Ep 137: I Still Wanna Punch People with Steve Martinson

Steve Martinson joins Fight Stories for one of the wildest hockey conversations we've ever had. Known as one of hockey's toughest competitors before becoming the winningest American-born professional hockey coach, Steve shares incredible firsthand stories from an era when intimidation, fighting, and the "code" were part of the game. From battling legendary enforcers to surviving brutal street fights, nothing is off limits. In this episode:🥊 Fighting Bob Probert, Dave Brown, Behn Wilson, Val James and other legendary tough guys🏒 Growing up in Minnesota's outdoor-rink hockey culture💥 The difference between hockey fights and real street fights👊 How intimidation and reputation shaped the game🧠 Concussions, injuries, genetics, and surviving one of hockey's toughest eras🏆 Steve's journey from feared enforcer to the winningest American-born pro hockey coach ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – Intro: Steve Martinson's reputation and why he matters01:20 – Fighting the toughest enforcers in hockey03:48 – Minnesota hockey culture and outdoor rinks07:06 – Injuries, scars, and surviving the damage13:40 – Earning a reputation as a fighter17:15 – Street fights in San Diego24:38 – Concussions and being built differently36:32 – The wild days of the AHL and IHL42:15 – The code, intimidation, and retribution50:04 – Bar fights, Samoans, and street violence58:00 – Bob Probert, Dave Brown, Dave Semenko and Steve's toughest fights1:11:43 – Behn Wilson and the psychology of intimidation1:20:36 – Coaching tough players and how hockey has changed 🔗 Resources 🏒 AHL: https://www.theahl.com/🥊 Hockey Fights Archive: https://www.hockeyfights.com/👊 Support Fight Stories on Patreon: https://patreon.com/fightstories If you enjoy real hockey stories, enforcer history, and behind-the-scenes conversations with the toughest players in the game, subscribe and let us know your favorite Steve Martinson story in the comments. Hashtags: #FightStories #Hockey #NHL #HockeyFights #SteveMartinson #BobProbert #DaveBrown #BehnWilson #AHL #Enforcer #Podcast #HockeyHistory #MinnesotaHockey #SportsPodcast Be a hooligan and join our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/fightstories Follow the boys across all social media platforms: Insta https://www.instagram.com/tomodonnell0405 https://www.instagram.com/tylermorrison123 https://www.instagram.com/comedianjohnmoses Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ComedianJohnMoses https://www.facebook.com/FightStories https://www.facebook.com/tyler.morrison.35 X https://x.com/fightstoriespod https://x.com/johnmoses https://x.com/tylermorrison1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices