Hockey players are entertainers.
I always felt I got to make some good plays and some good passes.
Every time I'd go on the ice, I'd say, create, create.
The smoother I skated and had my head up, the better I could handle the park.
For a decade, Andy Bathgate starred on Broadway as the face of the New York Rangers.
He was tall, big-framed, right-winger, and had the great shot.
He thought, boom, boom, Jefferyon had a great shot.
Well, Andy Bathgate had a tremendous shot, maybe more accurate.
I can still see him bringing the stick back to the top of the circle and letting it go.
His head was always looking to where the play was, and he was the best passer.
We could see our forwards running for the front of the net because Andy's going to put it right there.
Bathgate led the Rangers in scoring for eight straight seasons and twice paced the NHL in assists.
In 1958-59, he scored 40 goals, won the Heart Trophy as the league's MVP,
and became the first ranger to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.
He was Mr. Broadway before Rod Gilbert was Mr. Broadway.
Andy Bathgate was my hero.
I get here, and he's my mentor, and I want to emulate everything he did.
But the Rangers struggled, and after only one playoff appearance in five seasons,
general manager, Muzz Patrick, made a change.
We were playing the Maple Leafs.
I was eating the steak in the Royal York Hotel, and the trainer come up, he says,
Muzz wants to see you.
And I said, well, can I finish eating my steak?
And he said, Muzz wants you right now.
I went upstairs, and Muzz Patrick was sitting there, and he says,
you'll be dressing on the other side of the corridor tonight.
You've been traded to the Leafs.
I've been in the Ranger organization since I was nine, so I was very fortunate in the
Ranger organization.
I've been very lucky, and I hope that I can be of value to the Leafs.
The Maple Leafs expected Bathgate to improve the offense,
as they entered the playoffs chasing their third consecutive championship,
and he did not disappoint.
He's batting, he's racing after the puck, he has a breakaway.
They're trying to get back, he shoots, he scores.
We won the first round, and then we had the final against Detroit.
And in the seventh game, I was fortunate enough to get the first goal of the game,
and it was sort of a breakaway from our own blue line.
I knew where I was going as soon as I hit the blue line, and I put it in the top corner.
How many opportunities do you get like that?
Bathgate's goal in game seven proved to be the cup clincher.
He spent one more season in Toronto before being traded to Detroit.
He finished his NHL career with the expansion Pittsburgh Penguins,
and led the team in scoring in their inaugural season.
There are players that have this kind of aura that was Andy Bathgate, and he was a fabulous player,
and also a great gentleman.
He is a true star.
