November 7, 1975: "The Trade" Between the Rangers and the Bruins

Phil Esposito

November 7, 1975: The New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins make what quickly became known, and is still known in hockey, as "The Trade."

"The New Madison Square Garden Center" opened in 1968, on top of Penn Station, between 31st and 33rd Streets, and 7th and 8th Avenues. What became known as "the old Garden" was demolished right afterward, and a parking lot was put on the site until construction began on Worldwide Plaza, a skyscraper which opened in 1989.

The Rangers rose back to contention largely thanks to goalie Eddie Giacomin, defenseman Brad Park, and the "GAG Line," which stood for "Goal A Game": Jean Ratelle centering Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert. All are still alive; all but Hadfield are in the Hall of Fame, and Hadfield probably should be.

This was a bit of a golden age for New York sports: Between 1968 and 1973, although the Yankees and Giants were mediocre at best, World Championships were won by the Mets, the Jets, and the Knicks twice, with the Mets winning an additional Pennant and the Knicks reaching an additional NBA Finals.

The Rangers were a part of this, reaching the Finals in 1972, before losing in 6 games to the Boston Bruins of Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito.

This was in the NHL's big era of expansion, and the next season, the Islanders debuted, at the Nassau Coliseum in Hempstead. (The mailing address is Uniondale, but it's within the town of Hempstead.) For 2 years, they were terrible, but in 1975, just their 3rd season, they beat the Rangers in the Playoffs.

This was a stunning blow, and it was a transition period in New York sports: The Yankees were playing in Shea Stadium while the original Yankee Stadium was being renovated, the Mets began to decline, the Giants played first at the Yale Bowl in Connecticut and then at Shea while waiting for Giants Stadium to be finished, the Jets fell apart as did Namath's knees, and the Knicks got old and fell apart while watching the Nets win 2 ABA titles.

The hockey shift was the most noticeable of all. The Islanders began a dominant stretch that would eventually see them reach 5 straight Finals, winning 4 straight Cups.

But calendar year 1975 was the Rangers' annus horribilis. Ranger management, having already traded Hadfield, fired Emile Francis as head coach after the Playoff loss to the Isles, ending his tenure in that role after 11 years. He remained general manager a little longer, being relieved of duty the following January.

But before that, he made a few deals, including one in June with the St. Louis Blues that brought in young goalie John Davidson. That left the veteran Gilles Villemure as the odd man out in the net, and he asked to be traded, and was, to Chicago on October 28. Then, on Halloween, October 31, just 4 games into the new season, the Rangers waived the still-popular Giacomin, and he was picked up by the Detroit Red Wings.

As fate would have it, the Wings were the opponents in the Rangers' next home game, and on November 2, Ranger fans, showing that they knew more about hockey than their team's management, chanted, "Ed-die! Ed-die! Ed-die!" The Rangers lost, 6-4. It was probably the only time Ranger fans ever left The Garden happy about a defeat.

Five days later, on November 7, the Broadway Blueshirts made what became known in hockey as The Trade: Sending Park, by then the team Captain, Ratelle, and defenseman Joe Zanussi for Esposito and defenseman Carol Vadnais. None of those players had wanted to be traded. Asked in 2008 how long it took him to get over his anger at the Rangers, Park said, "I'm still ticked!"

To make matters worse, Espo demanded the Number 7 he'd worn in Boston, but Gilbert, who'd worn it for the Rangers since 1962 (like Bobby Hull, he started his career wearing 16), didn't want to give it up. Gilbert was already (and, to this day, remains) the Rangers' all-time leading scorer, and it didn't matter if you were a 2-time Stanley Cup winner; holder (at the time) of the single-season records for goals, assists and points; and a national hero in your homeland: You do not ask a club icon to give up his uniform number.

Gilbert held firm, and the team backed him up, so Espo took Number 77. In the next few years, as age caught up with Gilbert and he retired, Espo would win the fans over, big-time. But he got off to a very rocky start, and, yes, part of it was his fault.

The Rangers missed the Playoffs in that 1975-76 season, and the next. Fans got restless. The top level, the 400 sections, of The Garden had blue seats, and in those cheapest of seats, the passion began to boil over. The seats were blue, the jerseys were blue (although, at this point, home teams wore white in the NHL), the air was blue (smoking was still allowed in sports arenas at the time), and the language was getting bluer than ever.

The Rangers made the Playoffs in 1978, and then in 1979, they regained their local icon status, including a thrilling Stanley Cup Semifinal win over the Islanders, delaying the Nassau County club's rise to the top for one more year. Esposito won the fans over, and remains beloved in both New York and Boston. Park and Ratelle won Bruin fans over, helping them reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1977 and '78, but did not win either time, so they remain respected there, but not loved.

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November 7, 1975 was a Friday. This was also the day The New Original Wonder Woman premiered on ABC. I have a separate entry for that event.

Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. There were 3 games played in the NHL that day:

* The New York Rangers lost to the California Golden Seals, 7-5 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. This was also the day of "The Trade," for which I have a separate entry. Esposito played, and scored 2 goals and had an assist. Vadnais did not appear in the game. 

* The Atlanta Flames beat the Minnesota North Stars, 3-2 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* And the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Kansas City Scouts played to a 3-3 tie at the Kemper Arena (now the Hy-Vee Arena) in Kansas City.

After the 1975-76 season, the Seals became the Cleveland Barons, and the Scouts became the Colorado Rockies. In 1978, the Barons merged with the North Stars. In 1980, the Flames moved to Calgary, In 1982, the Rockies became the New Jersey Devils. And in 1993, the North Stars became the Dallas Stars.

There were 4 games played in the World Hockey Association:

* The Houston Aeros beat the Phoenix Roadrunners, 5-3 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")

* The San Diego Mariners beat the Denver Spurs, 3-2 in overtime at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver.

* The Calgary Cowboys beat the Cleveland Crusaders, 5-2 at the Stampede Corral in Calgary.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Toronto Toros, 5-4 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

There were 6 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 105-97 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, acquired by the Lakers from the Milwaukee Bucks the preceding June 16, scored 40 points and grabbed 22 rebounds.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Phoenix Suns, 103-99 at The Spectrum.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New Orleans Jazz, 94-90 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls, 124-122 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Boston Celtics, 104-101 at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Kansas City Kings, 92-88 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

There were 3 games in the American Basketball Association, early in this season, which turned out to be its last:

* The New York Nets beat the Spirits of St. Louis, 118-117 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Virginia Squires, 104-100 at The Scope in Norfolk, Virginia.

* And the Kentucky Colonels beat the San Diego Sails, 104-99 at Freedom Hall in Louisville. The Sails folded 5 days later.

May 15, 1967: The Chicago Black Hawks Trade Phil Esposito

To someone like me, only old enough

to remember him as a New York Ranger,

I don't know what looks stranger on him:

A Black Hawks jersey, or short hair.

May 15, 1967: For the 1st time, Phil Esposito is involved in a controversial hockey trade. It would not be the last time.

A 25-year-old native of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, Canada, Esposito had made his NHL debut in 1964, and had played 3 solid seasons as a center for the Chicago Black Hawks: Playing on a line with superstar left wing Bobby Hull and right wing Chico Maki, he had missed just 2 regular-season games, and had scored 71 goals with 98 assists. 

But the Hawks, who had finished 1st overall in the NHL in the 1966-67 season, the 1st time they'd done so in their 1st 41 seasons, had lost the Stanley Cup Semifinals to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Esposito had neither a goal nor an assist in the 6 games.

Tommy Ivan blamed Esposito for the loss. Ivan had plenty of NHL cred: He was the general manager of the Hawks' 1961 Stanley Cup win, and the GM for 4 Cup wins for the Detroit Red Wings and head coach for 3 of those. He thought Esposito had the wrong personality, and was missing the needed drive, to lead a team to Playoff success. Ivan thought he was too slow and too soft, and lacked finish around the net.

So the trade was made. To the Boston Bruins: Esposito, right wing Ken Hodge and center Fred Stanfield. To the Hawks: Goaltender Jack Norris, defenseman Gilles Marotte, and center Hubert "Pit" Martin.

It's not as though the Hawks got nothing: Marotte and Martin would join with Hull, his brother Dennis Hull, Stan Mikita, and a pretty good goaltender that the Hawks got from the Montreal Canadiens in 1969: Phil's brother, Tony Esposito. The Hawks reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1971. Despite losing Bobby Hull to the World Hockey Association, they made the Finals again in 1973. But they lost both, to the Canadiens, who were sparked by Ken Dryden, the goalie they had coming up, and had so much faith in that they were willing to let 2 future Hall-of-Famers go: Tony Esposito and eventual Los Angeles Kings star Rogie Vachon.

Keeping Phil Esposito might have meant 2 Stanley Cups for the Hawks. Instead, Phil went to Boston, and he, Hodge and Stanfield joined Bobby Orr, Gerry Cheevers, John McKenzie, Derek Sanderson, and plenty of strong role players, building a team that won the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972, and reached the Finals in 1974.

Part of that was Espo becoming a scoring machine. He led the NHL in assists in 1968, '69 and '73. He led in points in 1969, '71, '72, '73 and '74. He led in goals in 1970, '71, '72, '73, '74 and '75. He led in power-play goals in 1970, '71, '72, '75 and '76. He led in game-winning goals in 1971, '72 and '73. He led in shots on goal in 1971, '72, '73 and '74.

In 1968-69, he scored 49 goals, and set new seasonal records with 77 assists and 126 points. In 1970-71, he had 76 goals, breaking Bobby Hull's record of 54 set in 1965-66, and 76 assists, for a new record of 152 points.

And during the 1972 "Summit Series," Phil's interview after Game 4 convinced Canadian fans to stop booing their team, and get behind them, and put Canada on a path to turn the series around and beat the Soviet Union. So Ivan was wrong about Phil not having enough personality and drive.

Early in the 1975-76 season, only 33 years old, and arguably still the best offensive player in the NHL -- Orr being the best defensive player -- Espo was involved in another controversial trade: The Bruins sent him and defenseman Carol Vadnais to the New York Rangers for center Jean Ratelle and defensemen Brad Park and Joe Zanussi. None of those players had wanted to be traded. Asked in 2008 how long it took him to get over his anger at the Rangers, Park said, "I'm still ticked!"

The Bruins made the Finals in 1977 and '78, the Rangers in '79. The Canadiens won all 3 of those Finals. If the trade hadn't been made? It might not have mattered: Those Canadiens might have been the best team ever: Guy Lafleur surpassed Espo as the NHL's best attacking player, and Larry Robinson succeeded the injury-ravaged Orr as the best defenseman.

Esposito retired in 1981, with 717 career goals, 2nd all-time behind Gordie Howe at that point. The Rangers moved him into their front office, where he was general manager from 1986 to 1989, including 2 stints as interim head coach. He helped found the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning, and was their 1st general manager, from 1992 to 1998. With both the Broadway Blueshirts and the Bolts, he made some questionable deals, though none as questionable as the 2 trades he was involved in as a player, of which he had no control.

The Bruins have retired his Number 7, the Lightning erected a statue of him outside their arena, and he was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame and the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players. He could have done all of that with the Blackhawks, but, because Tommy Ivan judged him too soon and too harshly, it didn't happen.

(In 1986, while looking through the team's archives, someone found the Chicago franchise's original NHL charter, and discovered that the team's name had been officially registered as "Blackhawks," one word; not "Black Hawks," two words. The NHL was contacted, and, ever since, they have written the team's name as "Blackhawks.")

UPDATE: In 2023, the Blackhawks announced that their Number 7 would be retired -- not for Phil Esposito, but for defenseman Chris Chelios, who played for them from 1990 to 1999.

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May 15, 1967 was a Monday. John Smoltz, Hall of Fame pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, and now an analyst for Fox Sports' baseball coverage, was born on this day.

And there were 4 baseball games were played:

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-7 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Roberto Clemente hit a home run in the top of the 9th inning to give the Pirates a 7-5 lead. But Lee May tied it with a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th, and Tony Pérez doubled Pete Rose home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the California Angels, 5-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Bob Aspromonte tripled home 2 runs in the top of the 10th.

* And the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants, 9-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Lee Thomas hit home runs for the Cubs. For the Giants, Willie Mays went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

May 10, 1970: The Flying Goal

May 10, 1970: The Boston Garden experiences what eventually becomes known as "The Miracle of the Fours." It is Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Boston Bruins, who have not won the Cup in 29 years, and the St. Louis Blues, who have only been playing since 1967. The game went to overtime, thus to the 4th period. The game was tied 3-3, so whoever could score a 4th goal would win it.

It took only 40 seconds of overtime for the winning goal to be scored, by Bobby Orr, the 22-year-old Bruin defenseman who had become the most exciting player in the game. As he shot, he was tripped up by Blues defender Noel Picard, and the resulting photograph made it look as though Orr were flying. Both Orr and Picard wore Number 4.

In honor of this event, the best-known bar near the Garden and its 1995 replacement, the TD Garden, is known as The Fours, at 166 Canal Street. Also, a statue of Orr flying was commissioned. It says something about the event that professional sports have been played at the site for 92 years, and the only 2 statues there are of this Orr goal and of Celtics legend Bill Russell.

Orr in bronze, Orr in the flesh

Dan Kelly, the Blues' broadcaster from their inception until his death in 1989, called the game nationally for CBS. His call: "Bobby Orr, behind the net to Sanderson to -- Score! Bobby Orr scores! And the Boston Bruins have won the Stanley Cup!"

This goal, John Havlicek's steal to seal the 1965 NBA Eastern Conference Championship for the Celtics, and the final game of the Boston Red Sox' 1967 "Impossible Dream" Pennant, are New England's equivalent to the contemporary epic triumverate for the New York Tri-State Area of the Jets' upset in Super Bowl III, the Mets' upset in the 1969 World Series, and the Knicks taking an improbable NBA Championship 2 days before this goal.

At the end of 1970, Sports Illustrated magazine named Orr its Sportsman of the Year, the 1st hockey player so honored.

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May 10, 1970 was a Sunday. As I said, the NBA season had just ended, and football was out of season. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the California Angeles, 4-3 at Anaheim Stadium. (It was renamed Edison International Field in 1998, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2003.) Jack Aker was the winning pitcher, in relief of Stan Bahnsen. The losing pitcher was future Yankee Rudy May. Horace Clarke and Roy White each had 2 hits, while Danny Cater went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants, 11-7 at Shea Stadium. Willie McCovey hit 2 home runs to support Juan Marichal over Nolan Ryan. Willie Mays did not play in the game.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos, 5-4 at Jarry Park in Montreal.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-0 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Don Sutton pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Baltimore Orioles swept a doubleheader over the Chicago White Sox at Memorial Stadium, 7-2 and 4-2. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-8 over the 2 games. Frank Robinson went 1-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs in the opener, and did not play in the nightcap.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-5 at Atlanta Stadium. (It was renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1975.) Joe Torre and Dick Allen homered for the Redbirds, while Hank Aaron went 0-for-4 for the Braves. Hoyt Wilhelm pitched in relief for the Braves, making him the 1st player to make 1,000 appearances as a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He would extend that record to 1,070. (It is now held by Jesse Orosco, with 1,262.)

* The Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Willie Stargell hit a home run for the Pirates, but Roberto Clemente went 0-for-4.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Harmon Killebrew went 2-for-4, but Rod Carew only played as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers, 9-7 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Norm Cash hit 2 home runs, and Al Kaline went 1-for-3, but it wasn't enough.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-6 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Lee May and Bernie Carbo all hit home runs off Fergie Jenkins. Ron Santo and Billy Williams homered for the Cubs, and Ernie Banks went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

* The Milwaukee Brewers swept a doubleheader from the Washington Senators at Milwaukee County Stadium, 6-5 and 7-6.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-4 at the Oakland Coliseum. Carl Yastrzemski hit a home run of John "Blue Moon" Odom, and Tony Conigliaro hit one off Rollie Fingers. But the A's knocked Gary Peters out of the box in the 4th inning. Dave Duncan homered, and Reggie Jackson went 1-for-4.