Andy Bathgate

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size=180 px
played_for = New York Rangers
Toronto Maple Leafs
Detroit Red Wings
Pittsburgh Penguins
Ambrì-Piotta
Vancouver Blazers
league = NHL
position = Right Wing
shot = Right
height_ft = 6
height_in = 0
weight_lb = 175
nationality = CAN
birth_date = birth date and age|1932|08|28
birth_place = Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
career_start = 1952
career_end = 1975
halloffame = 1978 Andrew James Bathgate (born August 28, 1932 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League 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 holds the honor of being declared the MVP of both the NHL and WHL. He started his professional career with the Cleveland Barons of the 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 ten 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.

Andy 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, and after one season, he returned to the Canucks where he would help lead the team to 2 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. Andy 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 WHA, which he had coached the previous season, but retired for good after eleven games.

Andy 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 largest 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.

Post-retirement

Andy Bathgate currently owns and manages a 20-acre driving range in Mississauga, ON. During the winters he helps coach his grandson's hockey team. He has 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." cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com/article/267043|title=With good health, 'you've got everything'|work=Toronto Star|accessdate=2008-05-28]

On August 21, 2008, the Rangers announced that they would retire his #9 along with Harry Howell's #3 on February 22, 2009 before a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. That same month, they will also retire another #9, that of former Ranger Adam Graves.

Awards & achievements

*Memorial Cup Championship (1952)
*Hart Memorial Trophy Winner (1959)
*NHL First All-Star Team Right Wing (1959 & 1962)
*NHL Second All-Star Team Right Wing (1958 & 1963)
*Stanley Cup Championship (1964)
*Lester Patrick Cup (WHL) Championships (1969 & 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
*In 2008, the New York Rangers announced they would retire his number and hang his #9 from the rafters of Madison Square Garden

Career statistics

International play

ee also

*Captain (ice hockey)
*List of NHL seasons
*List of NHL players

References

External links

*Legendsmember|Player|P197801|Andy Bathgate
*hockeydb|241|Andy Bathgate
* [http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/honoured/players.html?category=7&id=2 Andy Bathgate's biography] at [http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/index.html Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.halloffame.mb.ca/honoured/1993/aBathgate.htm Andy Bathgate’s biography] at [http://www.halloffame.mb.ca/ Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum]