It was a Saturday afternoon, the first day of April 1989. I was unpacking my groceries when the phone rang. It was my father. “Bergeron’s out” he said. “I was watching the Bruins game and they just announced it.” I was a little surprised at the news, and while...
From its inception, the National Hockey League had been populated by mostly Canadian players, with a few American’s sprinkled in here and there for good measure. But that all changed on January 27th, 1965, when Ulf Sterner of the New York Rangers became the first...
Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion had a legendary 14-year career with the Montreal Canadiens, during which he scored 371 goals and added 388 assists. He broke into the league with style, earning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year in 1952, and went on to win...
The first time I was allowed to go to New York City with my friends was for a Rangers Open practice on Washington’s birthday February 22, 1965. The event was sponsored by H.O. Oats and if you sent in some box tops you received tickets in return. I remember the date...
On Sunday February 9th, 1969 the Northeast was hit with a snowstorm that started in the Carolina’s and moved up the coast. Weather forecasters confidently predicted that the precipitation would change to rain by the afternoon, but Mother Nature had something different...
One of the first things that Emile Francis did when he took over the Rangers was to shore up their goaltending situation. He knew that Jacques Plante wasn’t the answer, so he acquired Eddie Giacomin from Providence of the AHL in May of 1965. Not one to put all his...
Very often our first memories of a sport are accompanied by the faces and voices that brought that sport into our homes. For me Win Elliot was definitely one of those faces and voices. Before the days of national mega-buck broadcasting contracts, cable, 24/7 coverage...
The equipment that goaltenders use has undergone quite a few style and design changes through the years. The pads and gloves are lighter and certainly more colorful than they were just a few decades ago. But the biggest changes occurred in the late 1940’s....
Jim “The Chief” Neilson was one of the most dependable yet underrated defensemen the Rangers ever had. Neilson wasn’t flashy but he got the job done and his teammates certainly appreciated his skill and steady approach to the game. When asked about Neilson, Rangers...
“What if” scenarios have always intrigued me, especially in sports. It’s always interesting to imagine how the history of the Ranger franchise as well as some of its players would have been changed had different trades been made over the years. Below are three...
On November 7th 1975, Emile Francis and his Boston Bruins’ counterpart, GM Harry Sinden pulled off a blockbuster trade. The Rangers sent Jean Ratelle, Brad Park and minor leaguer Joe Zanussi to the Bruins for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais. It was one of the biggest...
Bob Wolff is a legend among sportscasters. To list all of his accomplishments and awards, as well as the many historic moments in sports that he has covered, would more than fill this column. It has also been noted that Wolff has always been very generous with his...
I’ve always loved hearing Emile Francis tell hockey stories. First, of course, there are the stories, and Emile’s got a million of them, but then there’s the voice, the cadence, the feistiness and the feeling that the Cat was always looking for that angle to put...
After beating Toronto four games to two in the opening round of the 1971 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Rangers next opponent was the Chicago Black Hawks who had finished first in the Western Division with 107 points. The teams had split the season series with three wins...
Win or lose, the Rangers have given their fans countless Stanley Cup playoff memories that will last a lifetime and the 1970/71 postseason was no exception. In fact two of the most memorable episodes in Ranger playoff history occurred that spring at Madison Square...
Jacques Plante was one of the greatest goaltenders to ever strap on a pair of pads. But when he came to the Rangers in a blockbuster 1963 trade it became all too apparent that on most nights, he like any other goaltender is only as good as the team in front of him....
March 21, 2011 “Metamorphosis” is a word that is often used to characterize Vic Hadfield’s hockey career. How else would you describe a guy who started out as an awkward skating tough guy and through a lot of hard work and determination became an All-Star, a 50-goal...
The Rangers have had their share of great goaltenders in their 85-year history and Chuck Rayner was one of the best. Claude Earl Rayner, was born on August 11, 1920, in Sutherland, Saskatchewan. “Chuck” as he had been know since childhood, played junior hockey for the...
Camille Henry was born in Quebec City, Quebec, on January 31, 1933. He originally had hopes of becoming a professional baseball player but that dream soon gave way to another when his outstanding hockey skills became apparent. After rising through the local youth...
I can’t really call myself an avid autograph collector. Frankly I couldn’t tell you where most of them are anymore. For me it’s always been more about the memory of meeting the players. And most of those memories are as vivid as if they happened yesterday. I guess it...
If you recall, a few weeks ago in my Steve Vickers' article I noted that all of the top four picks of the 1971 amateur draft — Guy Lafleur (Montreal), Marcel Dionne (Detroit), Jocelyn Guevremont (Vancouver) and Gene Carr (St. Louis) — ended up playing for the Rangers...
The old saying “Records are made to be broken” has been proven to be true many times over. Numerous records that were once considered unreachable have been surpassed in recent years. Who would have thought that a number of bulked up sluggers would have hit more than...
Of all the players of the Emile Francis era, I identified most with Steve Vickers. We were the same age and weight and although I was a little taller, he had that moustache and much better hair. But it was easy to picture myself with a number 8 on my back, hanging out...
Never let it be said that Joey Kocur couldn’t shoot the puck. The burly winger accomplished the seemingly impossible on November 11, 1991 when he drilled the 3” x 1” puck through one of the 2½ “ diamonds in the nylon mesh that drapes the net. The goal proved to be the...
With the Rangers off to another bumpy start to their season, it’s important that fans remember that it could be worse. Much worse. The 1943-44 Rangers lost their first 11 games of the season. Thankfully it’s a Ranger record that still stands today. The streak was...
This month marks a sad anniversary in Ranger history because 35 years ago on October 31, 1975, Ed Giacomin suddenly became a member of the Detroit Red Wings. Ask any long-time Ranger fan about that night and they’ll probably tell you a story about where they were and...
Pop Quiz time: Quick, who was the Rangers first American born goaltender? Fans of a certain age might guess 1960 Olympian Jack McCartan. That would be a good guess but it would also be wrong. McCartan played his first game as a Ranger on March 6, 1960, but Joe...
They weren’t really that old, but they were experienced and they played like they had been line mates for decades. Together they formed one of the Rangers most famous and effective lines of the 1960’s. Actually each of “The Old Smoothies” – Bob Nevin, Phil Goyette and...
