Canucks & Beyond
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‘Worst Goalie Ever’ Doing 17 Years for Bank Robbery
by Alanah McGinley on 10/04/07 at 07:08 PM ET
Comments (3)
From the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction files:
The worst goalie in the history of professional hockey is spending his 40th birthday in prison.
Not for atrocious goaltending, mind you - though Attila Ambrus once gave up 23 goals in a game, and 88 in a memorable five-game stretch - but for robbing banks during a post-Iron Curtain crime spree that became the stuff of legend.
Seven years into a 17-year sentence, one of his few regrets is that it’s become harder than ever to follow the just-launched NHL season. So quit complaining about trying to find “Versus” on your cable system. “The only time I can see clips,” Ambrus lamented in a recent jailhouse interview, “is through the state-owned Hungarian television channel.”
I just love stories like this; dude even has a MySpace page, for godsakes…
And 23 goals given up in one game? People really need to start laying off poor Cloutier.
From his myspace writings:
Quickly, if you don’t know about me: I was sentenced to 17 years here for carrying off 29 post office, travel agency and bank robberies in Hungary during the 1990s. Sometimes I am called the “modern day Robin Hood.” I’m still not sure how I feel about that. First of all, I didn’t give money to the poor. But I did not hurt anyone either. I was careful about that and still the government tried to charge me with attempted murder. Of course I was found not guilty of that.
My nickname was the Whiskey Robber because I was also seen drinking whiskey before my robberies.
I was also a professional hockey goalie and I worked some strange jobs. I did smuggle animal pelts for a living. I also was a gravedigger and my first job with the hockey team was driving the Zamboni (or Rollba as we call it here)....There’s much more I’d like to say but my phone time is strictly limited, so will have to fill in more soon....Thank you.
Who I’d like to meet:
Anyone not in prison.
*photo from Julian Rubinstein
Filed in: dumb stuff | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: goalies,
Comments
lay off cloutier? yea right. At least none of Ambrus’ goals were untimely…
oh snap.
Posted by grey wall on 10/05/07 at 08:45 AM ET
How the hell do you let in 23 goals in one game and not managed to get the hook?
Posted by Jeff from Edmonton on 10/09/07 at 12:08 AM ET
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.
She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
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Alanah’s Twitter: Not really hockey-ish. [LINK]
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I’ll be honest--I thought you were talking about Cloutier for a moment and I got sad :(
Posted by Isabella from Vancouver on 10/04/07 at 09:44 PM ET