inaugural class will include the eight players who have had their numbers retired by the team — Federko, Al MacInnis, Bob Gassoff, Bobby Plager, Barclay Plager, Brian Sutter, Brett Hull and Chris Pronger — plus original team owner Sid Salomon Jr. and broadcaster Dan Kelly.
In addition, fans are invited to cast votes for other Blues on the team website, though unlike the system used for the Cardinals it’s not a direct election. Results of the fan poll, which runs through Monday, will be one of the items considered by the selection committee. The full inaugural class will be announced at the Blues' home opener, on Oct. 15. ( Post-Dispatch sportswriters Jim Thomas and Jeff Gordon are part of the 21-person committee.)
The physical location of the Hall has not been announced.
“We’ve been working on it for a while, been talking about it for a while,” Blues president Chris Zimmerman said. “I guess now it’s just another important stage of recognizing how important this team’s history is, and the players and ownership who have really shaped this organization. We held our alumni up as one of the key pillars that has built this franchise and the game of hockey in St. Louis. This is the next step in making sure we’re paying the appropriate tributes to those who have been so critical.”
As with the Cardinals Hall of Fame, in Ballpark Village, it’s a way to honor important people in the franchise's history — including those who haven’t been selected to their sport’s main hall. Blues history now spans 55 years, and 24 who have played for the team are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but some played for them only briefly in St. Louis.
Meanwhile, some of the biggest names in Blues history such as Red Berenson, Keith Tkachuk and Garry Unger haven’t gotten in. Tkachuk, whose 538 goals are the most of any eligible player who is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame, regularly comes up as a candidate but has yet to get in. (Unlike baseball's Hall of Fame, voting for the Hockey Hall is not released, so there’s no way to know how close he’s come.)
“Not every great Blue is going to be able to be recognized and be honored in the (Hockey) Hall of Fame,” Zimmerman said. “There’s a great wealth of players that deserve that type of recognition.”
“That’s really cool,” said Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly, himself a likely honoree for the local honor somewhere down the road. (There’s no waiting period for selection; players need only be retired to be eligible.) “It’s obviously a great organization. The best things about being in St. Louis is the history, the teams they’ve had, that people end up making this their home and raising their families here. It says a lot about this and it’s a great way to honor those players and for what this community has done for hockey here and the players that have built hockey here. It’s awesome to recognize them and show support.”
It’s been a big year for teams and Halls of Fame. The Dallas Stars announced theirs in February, the Edmonton Oilers in September. The Blues are the fourth team from their 1967 expansion class to start their own Hall of Fame. The Philadelphia Flyers have had one since 1988.
"I think anytime you have something like that," said Blues coach Craig Berube (who is not in the Flyers Hall), "you recognize people that deserve to be in there and that played for this organization and put in time and played special hockey here."
“Ultimately it’s about the recognition, about quite honestly the ability to shine light once again on players, careers, and their impact on building this franchise,” Zimmerman said, “something that we think continues to grow as we have more hockey greats, if you will, come through St. Louis.”
“This is still a special honor,” said Federko, who along with Bruce Affleck represents the Blues alumni on the selection committee. “I was drafted by the Blues, I spent 13 years here, I’m back. My life, everything I own is from hockey and from being part of the Blues. I made my name as a St. Louis Blue and I’m very honored about that and I know a lot of the players as they get inducted feel the same thing. It means that the Blues were special to them and they were special to the Blues and to the city of St. Louis. I think it’s very special.”
