An amazing throwback clip from 1975 featuring the Chicago Blackhawks versus Sesame Street Characters.
This looks completely amazing, but seems a million miles away from anything that could happen today.
First, getting players to engage like this has gotten much harder.
Then using the characters in this way seems even harder to imagine now. While the Cookie Monster eating a puck is the kind of scripted ending that makes the whole experience amazing, seeing a slightly aggressive Big Bird checking a NHL player is surreal.
More of the story:
Some good fortune in scheduling 42 years ago turned into a Christmas memory straight out of a storybook for Tony Esposito and three of the his Black Hawks teammates.
In this footage from the Chicago Film Archives, Esposito, Pat Stapleton, Gerry Pinder and Ray McCray are seen playing a game with life-sized Sesame Street characters Big Bird, Ernie, Bert and Cookie Monster at Chicago Stadium.
Esposito told NHL.com that the Black Hawks had their Christmas party on Dec. 21, 1975 and the Sesame Street crew was in town for its holiday show. Everyone thought it would be fun for a few of the players to take on Big Bird and his pals in a friendly contest.
Esposito says his kids were on hand and got a big kick out of the whole thing and he still has a photo from the Chicago Tribune that was taken during the game.
