Below the text you'll see my favorite photo of Arnie Brown. We see Phil Goyette with blood running down his face, and Brown minus his jersey. Presumably, this photo was taken just after Arnie duked it out with whoever was responsible for Goyette's gash.
Arnie was my favorite Blueshirts' blueliner when I first became a fan of the New York Rangers. For the first four seasons of his spell with the Blueshirts he didn't provide much offense, but he played a rugged game along the boards and in front of the Rangers' net. His first full season in the NHL – 1964-65 – he picked up 145 PIM, in 58 regular season games. In 1965-66 – in 64 games – he had 106 PIM. After those first two truculent seasons, he didn't have to prove himself anymore.
For his first four seasons in New York, Brown was paired with Harry Howell. In 1968-69, Arnie was paired with rookie Brad Park. Unlike Howell, Park had no fear of making cross-ice passes in the opposition end – and Brown was the recipient of many of them. Arnie wound up scoring 10 goals in 1968-69 – more than he had scored in total (5) in the four seasons before. Not one of those goals was on the powerplay.
In 1969-70, Brown had 15 goals – 3 on the powerplay. Bobby Orr had 33 goals. Carol Vadnais, of the Oakland Seals, had 24 goals – but split his time between the wing and on the blueline. No other d-man had more goals.
During the 1970-71 season, Arnie was sent to the Detroit Red Wings, with Tom Miller and Mike Robitaille, for Bruce MacGregor and Larry Brown. Larry was bigger than Arnie, but was not nearly as physical. He never had more than 50 PIM in the NHL. He never scored more than two goals in an NHL season.
Arnie spent parts of two seasons in Detroit – during “the darkness that was Harkness” - then split the 1972-73 season between the New York Islanders and the Flames in Atlanta. He spent the 1973-74 season in Atlanta, before heading to the WHA for the 1974-75 season, which was split between the Michigan/Baltimore franchise, and the Vancouver Blazers. Then he hung
up his skates.
Arnie was my favorite Blueshirts' blueliner when I first became a fan of the New York Rangers. For the first four seasons of his spell with the Blueshirts he didn't provide much offense, but he played a rugged game along the boards and in front of the Rangers' net. His first full season in the NHL – 1964-65 – he picked up 145 PIM, in 58 regular season games. In 1965-66 – in 64 games – he had 106 PIM. After those first two truculent seasons, he didn't have to prove himself anymore.
For his first four seasons in New York, Brown was paired with Harry Howell. In 1968-69, Arnie was paired with rookie Brad Park. Unlike Howell, Park had no fear of making cross-ice passes in the opposition end – and Brown was the recipient of many of them. Arnie wound up scoring 10 goals in 1968-69 – more than he had scored in total (5) in the four seasons before. Not one of those goals was on the powerplay.
In 1969-70, Brown had 15 goals – 3 on the powerplay. Bobby Orr had 33 goals. Carol Vadnais, of the Oakland Seals, had 24 goals – but split his time between the wing and on the blueline. No other d-man had more goals.
During the 1970-71 season, Arnie was sent to the Detroit Red Wings, with Tom Miller and Mike Robitaille, for Bruce MacGregor and Larry Brown. Larry was bigger than Arnie, but was not nearly as physical. He never had more than 50 PIM in the NHL. He never scored more than two goals in an NHL season.
Arnie spent parts of two seasons in Detroit – during “the darkness that was Harkness” - then split the 1972-73 season between the New York Islanders and the Flames in Atlanta. He spent the 1973-74 season in Atlanta, before heading to the WHA for the 1974-75 season, which was split between the Michigan/Baltimore franchise, and the Vancouver Blazers. Then he hung
