When Eddie Johnston was head coach of the New Brunswick Hawks in the American Hockey League, he actually fought his Maine Mariners counterpart, Pat Quinn, during a game Oct. 18, 1978.
The two coaches, dressed in suits, met at center ice after a benches-clearing brawl, exchanged some punches and wrestled each other to the ground. Quinn was fined $500 and suspended for the next meeting between the teams. Johnston was hit for $200 but was not suspended.
Johnston recalled the altercation during the 50 Years of Hockey in Pittsburgh presented by KeyBank and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette panel discussion Monday at the Heinz History Center.