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Grew up watching IHL hockey and my hometown Saginaw Gears. This was the 70's into early 80's. The IHL was a brutal league. Have to admit I enjoyed the fighting for quite some time, but that all came to an end in 1980. Gear are playing the Milwaukee Admirals in the Turner Cup Playoffs. Penalty marred series. One of Milwaukee's smaller players Carey Hayworth made the mistake of getting a little physical with Gears top scorer Marcel Comeaux. Next thing you know the benches clear and a huge defenseman for the Gears John Gibson gets ahold of Haworth and things got ugly fast. Haworth was no match for Gibson. After a brutal punch to the face, Haworth fell to the ice and tried to cover his face. Gibson would lift Haworth and punch him in the face over and over again. I was at this game and what I sadly remember most is cheering on my beloved Gears in this brawl. Cheering on John Gibson when he was beating the defenseless Haworth. I was a dumb 13 year old at the time, but I still shiver when I think back on this.
In the days following this, we learned how bad Haworth's injuries were. A fractured cheekbone, two blackeyes and quite a few stitches. In an unprecedented move, the Milwaukee Admirals forfeited the playoff series to the Gears. Reading about Haworth's injuries I felt sick to my stomach. I realized I had cheered like an idiot while this guy was being beaten to a pulp. That was the turning point for me when it came to hockey fights and fighting in sports in general. I don't enjoy fights at all.
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