Friday, August 26, 2011

Own A Piece of 'Slap Shot' History

Ask any hockey player or fan what their favorite hockey movie is and they'll most likely say, "Slap Shot." The movie, released in 1977, was written and produced by Nancy Dowd and inspired by her brother Ned's experiences playing for the minor league hockey team, Johnstown Jets (which was portrayed by the fictional team, Charlestown Chiefs, in the movie). It was mainly filmed on location in Johnstown, Pennsylvania (my hometown), but there are a few scenes that were also shot in Hamilton and Syracuse, New York.


In one of the last scenes of the movie, as the city of Charlestown celebrates the Chiefs' victory with a parade, player/coach Reggie Dunlop (played by Paul Newman) along with two other characters in the movie (Ned Braden played by Michael Ontkean and Braden's wife, Lily, played by Lindsay Crouse) are seated on top of the back seat of a sleek 1967 Lincoln Continental convertible.

Yesterday the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat reported that the owner of this very car, 95-year-old Karl Scott, Jr., is putting it on the market. Scott, a resident of the Presbyterian Home in Johnstown, suffered a stroke back in April and can no longer drive. So you could be the next proud owner of this piece of cult classic memoriabilia for the fair asking price of $18,000. The convertible which Scott believes will appeal to both automobile collectors and movie buffs alike has only 84,000 miles and features "suicide doors" that open in opposite directions. It has a leather interior and Scott has kept it in decent condition by only driving it on special occasions.

According to automotive expert and commentator of the Discovery Channel's "Mecum Auto Auction Muscle Cars & More," John Kraman, it's not easy to estimate the value of the car or what it would go for at auction, but it has very little to do with the fact that it was featured in a major motion picture and more to do with the condition of the automobile itself.

But how can you put a price on nostalgia?

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