Buffalo in the ’70s: The first look at the Sabres in uniform at training camp

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

The Buffalo Sabres were a new franchise in 1970. When training camp opened in September 1970, fans were getting the first good “action shots” of their team in the uniforms Sabres players would wear, mostly unchanged, until 1997.

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Can you name these Sabres?

On the left, No. 7 is Cliff Schmautz. He played 26 games with the Sabres in 1970-71 before being traded to the Flyers. He also played for the AHL Buffalo Bisons from 1961 to 1964, where he scored 41 goals over parts of three seasons.

Phil Goyette, No. 10, was a member of four straight Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup-winning teams in the ’50s and ’60s. When the New York Rangers left the past Lady Byng Award winner exposed in the expansion draft, he became an original Sabre. He played most of the Sabres’ first two seasons here before being traded back to the Rangers.

The third guy, No. 18, is a bit more of a mystery.

It’s not Kevin O’Shea, who wore that number for the Sabres during the regular season in 1970-71. Nor is it Brian Perry, another member of the 1970-71 Sabres, whose name is stamped on the stick.

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Steve Cichon

Steve Cichon writes about Buffalo’s pop culture history. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. Since the earliest days of the internet, Cichon's been creating content celebrating the people, places, and ideas that make Buffalo unique and special. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York.