![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Flyers-261020.avif\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHead coach Fred Shero of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on from the bench during an NHL game circa 1976 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by B Bennett\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Chief among them for Ed Snider, chairman of the company that owned the Flyers, was the oppression Jews faced in other countries, particularly Russia, where they were prevented from leaving. To bring attention to their plight, he joined forces with local groups to aid these refuseniks.<\/p>\n
Never was that more evident than Jan. 11, 1976, when his Flyers, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, took on the Soviet Red Army at the Spectrum, the culmination of an exhibition series the two Russian teams (along with the Soviet Wings) had dominated. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s the backdrop for \u201cCold War in Philly,\u201d a documentary about that game and the chain of events behind it. Released in May, it was presented last week at the Betty and Milton Katz JCC in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where the building\u2019s parking lot is adorned from end to end with Israeli flags. It\u2019s a story that has resonated with the Snider family over the years. It\u2019s a story that many walking through the JCC\u2019s doors probably knew little about. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat episode meant a great deal to him,\u201d Lindy Snider said about this hockey game, which brought the plight of Soviet Jewry to light. \u201cIt stayed very fresh in his mind the rest of his life and sort of gave him a shot of adrenaline.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt underscored his feelings and it raised awareness,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very, very early in recognizing what was coming and supporting organizations that were sounding alarm bells.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those who\u2019ve seen the documentary since its release probably knew the basics. The Flyers dominated the game from the start, winning 4-1 to save some face for a league that otherwise detested the team known as the Broad Street Bullies for their aggressive and physical play. They also may have known that after Flyers defenseman Ed Van Impe delivered a hard check on Soviet star Valeri Kharlamov, the Russians pulled their team off the ice. They returned only after Snider warned them they would not be paid unless they came back. <\/p>\n
But only some of them may have been aware how Ed Snider, working in conjunction with some of those outside agencies his daughter referenced, allowed them to post signs throughout the arena drawing attention to the plight of Soviet Jews. <\/p>\n
As they headed onto the ice for pregame warmups, some of the players couldn\u2019t help but notice. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were absolutely aware of it,\u201d said Jimmy Watson, one of five Flyers from that game who atttended the event. \u201cWe were also aware of the politics. We saw the banners when we came out for warmups.\u201d <\/p>\n
Larry Goodenough, who scored the Flyers\u2019 final goal in that game, also noticed the signs around the building. \u201cWe didn\u2019t really understand it at the time,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was more looking at the signs than asking. But we weren\u2019t the brightest guys in the world,\u201d he added. \u201cJust a bunch of blue-collar guys in a blue-collar town.\u201d <\/p>\n
Not all of his teammates were as aware. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t in our paygrade,\u201d said rugged forward Bob \u201cThe Hound\u201d Kelly. \u201cWe all had a job to do. I didn\u2019t see anything up there.\u201d <\/p>\n
But the signs were gone at the Russians\u2019 insistence by the time the game got underway. Reportedly they said they wouldn\u2019t play until the signs were removed. <\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t surprise one player who could relate to what was going on then \u2014 and now. \u201cI tell you who hated them more than him [Snider] was me,\u201d said center Orest Kindrachuk. \u201cThis was during the Cold War and I\u2019m 100 percent Ukrainian. So we hated them.\u201d <\/p>\n
In Snider\u2019s case his actions were triggered by the antisemitism he encountered growing up, according to the documentary. It shaped the rest of his life as depicted by director Joe Amodei.<\/p>\n
The director explicitly points out how the Spectrum was decorated with signs before the game, but neglects to mention they were removed before the opening faceoff. He still defends that decision, saying he preferred to focus on the game, leaving out an important piece of information not known to many watching the documentary. <\/p>\n
Regardless, that day has had a lasting effect on the Snider family, which remains heavily invested in causes like those on behalf of the refuseniks of that time. <\/p>\n
\u201cI knew my dad was happy about it because it raised awareness in the stadium,\u201d said Lindy Snider, who indicated her father taught his children well about this kind of inhumanity and what they could do to combat it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople put up signs and they had to take the signs down, but he supported what the signs said. I don\u2019t think he was surprised by the reaction, but I don\u2019t think the controversy bothered him,\u201d she said. \u201cHe never shied away from controversy.\u201d <\/p>\n
If he were alive today, she says Ed Snider would still be stirring things up. \u201cA lot of his peers might have thought he was like Chicken Little,\u201d she said, referring to his \u201csky is falling\u201d fears for the future. \u201cBut it\u2019s amazing because he knew what was coming.\u201d <\/p>\n
There were occasional signs of antisemitism, she said. \u201cBut nothing that pointed to the antisemitism we\u2019re experiencing now,\u201d she added. \u201cI think the grade of antisemitism since Oct. 7 would\u2019ve shaken him to his core and would\u2019ve made him very angry,\u201d she said, referring to the deadly 2023 Hamas raids in Israel that launched the current war. \u201cHe would\u2019ve taken action. For us as stewards of his legacy we\u2019re doing that. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole family is aligned to this. We don\u2019t want to think about it. We want to do something. That\u2019s what he imparted [to] us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As they\u2019ve sadly learned, more than 50 years after that game, life for far too many Jews throughout the world remains as chilly as ever.<\/p>\n