Larry Playfair vs. Bobby Nystrom – 3/6/79
It must’ve been intimidating to be a rookie breaking into the NHL in 1978. When you think back on all the great fighters who were roaming the league then the NHL was no walk in the park. This was the era of Clark Gillies, Terry O’Reilly, Stan Jonathan, Nick Fotiu, Paul Holmgren, Brad Maxwell, Bobby Nystrom, Dave Schultz, Gary Howatt, Bert Wilson etc. On top of all the tough fighters you had the wild and crazy sorts running around as well. Guys like Steve Durbano, Randy Holt, and John Wensink. A young tough guy coming into the league had to earn his button taking on guys who would go on to become legends. So it must’ve been daunting for any young scrapper coming into the NHL at that time. Even for a tall, lanky, big beaked kid from Ft. James, British Columbia named Larry Playfair.
Larry Playfair was a big, rugged defenseman with a reputation for being good with his fists. He had already been involved in a couple of scraps so far in his rookie year and he was improving. This was a young, clean shaven Playfair who had missed time earlier in the year after taking a big hit from Boston Bruins ruffian John Wensink. Since then Playfair worked his way back into the lineup and had fought guys like Dave Hutchison of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ron Zanussi of the Minnesota North Stars. The Hutchison fight was a pretty good one and Playfair showed promise in going at it with a solid NHL vet. Zanussi wasn’t a very good fighter but occasionally you had to take on guys like that.
Bobby Nystrom broke into the league during the 72-73 season. He was a very good fighter despite a few tough losses early in his career. I really thought Nystrom began to take it to another level during the 77-78 season. That year he had a fantastic fight with Philadelphia’s Mel Bridgman, a toe to toe masterpiece. Nystrom just seemed to keep on rolling after that. Already in this season he had a great bout with Philadelphia’s Dave Hoyda and a war with Vancouver Canucks young gun Curt “Lights Out” Fraser.
Nystrom had vaulted himself into the top fighter discussion. No top-10 list from this time would be complete without Nystrom somewhere in the top-5. He was really that good. He had proven to have a granite chin and possessed a will to win like few others. I loved how relentless he could be in a fight. There was simply no stopping him once he got going so if you were looking to go you better be prepared to fight to the bitter end. On a side note, how fair was it that the Islanders had both Clark Gillies AND Bobby Nystrom? And on top of that you add a scrappy guy like Howatt who was pint sized but had the rep of a Heavyweight.
When the Sabres made a stop at the Nassau Coliseum on March 6, 1979, Larry Playfair was a tough young rookie and Bobby Nystrom was in his prime. Playfair boasted raw power and strength but Nystrom had experience and was a much more polished fighter. He had all the tools and was recognized as one of the game’s best fighters. Playfair was making his way up the ranks and a win over a guy like Nystrom could make all the difference. Win or lose, Playfair was set on making the best of this opportunity.
In a relatively quiet game Playfair and Nystrom dropped the gloves. I remember reading an old interview where Playfair said that Nystrom had given his teammate Rick Martin a whack with his stick. When no one stepped up to do anything about it, Playfair did and the fight was on…
They squared off briefly and as they were coming together, Nystrom landed a solid right cross just as they were coming to grips with one another. They got into a quick exchange before it became an in close grappling session. I’m not sure if Playfair was hurt by that opening punch from Nystrom but he seemed content with keeping the fight in close and grappling. He landed some rabbit punches on Nystrom as the tough Islander winger began attempting to work himself free and into some kind of punching range. He twisted his right arm first inside and then out to get free of Playfair’s grip and even began shoving his head into Playfair’s face to create some kind of space between them and to break free of Playfairs’ death grip.
The more Nystrom worked, the more he was able to slowly but surely extricate himself from Playfair’s hold. He was able to finally get a few uppercuts in and you can see him little by little get the separation he needed to get some solid punches off. Playfair knew it, too. Nystrom getting loose was now only a matter of time. Playfair at this point had had enough holding on and knew he couldn’t keep Nystrom at bay any longer. So he threw caution to the wind and opened up with right hands. Nystrom met him head on and they got into a good toe to toe exchange. Playfair then resumed holding on and the linesmen jumped in to end it.
For a LONG time there was only a short news clip of this fight available. The short news clip had just the toe to toe exchange on it. It was such a tease for a fight fan back then. You get this seven second clip of toe to toe goodness and it just left you hungry for more. I’m glad that years later the full fight became available. For a while there I began to think that some of those long lost fights might be gone forever. This fight surfacing after so many years gave me renewed hope that other lost fights might eventually be found.
At the time of this fight Playfair was a fresh faced rookie trying to make a name for himself. Nystrom was one of the best fighters in the game. Few knew it at the time but Playfair would also make quite a name for himself as a tough guy in the NHL. He became a feared power puncher who scored some impressive victories for himself. He would also eventually be counted among the game’s best fighters and some believe during the early to mid-80’s he was the champ of the league. So at the time in 1979 Nystrom was taking on the next young hungry fighter but in hindsight this fight looms larger. Seeing how great a fighter Playfair became only served to magnify the importance of this fight. Playfair would continue his run until the 84-85 season when he was shocked by 15-1 underdog Brian MacLellan. Playfair would fade from the Heavyweight scene after that but his bone breaking power would always make him a dangerous opponent to tangle with.
Sadly, many of Playfair’s biggest fights are not available on video. His fights with Wensink, Mann, and Semenko are all missing. We know generally what went down in those fights but the actual footage has not surfaced. I always felt this had a negative impact on Playfair when some try and rank him all-time. They see only what’s available on youtube and never take the time to learn about some of his big fights that never surfaced. This same issue has had a similar effect on other fighters from that period like Vancouver’s Curt Fraser, Edmonton’s Dave Semenko, Dan Maloney and Bert Wilson in LA, among others.
Nystrom would have a few more successful seasons as one of the league’s top fighters. The following season Nystrom would score a great win over Bruins strong man John Wensink during a truly memorable playoff series. He began to fade out in the early to mid-80’s and would be given an ungraceful exit from the Heavyweight picture by Philadelphia wild man Glen Cochrane during the 83-84 season. All in all Nystrom had a tremendous career as a fighter who has to rank as a top-20 all-time fighter. Nystrom had so many great moments with key wins and a great run as one of the league’s best.
It’s amazing that forty years have passed since this fight took place. For Playfair, this turned out to be the most important fight of his young career. He might not have beaten Nystrom but he had proven that he could hold his own with one of the best fighters in the game. Fighting a Hutchison or Zanussi was one thing but Bobby Nystrom was on a whole different level. The fresh faced rookie would become a great fighter in his own right, eventually going on to have a great career as an enforcer and top-20 all timer.
Thanks to 4thLineVoice for his help with this piece.