When the Penguins Joined the Red Army
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the famed Russian Red Army hockey team needed financial help to stay afloat. The help came from an unlikely partnership with the Pittsburgh Penguins. What followed was an incredibly strange journey as Pittsburgh capitalism tried to entrench itself in the new “wild west” Russia with a cast of characters which included actor Michael J. Fox, vice president Al Gore, the Russian mafia, and the Walt Disney company!
Show Notes and Links
- Where you can watch the superb Red Penguins documentary
- Oral history of this story via Sports Illustrated
- The Russian Penguins logo
- Link to our episode about the collapse of the Pens under Howard Baldwin