Bob Probert

[Aussie_Wing 354]

I’m obviously too young to have any memories of this guy (at least while he was in his prime), but to those who managed to see him I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on him.

We all know he was a tough guy who liked to fight but looking at his stats it would appear he was one heck of a player too, certainly capable of putting up the points. At 23 years of age he put up 62 points in 74 games to go with his staggering 398 penalty minutes. And then in 16 playoff games he had 21 points. Statistically that was the high point of his career but he managed to put up some decent numbers in other seasons too. Did he ever fulfill his offensive potential because to me it would appear as though he was more satisfied with being a fighter and enforcer and therefore his output on the offensive end was hindered.

And of course there were a lot of off ice issues, issues which ultimately ended his time in Detroit. He then went on to spend a number of seasons in Chicago but he was obviously getting on by that stage. But during his early to mid twenties it would seem as though he was a pretty darn good player and I’m sure was a crowd favourite at the time.

[egroen 384]

Probert could play... no doubt about it, and was often Yzerman's wing (while an endorsement of Probert, it does highlight how bad that team really was). From reading articles later, it apears the responsibility of being an enforcer really took a lot out of him. The guy's fight card is amazing and he really is the greatest enforcer ever.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Probert could play... no doubt about it, and was often Yzerman's wing (while an endorsement of Probert, it does highlight how bad that team really was). From reading articles later, it apears the responsibility of being an enforcer really took a lot out of him. The guy's fight card is amazing and he really is the greatest enforcer ever.

He's definitely the greatest enforcer ever.

I don't think anyone can say for sure that he's the best fighter ever, because he had several bad losses in his career, and I can think of several top fighters who never had the kinds of losses that he had. However, the sheer amount of fights, and all the wars that he had, plus the fact that he avenged most of his losses makes him the best pure enforcer ever in my book.

[Butch 2]

He was voted a member of the Campbell Conference team for the 1987-88 season NHL All Star game. He was having a career season offensively while at the same time living up to his enforcer reputation.

[egroen 384]

... plus the fact that he avenged most of his losses makes him the best pure enforcer ever in my book.

Yup, anyone who fought as much as he did was going to have plenty of losses, but no one ended up getting the better of him at the end.

Kocur, for example, may have been a better fighter and had a lot less losses, but comes nowhere near the amount of fights Probert had.

[The Secret 304]

In the early 80's team was quite bad and there 2 main reasons to be a Red Wing fan. #1 Steve Yzerman building his legend and #2 was The Bruise Brothers = Probert and Kocur. I Love Probert... he was the greatest enforcer ever and if you can find yourself a copy of the Bruise Brother video you will see why. The quality of the video isn't all that great but its basically 2 hours or better of nothing but Probert and Kocur fights. Probert had some of the best fights ever Probert vs Cox come to mind first but there are so many.

I bumped into him in a bar in our hometown of Windsor. He's a big big man. Not a person you would want any part of. He was under the influence and was trying to coax us into fighting... thank God nothing happened. After he settled down and realized we wereWings fans he was pretty cool to hang out with and listen to his stories of being a Red Wing. He spoke very highly of the Organization and of the Illitches and did not want to speak of his days away from Detroit. My step mother went to school with the Probert boys and said that they had quite a rough childhood too.

Anyway, he was a huge part of the Red Wings back then. More for his presence but added some offense too. Find the Bruise Brothers and see for yourself... it definately one for the shelf for any Red Wing fan!

[toby91_ca 620]

In the early 80's team was quite bad and there 2 main reasons to be a Red Wing fan. #1 Steve Yzerman building his legend and #2 was The Bruise Brothers = Probert and Kocur.

Probert and Kocur did not play on the really bad teams in the early 80's, they both really broke into the league the same year (85/86). It was a pretty bad team that year, but after that and ever since (except 1 year) they have been pretty decent.

[skippy_kenn 0]

If you have never seen him check these out on you tube.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_quer..._type=&aq=f

Probie was a great guy sure he had a lot of off the ice issues and fought alot but he was great in the community and great with kids. He never backed down and stood up for his team mates.

example

He had a great year in the 80's leading to him getting on the All Star team and the wings making it to the conference finals losing to those f***ing Gretzky lead Oilers.

I was glad to see him in a winged wheel again at Yzerman's number retirement night.

[ManLuv4Clears 7]

If you have never seen him check these out on you tube.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_quer..._type=&aq=f

Probie was a great guy sure he had a lot of off the ice issues and fought alot but he was great in the community and great with kids. He never backed down and stood up for his team mates.

example

He had a great year in the 80's leading to him getting on the All Star team and the wings making it to the conference finals losing to those f***ing Gretzky lead Oilers.

I was glad to see him in a winged wheel again at Yzerman's number retirement night.

These videos bring back good memories of Probie. If you F'd with Stevie, be prepared because Bobby would have you number.

[BlueMonk 102]

I loved Probert, he may have been my favorite Red Wing of that era. He was everything an enforcer should be. You see so many of the heavyweights today spot pick fights and not risk losses by fighting cautious ("hugging"). Not Probert. He gave every up and coming kid a shot at the belt. And, most importantly, he protected his teammates. Ask Steve Yzerman how much Probert meant to his success. Not just in terms of longevity, but as a big guy who made room for him on the ice.

Probert's offensive skills were pretty good. He was an all-star in 1987-88, as someone pointed out. He had 29 goals and 398 PIMs and he said if he had scored one more goal, he would have immediately dropped his gloves and started punching someone to break the 30-400 mark.

The days of the Bruise Brothers were a fun time. Not as much fun as watching a Stanley Cup celebration, but seeing that style of hockey was always a thrill for me. The Detroit fans loved that bruising style and a lot of us do miss that element of those teams.

[ManLuv4Clears 7]

I loved Probert, he may have been my favorite Red Wing of that era. He was everything an enforcer should be. You see so many of the heavyweights today spot pick fights and not risk losses by fighting cautious ("hugging"). Not Probert. He gave every up and coming kid a shot at the belt. And, most importantly, he protected his teammates. Ask Steve Yzerman how much Probert meant to his success. Not just in terms of longevity, but as a big guy who made room for him on the ice.

Probert's offensive skills were pretty good. He was an all-star in 1987-88, as someone pointed out. He had 29 goals and 398 PIMs and he said if he had scored one more goal, he would have immediately dropped his gloves and started punching someone to break the 30-400 mark.

The days of the Bruise Brothers were a fun time. Not as much fun as watching a Stanley Cup celebration, but seeing that style of hockey was always a thrill for me. The Detroit fans loved that bruising style and a lot of us do miss that element of those teams.

QFMFT

That nonsense that Gary Roberts pulled in the playoffs by trying to fight Pavel would have never been tolerated with Probie on the ice or even on the team. Granted Pavel held is own and I was proud of his toughness, but Gary would have had an ass beating coming if this were the early 90's.

[eva unit zero 271]

QFMFT

That nonsense that Gary Roberts pulled in the playoffs by trying to fight Pavel would have never been tolerated with Probie on the ice or even on the team. Granted Pavel held is own and I was proud of his toughness, but Gary would have had an ass beating coming if this were the early 90's.

I don't know about an ass beating. Roberts was always a pretty good fighter, even though he tended to let his enforcers do the work for him with guys like Probert.

Eager has a reputation as a pretty good fighter...and he got just schooled. Kimbo Sliced if you will.

[The Secret 304]

I loved Probert, he may have been my favorite Red Wing of that era. He was everything an enforcer should be. You see so many of the heavyweights today spot pick fights and not risk losses by fighting cautious ("hugging"). Not Probert. He gave every up and coming kid a shot at the belt. And, most importantly, he protected his teammates. Ask Steve Yzerman how much Probert meant to his success. Not just in terms of longevity, but as a big guy who made room for him on the ice.

Probert's offensive skills were pretty good. He was an all-star in 1987-88, as someone pointed out. He had 29 goals and 398 PIMs and he said if he had scored one more goal, he would have immediately dropped his gloves and started punching someone to break the 30-400 mark.

The days of the Bruise Brothers were a fun time. Not as much fun as watching a Stanley Cup celebration, but seeing that style of hockey was always a thrill for me. The Detroit fans loved that bruising style and a lot of us do miss that element of those teams.

Well said! I agree totally. I for one do miss the tough 80's style of play and for having a guy like Probie to watch out for and create room for our skilled guys. Although, i like winning a lot too!

[The Secret 304]

Here is a beauty... Probert vs Gary Nylund in one of the dirtiest fights... complete with hair pulling, helmets being torn off and used as weapons, headbutts, and of course plenty of flying knuckles:

But this one is my all time fav. Probert vs Coxe... all out brawl with the best finale, watch Coxe's head snap back after the final 2 upper cuts:

Edited October 16, 2008 by The Secret

[2probert4 8]

He's definitely the greatest enforcer ever.

I don't think anyone can say for sure that he's the best fighter ever, because he had several bad losses in his career, and I can think of several top fighters who never had the kinds of losses that he had. However, the sheer amount of fights, and all the wars that he had, plus the fact that he avenged most of his losses makes him the best pure enforcer ever in my book.

Most of his bad losses were with Chicago, when he was well past his prime. During his hey-day if he lost a fight, it made the news not just in Detroit but across the hockey world... Thats how rare it was.

[Sergei Fedorov91 24]

In the early 80's team was quite bad and there 2 main reasons to be a Red Wing fan. #1 Steve Yzerman building his legend and #2 was The Bruise Brothers = Probert and Kocur. I Love Probert... he was the greatest enforcer ever and if you can find yourself a copy of the Bruise Brother video you will see why. The quality of the video isn't all that great but its basically 2 hours or better of nothing but Probert and Kocur fights. Probert had some of the best fights ever Probert vs Cox come to mind first but there are so many.

I bumped into him in a bar in our hometown of Windsor. He's a big big man. Not a person you would want any part of. He was under the influence and was trying to coax us into fighting... thank God nothing happened. After he settled down and realized we wereWings fans he was pretty cool to hang out with and listen to his stories of being a Red Wing. He spoke very highly of the Organization and of the Illitches and did not want to speak of his days away from Detroit. My step mother went to school with the Probert boys and said that they had quite a rough childhood too.

Anyway, he was a huge part of the Red Wings back then. More for his presence but added some offense too. Find the Bruise Brothers and see for yourself... it definately one for the shelf for any Red Wing fan!

If Probie wanted to fight me I would run screaming

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

I loved Probert, he may have been my favorite Red Wing of that era. He was everything an enforcer should be. You see so many of the heavyweights today spot pick fights and not risk losses by fighting cautious ("hugging"). Not Probert. He gave every up and coming kid a shot at the belt. And, most importantly, he protected his teammates. Ask Steve Yzerman how much Probert meant to his success. Not just in terms of longevity, but as a big guy who made room for him on the ice.

Probert's offensive skills were pretty good. He was an all-star in 1987-88, as someone pointed out. He had 29 goals and 398 PIMs and he said if he had scored one more goal, he would have immediately dropped his gloves and started punching someone to break the 30-400 mark.

The days of the Bruise Brothers were a fun time. Not as much fun as watching a Stanley Cup celebration, but seeing that style of hockey was always a thrill for me. The Detroit fans loved that bruising style and a lot of us do miss that element of those teams.

Agreed.

Probert was also very good about getting in fights with up and coming enforcers to give them a shot, maybe to a fault. And the longer the fights went on, the better he seemed to get.

It's also worth adding that in '88 he broke the Wings playoff points record when he scored 8 goals and 13 assists for 21 points in 16 games. He held it until '95 when Fedorov scored 24 points in 17 games.

Edited October 19, 2008 by haroldsnepsts

[T.Low 1,011]

I'm old enough to fondly remember watching Bob Probert when he was in his prime (pre-Chicago Blackhawks).

Unfortunately growing up in the greater Milwaukee area - I didn't see as much as Probie as I had wanted to; Red Wing games on ESPN/Sports Channel were few, & far between...Listened to many of the games on the radio when they played the Hawks in Chicago.

Back in the early 90's - the NHL was playing games in neutral cities such as Milwaukee in attempts to grow a larger fan base. The Wings played the Caps, & a drunken buddy of mine, & I sat 4 rows behind the Red Wing bench; as Probert skated to the bench to sit - my friend had yelled out 'Probert do something'...After the 4th, or 5th time - Probert remained standing to see who the hell was ragging on him...I was a bit embarassed when he looked right @ us (my buddy just burst out laughing) - Probie just shook his head, & sat down.

Will never forget the morning when I read in the USA Today of Probert being arrested @ the USA/Canada border with possession of cocaine/DUI...That was a really sad day for all of us Red Wing fans; guy with a promising career was pretty much throwing it all away - though reading about how rough his childhood was I can see how some folks turn to drugs/alcohol as a way to cope.

I'd love to meet Probie - seems like a decent guy, & a real character.

My buddy played against him his first game back from that suspension. G. B. The cover of the game program was a picture of Kocur, Proby and and third Red Wing who I can't think of at the moment, all without shirts on, muscles flexing looking menacing. The caption read something like "700lbs of Beef" or something. At the openning faceoff, G. B. said to Probert "Hey, shoudn't the game program have said 700lbs and 12 grams! (the coke he got busted with previously) and the gloves went off right then and there at the openning face off. He said Proby was the worst guy in the NHL to fight, and when he was on the smack he'd never get tired.

Edited October 19, 2008 by T.Low