Maven's Memories: Steve Albert Reflects On Islanders First Stanley Cup

It's hard to believe it's been 45 years since the Islanders won the first of four Stanley Cups. It's even harder for me to believe that I was behind the mic doing the TV play-by-play of their home games that season leading up to their first Stanley Cup triumph in the spring of 1980 season on SportsChannel, alongside Stan Fischler and Ed Westfall. Tim Ryan announced the away games.

What's more, I have the Stanley Cup ring to prove it. I should add that it was a classy move by GM Bill Torrey, awarding a non-player like me a Cup ring. After all, I didn't score a single goal; I just announced them.

At the time, I was "suffering" from a case of "Albert-itis." Translated, I had ants in my pants, working two or more jobs at the same time. It was a family affliction.

Then again, the term "suffering" might be a stretch. I loved it, as -- in addition to doing the Islanders play-by-play for SportsChannel -- I was also employed by WCBS-TV, Channel 2 in New York as the sports anchor on the 6 o'clock newscast.

Perhaps the best part of my Islanders job was getting to know the players on that team. It was a special group of guys. (I lived in an apartment complex across the street from the Westbury Music Fair.)

I did get to hang out with Bob Nystrom and his wife at the pool during the summer months. In addition, my next-door neighbor was the hard-nosed and feisty Garry Howatt. He was kind of quiet off the ice, which was fine with me. After all, who wants a noisy neighbor?

Interestingly, it was difficult to conclude that the Islanders would go all the way based on their regular season campaign. Their 91 points were their fewest in a season from 1975-76 to 1983-84.

The team really began to click after the trade for Butch Goring from the LA Kings in March of 1980. On top of that, Ken Morrow joined the team after the Olympics that year and he proved to be a great addition. Not to mention a trade for defenseman Gordie Lane helped as well. Plus, in that year, coach Al Arbour put more emphasis on the playoffs than the regular season.

While that engraved Stanley Cup ring is a prized possession, I remember one more keepsake from that memorable season. It's a rare Christmas album that the Islanders recorded called "Home for the Holidays." I still have it.

Looking backward, I'll always have the fondest memories of 1979-80 when the Islanders began their incredible string of four straight NHL championships. They can't take that away from me, nor that glorious team!