A Look Back at Murray Craven

I don't know why, but Murray Craven's name popped into my head this morning. Just one of those catchy names I guess. So I did some research on him online. Here's the scoop about this former Flyer:

-Craven was born on 7/20/1964 in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada.

-Drafted by Detroit Red Wings in 1982, Craven was traded to the Flyers in 1984 in exchange for the aging Darryl Sittler. It turned out to be a steal, according to Legends of Hockey.

-According to Database Hockey, Craven played seven years for the Flyers from 1984-1991 and then again for a brief stint in the 1991-2 season, playing in 523 regular season games-- out of a total of about 572-- making him a very dependable player. A consistent left winger, Craven scored 152 goals plus 245 assists for 397 points during his Flyers career.

-His career totals amounted to 1071 games played from 1982-2000, 266 goals, 493 assists, 759 points, and 524 penalty minutes during the regular season. In 118 playoff games, he racked up 27 goals, 43 assists, and 66 penalty minutes.

-He made it to the Stanley Cup on three occasions-- twice with the Flyers and once with the Canucks-- but was never able to bring home the trophy.

-Lastly, here's a view of an excerpt about Murray Craven in "The Greatest Players and Moments of the Philadelphia Flyers", by Stan Fischler.

Thanks for the hard work you gave the Flyers, Murray. Hope you're doing well these days!

I'm Naming Names!

So today former Senator George Mitchell let loose with a stack of papers containing names of players who were accused of taking steroids. Some former Phillies that made the list include Lenny Dykstra, Jason Grimsley, Paul Byrd, Jeremy Giambi, Benito Santiago, and David Bell. Interesting list there, huh?

But here's a more interesting list for you... Former Phillies players who were NOT on today's 'Roid Roster:

-Kim Batiste
-Bake McBride
-Rod Booker
-Del Unser
-Granny Hamner
-Randy Lerch
-Pep Deininger
-John Titus
-Nick Punto

Now this is not to say that none of these players ever took liquid muscles, particularly that John Titus who led the 1909 Philadelphia Phillies in home runs with 3. Yep, he was the hammer on that group of Phightins'. But the fact is that nobody has indicted any of these players as of yet, so hopefully they will stay on the clean list, so give 'em a round of applause for staying of "the clear" and other questionable substances. However, if anything should change, I'll be the first to break it to you.

Keep clean, Philly.