Andy Bathgate

Andy Bathgate
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1978
Born	August 28, 1932 Winnipeg, MB, CAN
Died	February 26, 2016 (aged 83) Brampton, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Right
Played for	NHL New York Rangers Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings Pittsburgh Penguins WHA Vancouver Blazers WHL Vancouver Canucks AHL Cleveland Barons Pittsburgh Hornets Nat-A Ambrì-Piotta
Playing career	1952–1975

Andrew James Bathgate (August 28, 1932 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Playing career

Andy Bathgate was a popular star player of the New York Rangers and also held the honour of being declared the Most Valuable Player of both the NHL and Western Hockey League (WHL). He started his professional career with the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League (AHL) in the 1952–53 season. He bounced between the Vancouver Canucks and the Rangers for two seasons before settling with the Rangers in 1954–55. He played 10 full seasons with the Rangers, where he became a popular player in New York as well as a top-tiered player in the NHL.

In 1961–62, Bathgate and Bobby Hull led the league in points, but Bathgate lost the Art Ross Trophy to Bobby Hull because Hull had more goals.

Bathgate's career was frustrated by the mediocre play of the Rangers and a nagging knee problem. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1963–64 season, where he immediately helped Toronto to a Stanley Cup championship, and later was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings, where he helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1965–66. Bathgate was chosen by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft scoring the first goal in their team's history. However after one season, he returned to the Canucks where he would help lead the team to two consecutive Lester Patrick Cup victories, in 1969 and 1970. His best professional year was with them, where he scored 108 points in 1969–70. That performance gave him the George Leader Cup, the top player award in the WHL. Bathgate's final NHL year was with the Penguins in 1971; 1971–1972 he was playing coach for HC Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland. He came briefly out of retirement three seasons later to play for the Vancouver Blazers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), which he had coached the previous season, but retired for good after 11 games.

Bathgate won the Hart Memorial Trophy for the MVP of the NHL in 1958–59 after scoring 40 goals, which was no easy feat in that era. He is famous for contributing to one of the greatest innovations in NHL history. Renowned for the strength of his slapshot, during a game against the Montreal Canadiens, Bathgate shot the puck into the face of Jacques Plante, forcing Plante to receive stitches. When Plante returned to the ice, he was wearing a mask. That started a trend that continues to this day.

Stance against spearing

In December 1959, Bathgate produced a controversial article for True magazine in which he warned that hockey's "unchecked brutality is going to kill somebody".^[1] The article, titled "Atrocities on Ice", was ghostwritten by Dave Anderson, who was then a sports journalist with the now defunct New York Journal-American, and it appeared in True magazine's January 1960 edition. Bathgate focused mostly on the tactic of spearing, where a player stabs at an opponent with the blade or point of his stick. In a section titled "Andy Bathgate's rogues gallery", six players were highlighted as the most brutal, with their photographs captioned with a short description by Bathgate. These were Detroit's Gordie Howe ("meanest player in the league; uses all the tricks—plus"); Chicago's Ted Lindsay ("seldom drops his stick in a fight"); Montreal's Tom Johnson ("one of the five notorious spearing specialists in the NHL"); Montreal's Doug Harvey ("lucky he doesn't have a spearing death on his conscience"); Boston's Fern Flaman ("he's had too many accidents to believe") and New York's Lou Fontinato ("likes to use the stick but uses his fists in a real fight").^[1][2]

Responding to the article, Toe Blake, the Montreal Canadiens' head coach, admitted that Montreal players used spearing, but claimed it was purely a defensive tactic "necessary to defend against an illegal play pattern used often by the Rangers." Blake said: "They like to skate into our zone against the defence and drop the puck for a teammate following right behind. Then they skate into our defenceman, blocking him out of the play illegally through interference. Our players have sometimes had to spear to fend off the interfering player and keep in play."^[1][3] Doug Harvey also admitted spearing, saying: "Sure, we will spear on occasion. We've got to when they run interference," and that he used it "only for defensive purposes."^[1][3][4]

Bathgate wrote of the offenders: "None of them seems to care that he'll be branded as a hockey killer."^[5] In response the NHL fined him for "comments definitely prejudicial to the league and the game."^[6] Speaking in 2010, Bathgate said: "We had an episode where fellas were spearing other players. So I wrote an article with Dave Anderson of The New York Times [sic] called 'Atrocities on Ice.' Red Sullivan, I saw him speared right in front of our bench and have his spleen punctured. It was getting out of hand. I wrote this article and got fined for it. I got fined $1,000—and I was only making $18,000 at the time—so you take that, plus the $1,000 we had to pay into our pension, that’s a lot of money out of your pocket. They changed the rule at the end of the year but they still didn't give me my $1,000 back. It burns my (butt) at times, but you have to stand up for it. Sometimes, you've got to speak up for the betterment of hockey because someone was going to get seriously hurt."^[7]

Post-retirement

Prior to his death, Bathgate owned and managed a 20-acre (81,000 m²) golf course while his Brother Frank owned a driving range just down the road both on Hwy 10 in Mississauga, Ontario. During the winters he helped coach his grandson's hockey team. He also stated that he is unlikely to play in any more old-timer's games, citing recent hip surgery. "Those old fellas get too serious. They'll start hooking you." ^[8]

The Rangers retired his #9 along with Harry Howell's #3 in a special ceremony before the February 22, 2009, match against the Maple Leafs. Bathgate joined Adam Graves, whose #9 had been hoisted to the Madison Square Garden rafters 19 nights earlier.^[9] Graves called Bathgate "the greatest Ranger to ever wear the #9".

Personal life

His grandson and namesake, Andy Bathgate, born February 26, 1991, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and currently plays for the Columbus Cottonmouths.^[10] Bathgate died at the age of 83 on February 26, 2016, in Brampton, Ontario. At the time of his death, he had Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.^[11][12]

Awards and achievements

• Memorial Cup championship (1952)
• Hart Memorial Trophy Winner (1959)
• NHL First All-Star Team right wing (1959 and 1962)
• NHL Second All-Star Team right wing (1958 and 1963)
• Stanley Cup championship (1964)
• Lester Patrick Cup (WHL) championships (1969 and 1970)
• WHL MVP (1970)
• Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978
• In 1998, he was ranked number 58 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players
• Selected to Manitoba's All-Century First All-Star Team
• “Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
• Inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1993
• Sweater #9 retired by the New York Rangers on February 22, 2009^[13]
• Ranked No. 8 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
• Inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.^[14]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1948–49	Winnipeg Black Hawks	MJHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1949–50	Guelph Biltmores	OHA-Jr.		41	21	25	46	28		15	6	9	15	12
1949–50	Guelph Biltmores	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		11	10	5	15	8
1950–51	Guelph Biltmores	OHA-Jr.		52	33	57	90	66		5	6	1	7	9
1951–52	Guelph Biltmores	OHA-Jr.		34	27	50	77	20		11	6	10	16	18
1951–52	Guelph Biltmores	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		12	8	12	20	21
1952–53	Guelph Biltmores	OHA-Jr.		2	2	1	3	0		—	—	—	—	—
1952–53	New York Rangers	NHL		18	0	1	1	6		—	—	—	—	—
1952–53	Vancouver Canucks	WHL		37	13	13	26	29		9	11	4	15	2
1953–54	New York Rangers	NHL		20	2	2	4	18		—	—	—	—	—
1953–54	Vancouver Canucks	WHL		17	12	10	22	6		—	—	—	—	—
1953–54	Cleveland Barons	AHL		36	13	19	32	44		9	3	5	8	8
1954–55	New York Rangers	NHL		70	20	20	40	37		—	—	—	—	—
1955–56	New York Rangers	NHL		70	19	47	66	59		5	1	2	3	2
1956–57	New York Rangers	NHL		70	27	50	77	60		5	2	0	2	27
1957–58	New York Rangers	NHL		65	30	48	78	42		6	5	3	8	6
1958–59	New York Rangers	NHL		70	40	48	88	48		—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	New York Rangers	NHL		70	26	48	74	28		—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	New York Rangers	NHL		70	29	48	77	22		—	—	—	—	—
1961–62	New York Rangers	NHL		70	28	56	84	44		6	1	2	3	4
1962–63	New York Rangers	NHL		70	35	46	81	54		—	—	—	—	—
1963–64	New York Rangers	NHL		56	16	43	59	26		—	—	—	—	—
1963–64	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		15	3	15	18	8		14	5	4	9	25
1964–65	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		55	16	29	45	34		6	1	0	1	6
1965–66	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		70	15	32	47	25		12	6	3	9	6
1966–67	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		60	8	23	31	24		—	—	—	—	—
1966–67	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL		6	4	6	10	7		—	—	—	—	—
1967–68	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		74	20	39	59	55		—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	Vancouver Canucks	WHL		71	37	36	73	44		8	3	5	8	5
1969–70	Vancouver Canucks	WHL		72	40	68	108	66		16	7	5	12	8
1970–71	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		76	15	29	44	34		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	HC Ambrì-Piotta	NDA		21	20	15	35	—		—	—	—	—	—
1974–75	Vancouver Blazers	WHA		11	1	6	7	2		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				1069	349	624	973	624		54	21	14	35	76

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Finish	Result
Vancouver Blazers	1973–74	59	21	37	1	(43)	5th in WHA West	Missed playoffs

See also

• Captain (ice hockey)
• Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

References

1. "Hockey's "Unchecked Brutality" Will Kill Claims Andy Bathgate". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa. December 10, 1959. p. 17.
2. "Dan Parker Says". The Gazette. Montreal. December 18, 1959. p. 27.
3. "Habs Admit Spearing But Only In Self Defense". The Gazette. Montreal. December 10, 1959. p. 25.
4. "Spear Carrier". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane. May 6, 1960. p. 19.
5. Klein, Jeff Z. (March 19, 2009). "Atrocities on Ice and the Good Old Days". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
6. "Editorial Notes And Comments". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa. December 28, 1959. p. 6.
7. "Mellon Arena memories: Andy Bathgate". Sitting Ringside. April 8, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
8. White, Nancy J. (October 16, 2007). "With good health, 'you've got everything'". Toronto Star. Toronto. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
9. David, Dan (February 22, 2009). "Bathgate, Howell come home to the rafters". rangers.nhl.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
10. "Andy Bathgate". Elite Prospects. 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
11. Goldstein, Richard (26 February 2016). "Andy Bathgate, Standout on Dismal 1950s Rangers, Dies at 83". New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
12. "HHOF Ranger Bathgate passes away at 83". TSN. February 26, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
13. Ziegel, Vic (February 22, 2009). "Ranger greats Andy Bathgate and Harry Howell go up to Garden rafters". Daily News. New York. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
14. "Andy Bathgate". Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. April 22, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2015.

External links

• Andy Bathgate's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Andy Bathgate's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Andy Bathgate's biography at Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
• Andy Bathgate’s biography at Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
• Anderson, Dave. "Two Rangers Sweaters Will Rise Where a Cup Banner Didn't," The New York Times, Sunday, February 22, 2009.