1963-64 Cleveland Barons Team Photo

1963-64_cleveland_barons
The 1963-64 Cleveland Barons Hockey Team. Click to view larger.

If you gaze at a minor league team photo long enough, you won’t see a sailboat, but you will probably find a few guys who went on to play in the NHL. It’s like watching a Burger King commercial from ten years ago starring your favorite television actor before they were famous. Only in this case, it’s a hockey player who was riding buses to far-flung midsize American towns, such as Cleveland.

Speaking of Cleveland, I purchased this 1963-64 Cleveland Barons team photo at a card show. I didn’t actually care if was made in 1964 or if it was a reproduction, so long as it wasn’t a crappy computer print. Plus, these guys were Calder Cup Champions.

1963-64_cleveland_barons_detail
Click to see larger.

After gazing at this picture for a few minutes — along with checking out HockeyDB and Hockey-Reference — four players went onto notable NHL careers:

Les Binkley (front row, right) — The Pittsburgh Penguins first-ever first string goalie. He played 196 games in the NHL and 81 games in the World Hockey Association.

Dick Mattiussi (third row, third from right) – Played 200 games in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins and California / Oakland Seals teams.

Larry Zeidel (third row, fourth from right) – Played 158 games in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks and Philadelphia Flyers. Zeidel spent 13 consecutive years in the minors before returning to the NHL with the Flyers in their inaugural season.

Ted Harris (second row, fifth from right) – The alternate captain for the Barons won the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s best defensemen, then went on to a 12-year NHL career (788 games total) with the Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers.

As it turns out, this picture is most likely from 1964. My girlfriend studied some lithography and screen printing while in college, and she tells me that this picture is a plate lithograph. Oil-based ink was applied to the surface of glossy paper using a metal plate, sort of like how newspapers are printed. You can actually see the ink on top of the surface of the paper, which has slightly yellowed with age. Had this been a reprint, it most likely would have been a photographic print…or a crappy computer print.

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Author: Sal Barry

Sal Barry is the editor and webmaster of Puck Junk. He is a freelance hockey writer, college professor and terrible hockey player. Follow him on Twitter @puckjunk

2 thoughts on “1963-64 Cleveland Barons Team Photo”

  1. last week i visited les binkley’s birthplace of owen sound, ontario for the first time in 45 years, and, as often occurs when i trip around, i found my way to the owen sound sports hall of fame, where mr. binkley is prominently acknowledged. it’s funny how this stuff follows a guy around — how once something (or someone) has been brought to my attention, it starts to show up everywhere. thanks for sharing this great photo sal. and thank your sweetie-pie for her contribution as well.

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