Mel Fox celebrating 100th birthday, grandson's accomplishments with Rangers

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, also known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his insight and humor with readers each Wednesday. Mel Fox, the grandfather of New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, is celebrating his 100th birthday in Boynton Beach, Florida. A lifelong Rangers fan, Mel reveals how a grandpa helped point his grandson toward an NHL career.

Mel Fox would like a present for his 100th birthday, but it cannot be delivered until next June. 

He says he can wait.

"I was there for the (New York) Rangers' Stanley Cup victory at (Madison Square) Garden in 1994," the centenarian told me during his summer visit to Israel, "and I'd like to see another one next spring. It would be nice for both me and my grandson."

Actually, the resident of Boynton Beach, Florida, has six grandsons -- "and proud of them all" -- but the one he refers to is Rangers defenseman Adam Fox.

"I watched Adam grow into a hockey player from his being a little kid in Jericho, Long Island," Mel said. "He was the youngest of the bunch, so they made him the goalie, but he was a natural athlete -- baseball, lacrosse and hockey -- and settled on ice. A good thing, too!"

Feisty and sharp, Mel insists that Adam never would have become a Rangers star were it not for himself and that Adam's father, Bruce Fox, put the lad on skates at age 3 with the elder Fox cheering him on.

"When my son Bruce was 10, he told me he wanted to see the Rangers, so I got him in and he got crazy about hockey," Mel said. "Bruce's passion filtered down to Adam. With Adam's pal -- (now Boston Bruins defenseman) Charlie McAvoy -- my grandson grew through amateur hockey ranks and eventually earned a Harvard scholarship."

After three years defending for the Crimson, Adam was selected by the Calgary Flames in the third round (No. 66) of the 2016 NHL Draft. The Flames traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes on June 23, 2018. The Hurricanes traded him to the Rangers on April 30, 2019. 

Adam signed his entry-level contract with New York on May 2, 2019, and launched his NHL career at the start of the 2019-20 season. He smoothly adapted to the League with a style all his own.

"I always try to be calm and poised with the puck," he told The Jewish Vues during his rookie season.

A Rangers fan since childhood, Adam won the 2021 Norris Trophy voted as the best defenseman in the NHL was runner-up to Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks in 2023 and is a two-time NHL All Star (2022, '23). 

Mel attended the 2023 NHL All-Star Game with Adam's parents at FLA Live Arena (now Amerant Bank Arena), home of the Florida Panthers.

"I don't know if we ever imagined that they would watch me play in an All-Star Game," Adam told the NHL Players' Association website during the event, "but the fact that my grandpa could watch it makes it special."

A Rangers season ticketholder, Mel was at the Garden for Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, a 3-2 victory against the Vancouver Canucks to give New York its first Stanley Cup championship since 1940.

"Going to a game at the Garden gave me the same pleasure as going to a good movie," Mel said. "Now I get my hockey enjoyment watching Adam on television from my home."

Born on Manhattan's Lower East Side, Mel studied at Yeshiva Rabbi Jacob Joseph School and Seward Park High School. After his World War II Army stint, he worked in Manhattan's Garment District. Instead of retiring at age 65, he started his own successful business, calling it quits at 85.

Mel's 100th birthday party is being celebrated by Adam and their family in Boynton Beach. If someone asks the senior Fox to explain his keys to longevity, he'll repeat what he told me:  

"The Good Lord -- and my good genes."

He still exults over a pair of "all-time Ranger favorites," Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Brian Leetch and forward Adam Graves, members of the 1994 championship team.

The Cup clincher in New York on June 14, 1994, is his most "unforgettable" moment.

"I was sitting in Section 40, Row F -- the best seat in the house -- and when the final buzzer signaled that we finally had won the Cup, I said the same four words as the guy sitting near me who had the big sign: 'NOW I CAN DIE!'

"The fact that Adam once starred for Harvard still means a lot to me as well as what he's already accomplishing as a Ranger. I sum it up with two words -- Fox Pride!"