A playoff beard is the superstitious practice of male athletes not shaving their beards during playoffs. Playoff beards were introduced by ice hockey players participating in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and are now a tradition in many sports leagues. Many fans of professional sports teams also grow playoff beards. The player stops shaving when his team enters the playoffs and does not shave until his team is eliminated or wins the Stanley Cup (or equivalent championship).
The tradition was started in the 1980s. The 1984–85 Detroit Red Wings were the first team documented to wear them. Wings forwards Ivan Boldirev and Danny Gare began the practice in Jan. 1985, trying to inspire the team to win four straight games. Defenseman Brad Park called it his "playoff beard" - thus coining the phrase.[1] Sometime in the 1980's the New York Islanders also decided to do so;[2] and according to Islander Mike Bossy, was likely started by teammate Butch Goring. The tradition is also practiced by nearly all North American hockey leagues, including high school leagues and the NCAA hockey teams, as well as minor league affiliates.[3] According to some observers, one may trim the beard after a loss in an effort to change the team's luck; Jim Dowd and Roberto Luongo are examples of players who did this.[4][5][6]
The 1984–85 Detroit Red Wings were the first team documented to wear them. Wings forwards Ivan Boldirev and Danny Gare began the practice in Jan. 1985, trying to inspire the team to win four straight games. Defenseman Brad Park called it his "playoff beard" - thus coining the phrase. (from the Detroit Free Press, Feb. 3, 1985 - article by Bernie Czarniecki). Hall of Famer Denis Potvin says that the Islanders of the 1980s would "play four games in five nights in the first round and it was just something that kind of happened."[7] The 1980 Islanders included two Swedish players (Stefan Persson and Anders Kallur), so it is possible that tennis champion Björn Borg's custom of not shaving his beard during Wimbledon, which he had been doing for several years by that time, was an influence on the start of the practice in hockey.[8] Some players have said the beard is both a reminder of team unity and a way to get a player thinking about the playoffs from the moment he looks in the mirror in the morning.[7] The 2009 Red Wings used the slogan "The beard is back" for the final series of their 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs run. They played the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals that year (won by Pittsburgh) in which most of the players of both teams (and the owner of the Penguins, Mario Lemieux) grew beards.
In 2009, the Beard-a-thon[9] campaign was launched to encourage fans to grow their own playoff beards for charity. In its first four years, more than 22,000 NHL fans participated in the "Beard-a-thon" and raised over two million dollars for charities.[10]
In June 2015, Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Sports (who is the U.S. rightsholder of the league), told the Chicago Tribune that he had been lobbying the NHL to discourage the practice, arguing that it hinders the ability for viewers to recognize players.[11]
The playoff beard has expanded into Major League Baseball (MLB), the Canadian Football League (CFL), the National Football League (NFL) and, to a lesser extent, the National Basketball Association (NBA).[12] The practice generally resembles that of ice hockey, in that players do not shave until they either win a championship or are eliminated.
Fans often grow beards as a sign of support while their favorite team is in the playoffs.