On the main street of Riverview Park, there’s a sports bar where everyone who frequents it likely knows each other’s name.
If you’re looking for it, though, you’re not apt to find it; the street is in an established Muhlenberg Township residential area where zoning prohibits commercial bars.
This over-the-top private sports bar is situated in the large rec room of an unassuming yet classic mid-century ranch home. For the invited regulars, it’s a place that’s more than welcoming. In fact, for the friends of the homeowner, fans of Philadelphia sports — especially die-hard Flyers devotees — the only better place to watch a game is by the ice at the team’s Wells Fargo Center home arena.
The bar is the unique creation of Rick Genslinger. He became smitten with the Flyers as a youngster when he was allowed to stay up late only to watch the professional hockey games with his dad, Harold “Butch” Genslinger, including the 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup wins. As a teenager, he began collecting sports, particularly Flyers, memorabilia.
“My first collectible, I guess, was an old Flyers jersey; I’m sure it’s still around,” he says, “and, as a teen, I had a team jacket. It’s up in the attic; it doesn’t fit anymore. I just can’t give them away.”
A Celebrity Fan Base
Today he not only continues collecting the memorabilia…he lives with it in a dynamically decorated space he designed and created himself.
The Muhlenberg native and his wife purchased the house a decade ago. Though he had a sports-themed room in a previous residence in Laureldale, Genslinger knew he wanted a rancher with a large basement to create the man cave/sports bar room of his dreams.
“I knew what I wanted to do with a true man-cave set-up,” he says.
Indeed, his 10 years of design savvy and hard work have paid off with considerable recognition. Indeed, he was just named in early April as the 2019-2020 Philadelphia Flyers/Toyota Cup Fan of the Year.
In 2016, his effort earned him the top award in the Man Cave of the Year contest, hosted by The Official Man Cave Site, mancavesite.org. Two years earlier, he was nominated for Best Bar, Collector's Man Cave and Man Cave of the Year by the website, which is a national organization designed for the sharing of photos and ideas for man caves.
His man cave has been featured in such publications as Business Insider and the Reading Eagle and on WFMZ Channel 69 News broadcasts.
It’s also been featured on a New York man cave aficionado’s Facebook page. Genslinger finds humor in one comment where a woman noted: “I go there a lot.”
And all that was before he completed his space as it now stands, before he knocked down walls and enlarged the actual bar from a six- to a 14-seater, before he created separate areas dedicated to both professional and sports interests beyond the Flyers, and before he became the Philadelphia Flyers/Toyota Cup Fan of the Year. In that capacity, he will present the Toyota Cup to the winning Flyers player at a future game – a moment bound for a special place in his photo gallery.
Making the Entrance
The back door leading to the kitchen is the point of entry for Genslinger’s guests. Immediately upon stepping on that first riser, an explosion of orange and black, the colors of Flyers Nation, gives more than a simple hint to what lies beneath.
At the base of the steps are two seats from the old Spectrum where the Flyers played hundreds of games. Genslinger purchased them from a suburban Philadelphia man, brought them home and bolted them on a raised platform he constructed. Immediately above the pair of seats is a sign proclaiming “General Seating.”
Mounted behind the seats are the signed jerseys of Flyers greats Rick Tocchet # 22, John LeClair #10, and Dave “The Hammer” Schultz #8. Small banners on either side of the seats feature the names and numbers of Barry Ashbee #4, Bill Barber #7, Bobby Clarke #16, and Bernie Parent #1, four of the infamous “Broad Street Bullies.” That brand was bestowed on the Flyers by sportswriters of the former Philadelphia Bulletin for their aggressively physical play during the 1972-73 season. That season, of course, was a precursor to their championships in 1974 and 1975.
The Spectrum seating area, along with custom-topped Flyers pub tables and stools, and the bar seating are a far cry from his first man cave outfitted with one television set and a Lazy Boy recliner and couch.
As aggressive as the Flyers were in the 1970s, Genslinger has reflected that passion in the design and construction of the 802-square-foot space he’s dubbed “Slinger’s Broad Street Bar.” Indeed, among the many wall hangings is an original “Broad Street” sign, one of his first collectibles for the bar.
Flyers of all Kinds Abound
Hundreds of Flyers collectibles dating back to the organization’s 1967 inaugural season to this year fill the walls, built-ins, the painted cement floor, and even the ceiling tiles. A dropped ceiling – yes. Boring – hardly. Many of the large panels boast Flyers logos as well as memorable dates, games and guests’ signatures. And Genslinger designed and painted each one.
Perched above the bar is a parade of hockey sticks. One that had been used during a Flyers’ game is mounted on a photo-filled wall across from the bar along with a pair of Flyers’ game socks (hockey’s moniker for thigh-to-ankle legwear).
“The white ones,” Genslinger says, proudly noting a pair attached to the ductwork casing lined with rally towels, “actually show puck marks.”
There’s a lot to take in when you grab a seat at Genslinger’s fully stocked bar, which he constructed himself. Beer and spirits are served, of course, in Flyers glassware (with the exception of the 12-ounce Rolling Rock bottles that have been multi-generation Genslinger family favorites). While savoring your favored libation, you can look down and see team photos featuring outstanding players that are carefully arranged under the glass top. One is a signed photo of the revered goalie Bernie Parent. Most were acquired from one of Genslinger’s pals.
This Fan’s Fave
In the center of the back bar, a buddy of Genslinger constructed a Flyers’ locker of sorts. Spotlighted in it are treasured collectibles attached to Tocchet, his favorite Flyers player who wore both the numbers 22 and 92. Among the items is a signed #22 jersey along with the image of him signing it, a number of photos of Tocchet in action on the ice, framed news clippings, a photo of Genslinger’s meeting with Tocchet at the King of Prussia Mall and a pair of his skates.
Genslinger has a total of 23 of Tocchet’s jerseys, including ones from each team he played for as well as those from the four times Tocchet played in all-star games. A native of Canada, Tocchet joined the Flyers in the 1984-85 season, scoring 39 goals and helping the team to the Stanley Cup Finals that season. He is now the head coach of the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes.
“He was a force from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s,” says Genslinger. “He was just an all-around player, an all-time leading penalty minute (3,000) leader, with 512 assists and 440 goals. Those skates are the last ones Tocchet used,” he says, noting he acquired them via an auction.
So much does Genslinger admire the player that tocchet is incorporated into his email address.
An illuminated showcase parallels the bar and is a focal point with a striking Flyers poster signed by legendary goalie Parent (accompanied by a photo of Parent signing the poster) as well as a number of team bobbleheads, miniature helmets, a model of the Wells Fargo Center and a miniature of the new and controversial Flyers mascot, Gritty, at the wheel of a Zamboni machine.
A Clear View, Actually Many
And, of course, what draws the maximum amount of attention on game days are the three — count them — flat-screen televisions placed at strategic locations around the bar to ensure clear lines-of-sight for attendees who vie for the best view of the 66-inch screen. A new 55-inch is in the plans for the start of the fall season. The comfy pair of Spectrum seats were situated on that raised platform designed with a clear TV view as were the placement of the pub tables and stools.
“When I built the bar, I sat on every seat to make sure everyone had a clear view of the TVs,” he says. The bar stools are a mix of purchases from the Restaurant Store, Wyomissing, and Craigslist buys.
But when the Flyers score a goal or win a game, watching the flat screens gives way to an audio and visual cacophony of sirens and flashing lights, a concert of sorts created by Genslinger to mark the accomplishment.
Walking to the rear of the bar provides a glimpse of some of the items that graced a former Genslinger man cave he called “The 19th Hole.” Though there is golf memorabilia, it’s overpowered by a standard size pool table surrounded by studio-quality poster-sized photos of Jackie Gleason and a young Paul Newman in The Hustler and Tom Cruise and an older Newman in The Color of Money sequel.
Oh, Goodies
Interspersed are Rolling Rock beer advertising and barber shop collectibles as well as state license plates sourced via eBay or at the Leesport Auction that populate the ceiling line and exposed rafters. Across the room there is a tribute area to the Goodwill Beneficial Association, including Genslinger’s grandfather Earl’s Sunday Bowling League shirt and a vintage circa 1950s-1960s Goodwill Fire Company member license plate. Three generations of the family were active in the Hyde Park-based fire company and social organization. Indeed, the vintage, mid-century cash register at the bar was used at the Goodies prior to its replacement.
Opposite the bar, on the other side of the large rec room, is another area with a mix of sports and professional interests and tributes.
For entertainment between sports binge-watching are two early “Dodge City” video poker machines; a long-board shuffleboard table, and a Taxi pinball machine along with some mementoes of the 1970s-era hit TV show.
More Rolling Rock beer advertising items as well as some Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers memorabilia comprise the wall hangings.
Memories and the Future
Genslinger has also displayed his shirt signed by his former colleagues from his time as a corrections officer at the Berks County Prison, as well as the handcuffs and baton he used and a framed news article noting his recognition as Berks County Correctional Officer of the Year in 1991-1993.
On serious notes, Genslinger pays tribute to his late friend, Reading Police Officer Scott Wertz, who was killed in the line of duty in 2006, with a framed memorial Reading Eagle article. Nearby, even more poignant, sitting on a ledge is a stuffed Phillie Phanatic that, in childhood, belonged to another fallen colleague, Berks County Sheriff Deputy Kyle Pagerly. Placed next to the Phanatic are two commemorative photos of Pagerly’s late K-9 partner, Jynx. Pagerly’s mom delivered the items to Genslinger the same week Jynx passed in late winter. He displays them with pride.
And, while the memories of his late pals are sobering, Genslinger notes that they would also have enjoyed the camaraderie shared so frequently in this one-of-a-kind man cave/bar room.
Now that Genslinger’s been named the Flyers 2020 Toyota Fan of the Year, has he reached the pinnacle of collecting? Is his creation complete?
“I’ve always wanted it to look like a real bar,” he says. “It has its own Facebook page, so I have to keep it interesting and I know I’ll keep collecting and keep changing it.”
