Rangers' Stanley Cup parade among top hockey moments for Fischler

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday.
This week, Fischler celebrates his 90th birthday (March 31) by selecting 20 memorable hockey events he's witnessed.

1. MY FIRST HOCKEY GAME: This was in the Fall of 1939 and my dad had promised to take me to see the popular children's movie, "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs." But when we got out of the subway a downpour was flooding the streets and we didn't have an umbrella. The theater was five blocks away and we were standing right next to the old Madison Square Garden on Eighth Avenue and 50th Street. "We'll do 'Snow White' another time," dad said. "I'm taking you to a hockey game." To that I shot back, "What's hockey?" Dad explained, "You'll find out." I did -- and never stopped going after that!
2. THOSE WONDERFUL SUNDAY DOUBLEHEADERS: Back in the late 1930s and through the 1940s, Madison Square Garden featured Sunday afternoon doubleheaders. The first game, at 1:30 p.m., featured a Met League game with local skaters. At 3:30, the New York Rangers farm team, the Rovers, would play Eastern League teams such as the Boston Olympics, Philadelphia Falcons and Washington Lions. Each game had its own brand of excitement. The Rover games featured many players who'd go on to the NHL including Hall of Famers like Gump Worsley. Tickets were inexpensive and organist Gladys Goodding would hold an amateur hour between games. What a bargain that was.
3. MY FIRST NHL GAME: Since my parents were strict about my getting to bed early -- and Rangers games didn't start until 8:30 p.m. -- I had to wait until 1942 to attend my first NHL game. We had side balcony seats which meant we couldn't see the near boards but otherwise it was a thrilling night. The Chicago Black Hawks had the Bentley brothers, Max and Doug, future Hall of Famers who paced them to victory. The score didn't matter but seeing actual NHL hockey in person was a huge thrill.
4. BEST BIRTHDAY GIFTS: That same year (1942) my parents gifted me with a tiny Philco radio for my 10th birthday, along with a large scrapbook. Surprisingly the Philco was able to pick up broadcaster Foster Hewitt doing Saturday night play by play of Toronto Maple Leafs home games on station CBL-Toronto. With the scrapbook, I began 10 years of collecting clippings of hockey stories. I still have the scrapbooks and often use them for reference when I write articles and books.
5. WARTIME HOCKEY: In October 1942, several NHL players and minor pros enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard based in Baltimore. Led by Art Coulter, captain of the 1940 Stanley Cup champion Rangers, the Cutters played in the Eastern League. When they came to Madison Square Garden to play the Rovers, they brought some of the best hockey I've ever seen. The skating sailors had a 30-piece marching band and whenever the Cutters scored, they'd swing into "Semper Paratus" (Always Ready), the Coast Guard marching song. It was something to see and hear.
6. THE GREATEST COMEBACK: The Detroit Red Wings led the Maple Leafs 3-0 in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final. The favored Maple Leafs seemed finished. Then Toronto coach Hap Day benched leading scorer, Gordie Drillon and best defenseman Bucko McDonald. He replaced them with inexperienced skaters such as Don Metz, Ernie Dickens and Bob Goldham. Trailing in Game 4, the Maple Leafs rallied just in time and then reeled off three more wins to capture the Cup. No other team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final. That inspired me to become a Maple Leafs fan.
7. THE BIG BENTLEY TRADE: Coming off his team's 1947 Cup win, Maple Leafs boss Conn Smythe wanted more strength at center and Toronto traded for Black Hawks ace Max Bentley. To obtain Bentley, Toronto gave up an entire forward line -- Gaye Stewart, Bud Poile and Gus Bodnar -- along with two solid defensemen, Ernie Dickens and Bob Goldham. The addition of Bentley spurred the Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup three times in four seasons.
8, MY FIRST PLAYOFF: Since the Rangers missed the postseason for five straight seasons in the 1940s, I couldn't wait to finally see a playoff game. It finally happened in the spring of 1948 and was I ever thrilled! The Rangers played the Red Wings -- I rooted for New York -- but Detroit won the first-round series in six games. Symbolically, the curtain came down on the Rangers when Detroit's Jimmy McFadden beat New York's Phil Watson in a last-minute fight in Game 6.
9. THE FIRST BLACK PLAYERS: Although Willie O'Ree would break the NHL color barrier Jan. 18, 1958, a trio of minor leaguers became the first Black professional hockey players in New York in 1949. Brothers Herb and Ossie Carnegie, along with Manny McIntyre, comprised the first line for the Sherbrooke Saints of the Quebec Senior Hockey League. In those days, QSHL teams played an interlocking schedule with the Eastern Amateur Hockey League teams, including the Rovers. Herbie, Ossie and Manny were a sight to behold with their extraordinary passing and shooting.
10. THE NEAR MIRACLE OF 1950. Although the Rangers finished under .500 in the 1949-50 season, they upset the favored Montreal Canadiens in the opening playoff round. Denied use of Madison Square Garden in the Stanley Cup Final because the circus had priority, the Rangers played two "home" games in Toronto. Despite the extraordinary handicap, the Rangers still pushed the Red Wings to double overtime in Game 7 before a screened shot by Pete Babando ended the series in Detroit's favor.
11. NHL EXPANSION: Many of us were skeptical when the NHL ballooned from its "Original Six" in 1967 to a dozen teams. Expansion clubs included Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, California and Minnesota. Within six years the Philadelphia Flyers became the first expansion team to win the Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins in six games in 1974. So much for our skepticism.
12. A GUEST OF BOBBY ORR: Assigned to write a Sport magazine profile about Bobby Orr, I was driven by the Bruins defenseman in his convertible from Toronto to the Orr home in Parry Sound, Ontario. Between interviews, Orr took me for a ride in his motorboat to a tiny island in Georgian Bay. There we went skinny-dipping at midnight! From that visit, I had plenty of material for my best-selling book, "Bobby Orr and The Big, Bad, Bruins."
13. WHA BROADCASTS: In 1974-75 my wife Shirley and I broadcasted games for the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association. It was special to be the first husband and wife team to broadcast a game at Madison Square Garden, when the Whalers played the New York Raiders. The WHA work eventually led to my TV jobs covering the Rangers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils.
14. NO MORE 1940: Led by captain Mark Messier, the Rangers won their first Stanley Cup in 54 years, outlasting the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the 1994 Final in New York. A mammoth throng hailed the Rangers in a parade down Broadway's "Canyon of Heroes" two days later. I covered the parade for WABC-TV -- one of the most exciting reporting jobs of my career.
15.. A DEVILISH DEVELOPMENT: Amid rumors that they might move to Nashville, the Devils not only reached the Cup Final in 1995 but they swept the favored Red Wings in four games to win their first championship.
16. WELCOMING WILLIE AND HIS SURPRISE: Willie O'Ree and I had been pals for years when he visited my Manhattan apartment one day. Over coffee and doughnuts he told me something never before published, that he played his entire career with sight only in one eye. That he was able to succeed for two decades as a pro with this issue is as amazing as his trail-blazing NHL stint with the Bruins.
17. YELLOW SUNDAY IN EAST RUTHERFORD: One of my zaniest assignments took place on Mother's Day in 1988 when the Devils hosted the Bruins in a playoff game. NHL on-ice officials went on strike and were replaced by off-ice officials Jim Sullivan, Paul MacInnis and Vin Godleski. The substitutes wore yellow practice jerseys for part of the game. The Devils won the game, which was pockmarked by fights and arguments galore. But it sure was exciting!
18, MY LAST CUP COVERAGE: After working as a reporter for MSG Networks during the 2000 Stanley Cup Final, when the Devils defeated the Dallas Stars, I had one more crack at handling a Final. In 2003 I had the honor of working again for MSG when the Devils won their third Cup, this time defeating the Anaheim Ducks in seven games.
19. ME AND NHL.COM: After huddling a few years ago with editors at NHL,com it was agreed that I'd write a weekly feature with historic twists. Frankly, I wasn't so sure how it would be received but I guess I must have been doing something right 'cause here I am still pounding the computer. Thank you very much, pals at NHLcom. This kind of work has helped me reach age 90; and I'm still loving it!
20. MY FIRST JOB IN HOCKEY: Every so often I reflect on my first paid gig working in the publicity department of the Rangers, starting in September 1954. I remember thinking then that I had arrived in Hockey Heaven. Surprisingly, I'm still there!