{"id":1737,"date":"2013-05-31T10:01:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-31T10:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1737"},"modified":"2015-01-08T17:49:04","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T22:49:04","slug":"jaromir-jagr-arrives-in-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/05\/31\/jaromir-jagr-arrives-in-pittsburgh\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaromir Jagr arrives in Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Work <\/a>
Work ethic of Bryan Trottier was a good example for Jaromir Jagr, 1990 (Photo by John Heller, The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Jennifer <\/a>
Jennifer Hutchinson backed into a Jagr autograph when Penguins returned after the clincher, 1991 (Photo by Steve Mellon, The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Penguins <\/a>
Penguins locker room: Meet their new player Jaromir Jagr, 1990 (Photo by Ross Catanza, The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Jaromir <\/a>
Jaromir Jagr skates at Golden Mile Ice Center, 1991 (Photo by Tony Tye, Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Jaromir <\/a>
Jaromir Jagr attempts to get the puck from John McLean (New Jersey) in the 3rd period, 1991 (Photo by Robin Rombach, The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Of the scores of luminary-to-downright immortal athletes that have donned the black and the gold of Pittsburgh\u2019s three major professional sports teams, arguably none have had as complicated a relationship with this city\u2019s fans as former Penguins standout Jaromir Jagr.<\/p>\n

He has gone from a near-worshipped kid from Kladno to Pittsburgh\u2019s Prodigal Son who only returns to town in other team\u2019s sweaters. Booing him is a cottage industry here and it\u2019s a safe bet that the Consol Energy Center crowd will be full throat for his every shift tomorrow night when he visits with his Boston Bruins.<\/p>\n

But long before spats with Ivan Hlinka, before he was \u201cdying alive,\u201d before Mario Lemieux\u2019s return stole his spotlight, and before he jilted Penguins fans (again) last season by signing with rival Philadelphia, Jagr was quite a phenomenon: part hockey god, part heartthrob \u2013 despite looking like a wayward Def Leppard roadie upon his arrival in Pittsburgh in June<\/a> 1990.<\/p>\n

His charging bull strength and slashing style were in stark contrast to and a lethal complement for the graceful elegance of Lemieux. That the 18-year old Jagr spoke virtually no English and had one of the greatest mullets in hockey history only added to the novelty. He lived with a Czech family in West Homestead. He gave the forecasts on the \u2018DVE Morning Show (\u201cJAR<\/em>-O-MIR<\/em> Wea-ther!<\/em>\u201d). He drove a Trans Am.<\/p>\n

And he scored other-worldly goals, like this overtime winner of a 1991 Patrick Division semifinal match against New Jersey, as described by Shelly Anderson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cJagr, 19, took a pass from [Phil] Bourque outside the blue line on the right side. Already being covered, he swooped into the Devils\u2019 end, ignoring the checks.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cUsing one hand to control the puck, he moved from the bottom of the right circle toward the crease where he regained a strong handle on the puck.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNew Jersey goaltender Chris Terreri charted Jagr\u2019s sideward move but Jagr \u2013 in the clear now \u2013 waited, waited, then popped a lofted shot over Terreri, who had been fooled to the ice.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c \u201cIt was a great goal by Jaromir,\u201d said Penguins winger Kevin Stevens. \u201cHe\u2019s so strong.\u201d \u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

He routinely dazzled Civic Arena crowds until he was traded to Washington in a salary purge in July 2001. He\u2019s been poorly received in the 26 return visits he\u2019s made since, despite remaining the second-greatest player in franchise history.<\/p>\n

At age 41, Jagr nears the end of a Hall-of-Fame career, and it\u2019s possible this series may represent his last trip here\u00a0as an NHL player. He may even get some kind of ovation from soft-hearted Pittsburgh partisans \u2013 provided, of course, it\u2019s the Penguins, and not Jagr\u2019s Bruins, who advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Booing him is now a cottage industry here.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesJaromir Jagr arrives in Pittsburgh<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[944],"tags":[981,1179,1018,1176,1182,1035],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/tumblr_mnmtzeA5Tj1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1032%2C1560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":813,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/03\/31\/jim-leyland-and-barry-bonds\/","url_meta":{"origin":1737,"position":0},"title":"Jim Leyland and Barry Bonds","date":"March 31, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Few figures in Pittsburgh sports history are as polarizing as Barry Bonds.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tumblr_n3622mx41X1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C688&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":567,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/06\/11\/1967-first-penguins-arrive-in-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":1737,"position":1},"title":"1967: First penguins arrive in Pittsburgh","date":"June 11, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Their new home was not Civic Arena, and in fact, they were not even hockey players.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/tumblr_n70addJ9uu1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C804&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8682,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/05\/23\/great-moments-in-pittsburgh-sports-history-1990-2004\/","url_meta":{"origin":1737,"position":2},"title":"Great moments in Pittsburgh sports history: 1990-2004","date":"May 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Post-Gazette\u2019s Out of the Archives: Sports is a photographic tour through the city\u2019s rich sports history. 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