by George Grimm | Apr 27, 2023 | Retro Rangers
“Leapin’ Louie” Fontinato was one of the most popular players to ever don a New York Rangers sweater. The 6-1. 195 pound defenseman was born in January 1932 in Guelph, Ontario and came up through the Guelph Biltmore pipeline that provided the Rangers with so many...
by George Grimm | Mar 25, 2023 | Inside Hockey, Retro Rangers
Like most NHL teams. the New York Rangers have had their share of eccentric fans. There was Sally Lark, a buxom, platinum blonde, interior decorator from Brooklyn, who was a fixture at the Old Garden during the 1940s and 1950s. Her seat was directly adjacent to the...
by George Grimm | Feb 15, 2023 | Hockey History, Retro Rangers
Tony Leswick was born in March, 1923, in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. He was the seventh of nine children born to Jim and Mary Leswick and learned how to play hockey from his three older brothers who had varying degrees of success in the sport. Nick, the oldest was banned...
by George Grimm | Jan 17, 2023 | Hockey History, Retro Rangers
It’s been said that Dean Prentice is one of the best players not in the Hockey Hall of Fame. It can also be said that he was one of the toughest to ever play the game considering that he once scored on a penalty shot after suffering what proved to be a broken back....
by George Grimm | Dec 21, 2022 | Hockey History, Retro Rangers
On Saturday December 10,2022, the city of Long Beach, New York renamed their municipal skating rink in honor of the late Emile Francis. The facility, now known as the Emile Francis Memorial Ice Arena, was built in 1973 and was used by the Rangers as their practice...
by George Grimm | Nov 16, 2022 | Hockey History, Retro Rangers
Bill Gadsby was one of the best defensemen of his era. He played for three teams and appeared in seven All-Star games during his 20-year NHL career. He was never on a Stanley Cup winner but was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970. The native of Calgary,...