What Happened to the NHL's Most Bizarre Look?

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Currently at a Halloween Party while uploading this video! But I hope you enjoyed!!

[@wesmccauley5622]

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[@barzalaep]

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[@Golden_Trio_HP]

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[@aibotrules2722]

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[@JaredtheRabbit]

*while

[@donaldleider7382]

I remember wearing the Cooperalls for one season of junior hockey. To a man we hated them. We felt like they cut down your range of motion while skating, they were to hot because they didn’t allow body heat to dissipate so your legs and equipment would be soaked with sweat. And if you fell at a high rate of speed you kept skidding down the ice a good way to get injured. We also thought they looked bush league, like you were wearing sweatpants!

[@aberamagold7509]

They made Jr hockey almost unwatchable. No matter how good the player's/team's/game were the look of those things ruined it because it just didn't look like hockey. Who did you play for? I watched a lot of Jr hockey in the 80's mostly at Copps Coliseum on Hamilton.

[@shoknifeman2mikado135]

BINGO

[@netropolis]

The padded girdle was great! The pants themselves, were fine as long as you didn't fall. The pants turned you into a bullet with NO way to stop when sliding on the ice. The regular Hockey-Socks grab at the ice ESPECIALLY when wet (from sweat, melted ice from regular play) This causes friction which slows you when you are sliding. The nylon of the Cooperalls - ZOOM ZOOM right into the boards. I 100% get the nostalgia though!

[@AP-zw6ql]

I had a pair of Cooperalls and the girdle was awesome. For me, I felt the full length legs restricted my stride a bit so I ended up cutting the legs off at the knees and turning them into more traditional breezers. My parents were pretty pissed at me for that since they had spent a fair chunk of money buying them only for me to hack them up.

[@joeybagadonuts5774]

Totally agree! I had Cooperalls for at least two years (11-12 years old) and that girdle was awesome as a little kid. But you're right, not having those old cotton socks to slow you down was quite dangerous.

[@willrobinson1671]

The girdle was great! Way better protection than the traditional pants had at the time. The long pants were a different story. They didn't breathe, they were hot. I only wore them one year, in Peewee, so I didn't skate fast enough to make them dangerous crashing into the boards.

[@sid7088]

I had them and thought they were great. I never had a problem with sliding, a blade to the ice and I'd bounce back up, no problem, just getting dressed faster was good enough for me though.

[@Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

I wore sweatpants over the girdle for a season. I liked it, but the next team I joined bought everyone matching Cooperall shells (short ones, not the pants). They were kinda dope, blue with a white stripe down the side with 3 red stars a la Washington Caps.

[@Torgo1969]

4:00 Warmer? When I played intramurals and gym class in college, I was sweating enough on the ice with traditional gear and I didn't need any more warmth. Quite the opposite. But then I was between the pipes so I'm a weird goalie in general.

[@BudSchnelker]

They continued to be used in my youth leagues throughout the 80's. I had the girdle, but used pad-less shorts to wear over them, which allowed the traditional sock look. I love the girdle, very comfortable and protective.

[@oscarwinner2034]

The Flyers wore the long pants for two seasons. The first season the pants had the stripes down the side. The next year they switched jersey designs and the pants were solid black with just a Flyers logo above the ankle. Thus the pants they will wear now are a combination of those two designs.

[@tanderson6442]

I loved my cooperalls when I was a kid, easy to put on was the selling point when I was 10 or 11. Rocked a protec helmet as well. The 80’s were awesome!!

[@MultiTasker888]

I’m 25, played hockey for 10 years and never knew they were a thing. I’m intrigued

[@marcanthonybattenberg7636]

A big part of the NHL banning them was safety concerns. When players would fall the cooperalls would cause them to slide further and faster resulting in injuries

[@tomservo5607]

Correct, and from what I’ve read the Flyers are wearing the new Cooperalls during warm-ups only and will not wear them during games.

[@mdipltd7404]

They did change the material of the shell from nylon to a more abrasive, less slippery feel.

[@thefearlessbros]

This reminded me that my dad said he used to have cooperalls playing minor hockey in the mid-80s. To me, they look like the pants a coach wears in practice.

[@jmjimbo]

Never wore the cooperall pads. But I remember them wore the ccm supras and the tackla pants. Tackla everything was awesome. Also Graf skates. The good old days I miss them

[@evermarc]

I remember when the Flyers wore them in the 80's . I personally tought it was a nice upgrade and more modern in style . I really liked them !! 🌞

[@gregfaubert4260]

I still wear some cooperalls I wear when I referee. Found another pair at Goodwill in perfect condition.

[@666kingdrummer]

It wouldn't be the first time the fans hated something, only to like it years down the line. When Arizona and Anaheim first came into the league, people hated their jerseys and logos, now people have been begging both teams to go back to them full time.

[@a47mlb]

I had the cooperall girdle and wore them with socks and a short shell pant. Growing up in MN playing at primarily outdoor rinks, they kept you quite warm. I loved them. I just switched over to a girdle from ‘breezers’ because I loved the cooperall girdle so much.

[@matthewmartin5763]

I spent most of youth, in the 90's, playing street hockey with our city league. I'm from TX, so there wasn't much in the way of ice hockey available. My mom couldn't afford ice hockey fees anyways. Most of us wore something analogous to these pants. They were nylon/polyester which was breathable in this TX heat, and I thought I looked super cool too. lol Unlike the stockings, which I tried out a few times. I had a pair of the padded shorts that came up past the waist, but I only wore those while playing goalie. It was hard to find equipment that fit just right. I miss the good old days.

[@jeffbenninger8663]

I wore them for several years. Never felt like a hockey player in them. Eventually, they offered short pants to go with the girdle. Super comfortable, but there were definitely places that a puck would leave a mark !

[@Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

I rocked the sweat pants over the girdle for a season. I actually kinda liked it. They bought us the short Cooperall shells (Washington Caps style, with the stars down the side) on my next team though, so that came to an end.

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

Frankly I haven’t heard of Cooperall’s until recently, but the look of them seems kind of nostalgic for me just because they look similar to how I would dress while playing roller street hockey growing up (a Hockey Jersey paired with Sweat/Athletic pants)

[@yeltsin6817]

I loved the cooper all system Prior to wearing them I used to bruise my hip bones if I ever fell on them. The typical hockey pants back then sort of were away from your body so the padding would be all over the place. Cooperalls kept all the padding in the proper places etc. I still rmember falling on my hip and not bruising my hip bone. It was amazing I believe I heard that the one year that the Flyers wore them they did not have any hip injuries that year. The biggest issue I think was the puck would get lost in the pant colours if a scramble in fro by if the net or if guys on the ice on top. Couldn’t tell where the puck was. Hockey pants now are way better and held tighter against the body

[@alfiesmullet1311]

One of the guys in my beer league still rocks his cooperall pants

[@jonnymart21]

That’s awesome

[@idontgivetkachuk]

That’s amazing 😂

[@DriversofOttawa]

I wonder if I have played with the same guy a few years ago. I think it was in Kanata or Stittsville.

[@alfiesmullet1311]

@@DriversofOttawa could be... my beer league plays in orleans so that's pretty close by

[@derekcurrie8377]

Wore the girdle under my goalie pants. They kept the farts from escaping too fast, so they kept me warm haha 😄

[@idontgivetkachuk]

😂😂😂

[@donluego9448]

From what I can remember one of the reasons they banned Cooperalls was they made it difficult for the gold tender to pick up sight of the puck.

[@rageinthekage4247]

I liked them. I played defence and goalie alternately. I wore the Cooperall goalie body armour when on defence, because I blocked a lot of shots. Cooperall was, in my opinion better.

[@bobapep20]

This is pretty much what everyone wore for roller hockey at our little dek hockey rink in Sinking Spring Pennsylvania. I would say from early 90’s on.

[@boltinabottle6307]

I remember having Black Biscuit pants in the 90's for roller hockey.

[@bobapep20]

@@boltinabottle6307. Some might have worn those. But I don't remember that specific brand.

[@bobdobalina8910]

Philadelphia Flyers, after all these years, they are still my team. When I was growing up, I remember the pants, and I got my parents to buy a pair for me. I wore 'em and played with them. I really liked them for the few years I had them. I can remember those that wore them said they liked 'em as well to a T.

[@marctodisco]

I loved Em!!! And when CCM came out with the Pro Pacs, I switched over to them. The sliding thing was true, I can remember going down to block slap shots from the point and sliding right across the rink into the boards feet first.

[@russellpurdy105]

Growing up in the 80's I wore these with two different teams 4 different seasons. First team had the plastic type overpants, slid all over the place. The second had a nylon type overpants, these weren't so bad. The following year played with the short pants over the girdle and socks. The girdle was awesome with short pants, much more protective than the pull up short pants of those years. There was literally no ass protection in the pull up shorts save a skinny piece of plastic than ran up your crack and spine. Giving a guy a whack with the flat part of your stick blade on their ass cheek was all the rage until the Cooperall girdle came along

[@aberamagold7509]

The cooperalls were easily the stupidest looking things ever worn in hockey.

[@richardstetson8221]

I played hockey when I was a kid I was born in 83 so I never really saw anybody wearing cooperalls you would see them at some second hand sports equipment stores I think they had roller hockey pants that were similar by the year 2000 everyone was wearing girdles with a shell

[@1bert719]

Cooperalls are actually a logical evolution of hockey uniforms. If they can be made to create more friction I could see them returning as inline hockey has used them for years. Much of the initial pushback came from traditional fans dislike for them (myself included) as they do look odd. Much like the sleeveless all in one football kit adopted (and banned) by the Cameroon national team. Practical but weird and slightly off putting to watch. In the French Canadian TV series "He shoots! He scores" the fictional minor league Three Rivers Dragons wore these too. 😊

[@daveblock4061]

I still have them! The tight girdle was much better than the loose sloppy bulky pants. The weird part was having to wear a full leg undergarment to tape on your shin pads. I wore them for 20 years or so.

[@richardstetson8221]

By the time I was 17 in the year 2000 everyone was wearing a girdle with a shell probably even a couple years before that definitely a lot more comfortable than the bulky pants

[@408Magenta]

I always saw the Flyers and their zoot suits.

[@junkyardjim]

Nice! Soo Greyhound footage!

[@KOZMOGRAFX]

I bought Cooperals when I started playing hockey as a young adult in 1984... at the time, it seemed like a sensible upgrade from the cumbersome old girdle/sock combo, where you'd see old guys sitting on the bench with bare thighs visible when their old hockey pants rode up (which looked really stupid...and cold... to me). I felt FAST, and I don't remember ever sledding across the ice when I fell. However, eventually, it started to bother me whenever I saw players wearing Cooperals that were too short... I guess it reminded me too much of school kids who got bullied for wearing jeans that didn't reach their shoes. "Flood's over", the mean kids would say. After a few years, I switched to a short shell and put velcro on the bottom of my girdle to hold my hockey socks up. So yeah, I'm in the camp that believes traditional hockey socks and pants just look better.

[@michaelslader9530]

I had cooperalls back in the day. I used them for half a season. They seemed a little more restricting than regular pants and slew me down so I ditched them

[@marcbrisson3]

Cooperalls are now known as Ringette pants now.

[@charliem9831]

So for the whole season the Flyers have to go out for warm ups and completely change to go out to play?

[@victorkrese6727]

I liked them. They eliminated the need for a garter belt or some rig with Velcro to hold the socks up

[@irvinepoker3187]

i remember reggie leacch came to our highschool to talk to us and showed off his ring. anyways I remember him saying the guys were supposed to wear them even tho they were dangerous once you fall down at high speed lol

[@dankrolikowski9271]

Hockey players with mullets go back way before Jagr.... In MN players have been sporting them for at least 50 years...(Personal experience)

[@idontgivetkachuk]

No one sported it quite like Jagr 🔥. Thanks for watching!

[@mikepurdue7472]

Cooperalls are like... "im that lazy sack of shit that wears pyjamas to school".

[@alexanderdoran2862]

I still see people wearing Cooperalls.

[@SpartacusColo]

Today's fans are nothing like the old-school hockey fans of the early 80's. The NHL has made it its mission to buck traditional ideals in the sport. The modern fan has no issues with shuffling uniform ideas. In fact, the modern fan is into dropping lots of money on new jerseys, third-jerseys, retro-jerseys, etc. Ditching the socks-look means nothing to the modern NHL fan.

[@KitByPre]

I wore them for 1 season (1983) and they were horrible. Way to slick on fresh ice without the normal friction. You often time crashed into the boards way harder. They weren’t ever really popular.

[@sirchromiumdowns2015]

I used them in Pee Wee hockey. Now I think they do like kind of ridiculous.

[@PunkRockGardener]

The cooperation girdle itself was incredible, very comfortable protected you well because it was snug along your hips and thighs.

[@asphotographics]

I liked my Cooperalls when I was a kid. They were very comfy and I liked how the girdle pads fit. Even after the long pant shell went away I swear I still had the liner with a separate short pant cover. Was that a thing? It is in my mind. Maybe one reason fans are more accepting now is because a lot of them once played in Cooperalls briefly in the 80s and see some of the benefits. Also, if chrome and gold helmets are acceptable, Cooperalls should be no problem. But no white skates, okay!

[@jonmendelson1104]

There has been some speculation that in the games where the Sharks wear their Seals reverse retros, they're going to wear white skates.

[@PeteV80]

I remember wearing them for a year as a kid lol

[@handlesRdumb]

They use em a lot in ringette

[@nathanwatt5545]

I still have a pair of Cooperalls from inline 😍 Love those haha

[@thinkingjack]

Cooperalls are more accepted now because all the boomers and older generations that hated them are dying off finally. Plus a lot of us that grew up being rollerdads basically wear them in roller. That cooperall girdle changed Hockey entirely though

[@RobJaskula]

Huh! So the 'Cooperalls' they wore in the show weren't even Coopers!

[@idontgivetkachuk]

XD. Crazy right!?

[@Ballin4Vengeance]

0:09 the good ol' Business at the front, Party in the Back. An ever enduring czech classic.

[@maxmartin2763]

Black Cooperalls were a nightmare for us goaltenders. We couldn't see point shots 2 to 3 feet off the ice. The Boston Bruins had to wear white socks with their road black jerseys for the same reason so who thought black/dark color Cooperalls were ever going to be accepted? And Cooper GAVE my Jr A team and every other Jr A team in Western Canada Cooperalls to promote sales to parents of kids in each Jr A market. If you fell at any speed, Cooperalls were like sling-shots. Guys hit the boards without any ice, uniform friction. They were a dangerous FAD!

[@ffejpsycho]

I remember wearing 'Cooperalls' when I was younger and first started playing Hockey in "Year One - Youth Development" in 1985/86, and either my first, or both years of "Tyke - 1986/87"... However, even by "Novice - 1988/89" Cooperalls had become equipment non-grata, and nobody would be caught dead on the ice in them lest they attract the attention and subsequent inherent cruelty that team sports dressing rooms (at least in the 80's when I was a wee lad) seem to inspire in our wee youngsters... haha

[@peterprincipe493]

I wore them in junior hockey for 1 year. Absolutely loved them!

[@ballardchicoyne9331]

They were so unique as they were only sported by the Flyers and Whalers back in the day. I like the add of the thick Orange stripe with the logo at the bottom.

[@shrimpflea]

I think roller hockey has made them more acceptable too. But the Flyers just wore them in warm ups. They didn't play the game in them.

[@xonerex7501]

That outro music caught me off guard. It was like I was transported back in time to 2015 watching a Matthew Santoro video

[@idontgivetkachuk]

😂😂

[@ohlucic]

Good to see you back making videos again man

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Thanks bud 🔥❤️

[@leonardcroft1467]

Great Video .. I Remember Them Well

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Thanks man!!

[@CarharttCowboy]

They were so comfortable

[@DJMoofasa]

Keep up the good content man! its been a great journey watching you grow!!!

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Thanks sm man 🔥

[@EmitRelevart]

So why did the NHL ban Cooperalls? Did the NHL ever give a reason?

[@CarharttCowboy]

I had a pair YEARS ago

[@stop736]

I know for me as a goalie, I still have old Cooper girdles with all the pads still in great shape. I wear them under an almost no padding pair of regular goalie hockey “pants” (shorts) from Vaughn that I had custom made. They actually based the design on the old Vaughn Vision 3500 pants that have a goalie specific girdle and pant’s system and they’re awesome! It’s a design from the 90’s they had. Obviously using a girdle and that stuff is an older tech. But it’s still really perfect for me at least.

[@davidgerow]

What I remember why the NHL banned them was because when a player fell and slid on the ice. A player with Cooperalls slid moore with them on than a player with regular hockey pants.

[@yeltsin6817]

It was like wax paper. You would slide forever

[@joelbuhler3974]

When I was a kid, some of the cool kids had them, but we were too poor, and had hand me down equipment... We all wanted them, but only about 10% of the kids had them... looking back, they seem so odd.

[@tomservo5607]

From what I’ve read the Flyers are only wearing the Cooperall pants during warm-ups, not during the game itself.

[@jinks67]

Playing minor hockey in the 90s we had 1 guy who wore those. Pretty sure it was 92. Probably unrelated but: He was also the most awkward looking skater you've ever seen, almost running motion and making an awful chopping sound. In wind sprints he was one of the fastest guys though.... Good memories, thanks for the vid.

[@TheSpikestr]

Love the videos keep up the good work

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Thank you!!

[@tylerward6723]

I played all my hockey career in Cooperalls. Compared to the stuff they wore at the time it was much much better then what they had. Should have continued today. Most comfortable and quality of workmanship. The only issue was the knee pads had some gaps. Otherwise then that they were light better movement and easier to clean.

[@AvroBellow]

Wow, I didn't know that Cooper made skates! That blows my mind but I guess it made sense since they made every other kind of sporting equipment imaginable. All of my baseball gloves as a kid were Cooper Black Diamonds.

[@oscarwinner2034]

Cooper was part of Canstar in the day. They had several brands including Bauer. So Cooper skates under Canstar were Bauer skates. Canstar has become pretty much known as Bauer of today and they retired a bunch of the brands they own. Cooper, Easton, Etc.

[@gregsky01]

We let the roller guys have them

[@kftc1980]

Amazing that wasn’t mentioned. There often is at least one guy in roller house league wearing socks and pants, and one guy in ice with roller pants.

[@rileykazama3145]

I want those pants for some odd reason probably for wrestling gear so I could add the undertaker logo on the sides

[@idontgivetkachuk]

😂😂

[@rileykazama3145]

@@idontgivetkachuk Undertaker was my favorite wrestler as a kid he's basically the Wayne Gretzky of pro wrestling

[@matteofabrizi3527]

London Mavericks

[@ericwisniewski5651]

Remember roller hockey uses pants Smaller girdle with pants on top It’s Roller hockey thing I love to get those new flyers pants for roller hockey or street

[@yogibearstie]

I have my old pair in the garage. They were way 🥵 hot, required a lot of mending, and shinguards never felt as stable on the legs.

[@atilla429]

I liked them. The girdle was better protection especially for the hips than pants and I liked when the Flyers wore them in all black. Looked like street pants and w the high cut jerseys they looked even tougher. Yes you did slide longer.

[@sachachase8368]

If the Canucks ever wear these things I’m becoming a leafs fan

[@idontgivetkachuk]

😂😂😂😂

[@bradr539]

They use to wear them. 😁

[@csnide6702]

I don't know.... I always liked that look.... never understood WHY hockey pants always looked like the "traditional" look.......

[@CarharttCowboy]

I wore mine with a pants shell over them

[@crazymonkeydude10]

We're in a meme generation. That's why people want the cooperalls. I doubt anyone thinks they look good but most people will agree that they're hilarious to see.

[@elterrifico9522]

The long pants were great.

[@blahblahblah2243]

looks like roller hockey pants

[@The_Mobile_Jockey]

I bet the original Cooperalls smell soooo great today

[@The_Omegaman]

Makes hockey look like a gentleman’s game.

[@superadam2112]

Carolina’s bringing back the Cooperalls when they rebrand as the whalers this year

[@gentjim5007]

The girdle was a great idea, ahead of its time. The pants were an abomination. The old cotton socks would grip the ice when you fell, the pants were the opposite, slicker than snot. Then taping your shin pads looked really dumb with the black pants. IMHO, they made players look slow and stupid, much like when MLB allowed pants for ballplayers. Shorts and socks give a better sense of motion and athleticism. Good riddance to the Cooperall!

[@EmitRelevart]

5:01 OMG... the giveaway of all giveaways! I wonder if he got benched for a few shifts o,O

[@idontgivetkachuk]

😂😂

[@Turn140]

I think they look sharp.

[@dimer1729]

Great video. This is nothing but the effects of nostalgia. I've personally worn Cooperalls when I was younger. There restrictive is terms of function and in terms of form there fuckn ugly, just like all the reverse retro jerseys. Adidas can stick to the 3rd world countries sports thanks.

[@buckmclean8391]

I find it strange that he describes them as looking bizzare. Short pants and long socks, now thats actually bizzare if u ask me. We are all just used to seeing them. Cooperall looked sleeker to me.

[@KHoltzie]

How could they forget Plek’s *inconic* turtleneck cmon now! 🤦🏼‍♂️🪢🤦🏼‍♂️

[@jacobbeal843]

She I saw “then came back” I was praying for a flyers reverse retro

[@spikedraconian2164]

I had the Tackla Pro cooperall version

[@indianheadlogan]

They're controversial cuz people don't like change

[@wecomeinpeace5082]

Flyers wearing them tonight for warmups

[@lostvlog6857]

I remember seeing them in person as a kid at the old stadium in Chicago when they played the Flyers, looked strange but i play inline and we all wear the long pants so I could see it coming back to the NHL. It's a good look, at least the Flyers ones are anyway.

[@Boyso5407]

All I can think about is Bill Burr