Andy Bathgate

Andy Bathgate
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg)
Teams	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
Nationality	Canada
Born	August 28,1932, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Pro Career	1952 – 1975
Hall of Fame, 1978

Andrew James Bathgate (born August 28, 1932 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) is a retired Canadian professional right wing 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 won 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

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 nineteen nights earlier.

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 List of 100 greatest hockey players by The Hockey News
• 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

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1949–50	Guelph Biltmores	OHA		41	21	25	46	28		15	6	9	15	12
1950–51	Guelph Biltmores	OHA		52	37	53	90	66		5	6	1	7	9
1951–52	Guelph Biltmores	OHA		34	27	50	77	20		11	6	10	16	18
1952–53	Guelph Biltmores	OHA		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
1974–75	Vancouver Blazers	WHA		11	1	6	7	2
OHA totals				129	83	133	216	114		31	18	20	38	39
WHL totals				197	102	127	229	145		33	21	14	35	15
NHL totals				1069	349	624	973	624		54	21	14	35	76

Sporting positions
Preceded by George Sullivan	New York Rangers captains 1961-64	Succeeded by Camille Henry
Awards
Preceded by Gordie Howe	Winner of the Hart Trophy 1959	Succeeded by Gordie Howe
Preceded by John Hanna	Winner of the George Leader Cup 1969-70	Succeeded by Art Jones