NHL Buys Huge Photo Collection
Rich Mueller
April 16, 2008
The National Hockey League (NHL) has announced the acquisition of the historic hockey photo collection of Steve Babineau, one of the most prolific sports photographers working today.
Babineau´s collection, which chronicles more than three decades of hockey history, coupled with Getty Images´ diverse NHL digital photo library, enriches the photographic imagery available through NHL Images.
Babineau is the team photographer for the Boston Bruins. His collection of more than 225,000 images dates back to 1973 and records the careers of legendary current and former players, including Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Ray Bourque, Al MacInnis, Bobby Clarke, Mike Bossy, Marcel Dionne, Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios and Martin Brodeur. He has shot more than 1,700 NHL games in 35 years.
He officially joined the Bruins as the team photographer in 1977, a position he now shares with his son, Brian.
It is his photograph which adorns the front of the 1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky rookie card.
"I feel honored that I have been able to photograph 35 years of the National Hockey League, which includes more than one third of the history of the Boston Bruins franchise," said Babineau. "I hope that my photography will forever preserve the history of this great game, its players and memories for generations to come."
Babineau´s collection marks the second photo library acquired by the NHL. The NHL attained images from former Montreal Canadiens team photographer Denis Brodeur in 2006.
"Mr. Babineau´s collection is a valuable addition to the NHL´s photo archive," said Patti Fallick, Group Vice President, Media Operations & Planning. "He captured some of the greatest teams and players from the NHL´s modern era and his images will now be accessible to a wider audience."
The entire Babineau collection will be made available through NHL Images and a selection of images are currently available at GettyImages.com.
Babineau´s collection, which chronicles more than three decades of hockey history, coupled with Getty Images´ diverse NHL digital photo library, enriches the photographic imagery available through NHL Images.
Babineau is the team photographer for the Boston Bruins. His collection of more than 225,000 images dates back to 1973 and records the careers of legendary current and former players, including Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Ray Bourque, Al MacInnis, Bobby Clarke, Mike Bossy, Marcel Dionne, Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios and Martin Brodeur. He has shot more than 1,700 NHL games in 35 years.
He officially joined the Bruins as the team photographer in 1977, a position he now shares with his son, Brian.
It is his photograph which adorns the front of the 1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky rookie card.
"I feel honored that I have been able to photograph 35 years of the National Hockey League, which includes more than one third of the history of the Boston Bruins franchise," said Babineau. "I hope that my photography will forever preserve the history of this great game, its players and memories for generations to come."
Babineau´s collection marks the second photo library acquired by the NHL. The NHL attained images from former Montreal Canadiens team photographer Denis Brodeur in 2006.
"Mr. Babineau´s collection is a valuable addition to the NHL´s photo archive," said Patti Fallick, Group Vice President, Media Operations & Planning. "He captured some of the greatest teams and players from the NHL´s modern era and his images will now be accessible to a wider audience."
The entire Babineau collection will be made available through NHL Images and a selection of images are currently available at GettyImages.com.
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