Voices from the Past: Andy Bathgate

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday.
In Stan's monthly feature, "Voices From The Past," he talks with Hockey Hall of Famer Andy Bathgate. The Winnipeg native became a regular with the New York Rangers in 1954, the same year Stan was hired as the team's assistant publicist. They became friends and Fischler followed Bathgate through his Hall of Fame career, which included scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal after being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February 1964. This material comes from their close relationship and numerous conversations.

How helpful were your older brothers in getting you into hockey?
"Bernie was 15 years old when I was 5, and Frank was two years older than me. They had been well into organized hockey. We both looked up to Bernie since he wound up playing organized hockey with winning teams like the Penticton Vees in British Columbia. Bernie's career was cut short by World War II when he joined the armed forces.
Frank
also was very good and eventually was discovered by New York Rangers scouts. They invited him to play for their junior team, the Mad Hatters in Guelph, Ontario. Between following the careers of both of my brothers, I was inspired to improve my own game as much as possible."
What was your hockey progress like?
"It sure wasn't easy. We were poor, and it was tough for my mom and dad to make ends meet. But the worst part was that both my parents became very ill before I reached my teens. Mom had serious stomach surgery and, fortunately, survived. My dad, a heavy smoker, was suffering from cancer of the throat and he died when I was 13. That was quite a blow since both of my parents had encouraged me to become a professional hockey player -- especially dad. I kept working hard at improving my game and spent a lot of time watching the Rangers, who held their fall training camps in Winnipeg. I got some extra inspiration from one of their stars, Bryan Hextall, who kept seeing me at their workouts. One day he gave me some words of advice and then handed me one of his used sticks. That was quite a big deal for me."
How did you and your family cope with your father's passing?
"When Frank caught on with the Junior Biltmores in Guelph, my hopes grew that someday I could do it as well. Sure enough when I was 16, the Rangers had another tryout camp in Winnipeg. I can't say that I was sensational, but the important thing was that I was just good enough for them to put me on their list and add a $100 bonus. That was very encouraging, so mom and my older sister agreed that since Frank and I would be playing for Guelph it would be worthwhile moving the family there so we'd be together as a family in one place. It was a smart move because at age 17, I made the big club and was Frank's teammate."
What was that Guelph team like?
"Our club was sponsored by the Biltmore Hat Company, which was located in Guelph. Because of our ownership, the team nickname was the 'Mad Hatters,' and if anyone scored a hat trick, he went down to the factory and picked out a hat of his choice. By the time I got there, in the 1949-50 season, the team was really on the rise. The aim was to lead the Ontario Hockey Association's Junior Division and, hopefully, win the Memorial Cup, which was like the Stanley Cup of junior hockey. Frank was one of the best players on the team and eventually managed to play two NHL games with the Rangers. But he was troubled by a shoulder injury that kept him from fulfilling his potential. As far as the Bilts were concerned, we could tell even then that when it came to potential, the franchise could go far."
How far?
"Very. It all depended on the younger guys like me,
Harry Howell
,
Ron Murphy
,
Dean Prentice
,
Lou Fontinato
and
Aldo Guidolin
. We started to jell at the start of the 1950s. Alf Pike, who'd been on the Rangers' Cup-winning team in 1940, was our coach and he got us to improve in 1950. By the start of the 1951-52 season, Alf had constructed one of the best junior teams in Canada. By the end of that year we had broken the Ontario Hockey Association scoring record (Guelph scored 341 goals in 54 games). But our ultimate goal was to win the Memorial Cup."
Which opponents were the toughest?
"Actually, the most intense competition wasn't in the final round for the Memorial Cup. The team we had to beat for the Eastern Canada junior championship was a real challenge. It was the Montreal Junior Canadiens, a feeder for the NHL club with lots of future NHL players. It was a best-of-7 series, and we took them four games to two. That sent us to the Memorial Cup final against the Western champs, the Regina Caps. We swept them in four straight (8-2, 4-2, 8-2, 10-2), and that opened the door to the NHL for a few of us."
Why didn't you make the Rangers to stay at first?
"It was (defenseman) Harry Howell along with me and (left wing) Dean Prentice who got the NHL call. They took the three of us to New York, but I was the one who didn't stick. On Christmas Eve, I got word that I was being sent down to the minors -- to Vancouver, for that year and part of the next one. New York brought me back for 20 games in 1953-54 and I got my first two NHL goals, but that didn't impress them enough, so they shipped me to Cleveland of the American Hockey League. I was crushed by the demotion and actually thought about quitting hockey altogether. I told that to my mom, and she convinced me that I still had the goods and to give it another try. She was right and I realized that I still had to improve my game. Cleveland wound up winning the Calder Cup, and this time I was called back to stay with the Rangers in the fall of 1954."

How well did you adjust to the NHL?
"It was the beginning of an 11-year stay in New York and had its ups and downs; or should I say downs and ups. In my first full year with the team (1954-55), Muzz Patrick was our coach and Frank Boucher the (general) manager. They still were integrating us Guelph kids into the lineup, and we still had some learning to do. The good news was that Boucher invited my former center from Vancouver,
Larry Popein
, to camp. Pope wound up centering for me on the right and Dean Prentice on the other side. It was a near-perfect unit since I knew Dean from our days together at Guelph while Larry and I had clicked so well in Vancouver."
When did your career take off?
"Before 1955-56, my second full NHL season, there was a big shakeup in the Rangers front office. Frank Boucher was fired as (general) manager and Muzz Patrick replaced him. Our new coach was an ex-Ranger from the 1940 Cup team, Phil Watson. Frankly, I had mixed feelings about Watson. He was a very fiery guy, but sometimes he let his emotions get the better of him. However, he did something that no other Rangers coach, going back to 1950-51, could do -- Phil got us into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not only that, but he jumpstarted my career and those of my linemates. With Phil coaching the next couple of seasons, my production increased. I mentioned in my book ("Andy Bathgate's Hockey Secrets") that Watson helped me by stressing the importance of studying the game and its strategy."
You scored 40 goals and won the Hart Trophy in 1958-59, but that season didn't end well for the Rangers, did it?
"On paper we looked like a solid playoff team; maybe better than our previous three playoff seasons. We had outstanding players --
Bill Gadsby
,
Gump Worsley
, Harry Howell -- and should have been a Cup threat. With about two weeks left in the season, we had a seven-point lead over Toronto for a playoff berth, but then we hit an awful slump. We lost a bunch of games and the Toronto Maple Leafs won a lot. It came down to the final night of the season and we got beaten at home by Montreal, Toronto won its game in Detroit and the Maple Leafs beat us out of the playoffs. During that losing streak -- and even before -- Watson seemed to be losing the support of his players. Once we missed the playoffs, Watson was doomed. He got fired early the next season."
The Rangers didn't make the playoffs again until 1961-62. What inspired the return to the postseason?
"Muzz Patrick had made a deal with the Canadiens in 1961, and we got the great defenseman
Doug Harvey
. The trick was that he agreed to be both a player and coach, which was almost unheard of at the time. But Doug did a fabulous job both ways. He was so good on the blue line that he won the Norris Trophy, and he was good enough as coach to get us into the playoffs. We beat out Detroit for fourth place in the last week of the season and then played Toronto in the first round. We got beaten four games to two but with a break here or there, I believe that we could have gone on to the Final."
You were captain of the Rangers and their most popular player. Why were you traded to Toronto?
"At the time, players such as Harvey,
Ted Lindsay
and
Jim Thomson
had been talking about forming a players' association. I was partly responsible for getting the Rangers players to join, and that didn't endear me to management.. Pretty soon I began hearing rumblings that I would be traded, and they turned out to be true. I was dealt to Toronto along with
Don McKenney
. The Rangers got a bunch of players, including
Arnie Brown
,
Rod Seiling
,
Dick Duff
and
Bob Nevin
. It was my farewell to the only NHL team I had ever played for, and it left me with mixed feelings. I had played the best years of my life in New York. But we never came close to winning the Stanley Cup, and that's what we all aimed for as pros. I loved playing in New York, but I also wanted to play for a Cup winner before I hung up my skates. With Punch Imlach running the Leafs, Toronto had won Cups in 1962 and 1963, so I knew I might finally be on a championship team. But it wasn't all that easy for me, because when I got to Toronto I discovered that the fans resented the trade. They liked the players sent to the Rangers, and that put me on the spot. I was something of an outsider who had taken the place of Leafs who had been close friends with guys still on the team."
Imlach said made the trade because he wanted you to help him win his third straight Cup, right?
"When I joined the Leafs, they actually looked as if they might miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They had trouble scoring and they even got beaten 11-0 by the last-place Boston Bruins. But I fit in well, and in the last few weeks of the season we got hot and lost only once in our last nine regular-season games. We finished third and wound up playing the first-place Canadiens in the Semifinals. I was feeling good about my game -- and even better after we beat Montreal in what turned out to be a seven-game war. That put us up against
Gordie Howe
and the Detroit Red Wings for the Cup."
And you fulfilled Imlach's wish -- you even scored the Cup-winning goal.
"At one point in the series we were losing two games to one and we were tied 2-2 entering the third period of
Game 4
. But I broke the tie with a goal and then
Frank Mahovlich
also scored. We won the game, 4-2, tying the series and eventually it came down to
Game 7
at Maple Leaf Gardens. That's when I scored the Cup-winner, although nobody could have foreseen it as the winning goal at the time I put it in."
How did it happen?
"It was early in the first period; no score, and then their defenseman,
Junior Langlois
, lost the puck when he tried to pinch at the blue line. I tipped the puck past him and just kept going on a clean breakaway against their goalie -- me against
Terry Sawchuk
. I guess I could have deked him or made some other fancy play but I went to my strength, my shot. About 20 feet or so out I fired away and put it past Sawchuk's shoulder at 3:04 of the first period). Our 1-0 lead held up into the third period when we got three more and won the game 4-0 -- and the Cup. Thinking back to my kid days on the outdoor rinks in Winnipeg and all I had gone through from my juniors days in Guelph to this point, it was my dream come true!"