65 Years Ago Tonight — November 1, 1959

[bobbop]

Hockey changed forever. In a game against the Rangers at MSG III, Montreal Canadians goaltender (and future Ranger) Jacques Plante was badly cut by a shot by Andy Bathgate. Plante left the game for repairs and he refused to return unless his coach allowed him to wear his mask, which he had only worn in practices. He came back 20 minutes later wearing the mask. It was the first time an NHL goaltender wore a full face mask in a game and it changed goaltending and the game forever.

It was a historic night for another reason. For this almost eight year old budding fan, this night became my first and earliest definitive Ranger memory.

I was listening on my cherished transistor radio, just past bed time. I certainly didn’t grasp the importance of what was happening but I knew it was something big. I called downstairs to my Dad (a great Ranger fan) and he came running upstairs. He sat on the end of my bed as Plante reentered the game. I remember thinking this was good for the Rangers. I said to Dad, “the Rangers will win for sure”. My Dad said “don’t be so sure about that”.

Of course, I found out the next morning that the Rangers lost 3-1. I remember reading about Plante and his mask and how other goaltenders were thinking of joining him. I remember seeing the picture of Plante, his jersey soaked in blood. Unfortunately, I don’t remember much more about that season. It wasn’t a memorable year, the Rangers finished dead last. But the following season, the Rangers began televising Saturday night games and I was hooked forever.

I’ve lived in 11 states, had Ranger season tickets for 25 years without living within 75 miles of MSG and made many great friends in person and online following the Rangers. In 1994, I lived my dream of seeing the Rangers winning the Stanley Cup in person. As I’m fond of telling my wife, to this day I root for a lot of teams but only bleed for one team.

The New York Rangers.

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