John Ferguson, Sr.

John Ferguson, Sr.
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 178 lb (81 kg)
Teams	Montreal Canadiens
Nationality	Canadian
Born	September 5, 1938, Vancouver, BC, CAN
Died	July 14, 2007, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Pro Career	1959 – 1971

John Bowie Ferguson Sr. (September 5, 1938 - July 14, 2007) was a professional player. Ferguson played as a left winger for the Montreal Canadiens from 1963 to 1971.

Early Years

Ferguson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on September 5, 1938.

Playing Career

Ferguson played his junior hockey in Western Canada, with the Melville Millionaires of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in 1956–57 to 1958–59. In 1959–60, he was playing professionslly with the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League. In 1960, he moved to the American Hockey League and the Cleveland Barons.

The New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens both wanted Ferguson in 1963. The Barons' owner asked John which one he wanted to go to. Ferguson wanted the Canadiens because the Rangers had not given him a chance earlier in his career.

The Canadiens badly needed an enforcer to protect their smaller forwards. Lou Fontinato, who had done the job for the Canadiens in 1962-63, had suffered a career-ending injury. Also Dickie Moore, a left winger, had retired.

Merely twelve seconds into his first NHL game in the 1963-64 NHL season, he was in a fight with Ted Green of the Boston Bruins; Ferguson won the fight and established a reputation - as a tough fighter - that he never lost.

Ferguson was also an offensive threat. Playing on a line with Beliveau, Ferguson led all NHL rookies in scoring in his first season and finished as runner-up for Calder Trophy in 1963–64. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound left-winger also scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1969, during a season that saw him score a career-high 29 goals with a plus-30 rating. In 85 post-season games, he scored 20 goals and added 18 assists. During his playing career, he won the Stanley Cup five times: in the years 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, and 1971, and always earned more than 100 penalty minutes in a regular season.

Ferguson retired in 1971, the same time as his linemate Jean Beliveau.

Ferguson leaving the Forum in 1971.

Post-playing Career

In 1972, he became the assistant coach of Team Canada who beat the Soviet team in the Summit Series.

In the years to follow, he became the head coach and later general manager of the New York Rangers. He was fired from that job in 1978, at which time he became the General Manager of the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association and, starting in 1979, the National Hockey League. He worked for the Ottawa Senators in the early 1990s and was a Special Consultant to the General Manager of the San Jose Sharks.

Misc

Upon the closing of the Boston Garden he received one of the penalty boxes from the arena, former Boston Bruins enforcer Terry O'Reilly received the other.

Later Years and Death

Ferguson lived in Windsor, Ontario in his later years to be close to horses. He served as GM for the Windsor Raceway in 1988.

In September 2005, Ferguson was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He died on July 14, 2007. Ferguson was survived by his wife Joan and children John (former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs), Catherine, Chris and Joanne.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1956–57	Melville Millionaires	SJHL		51	11	17	28	49		—	—	—	—	—
1957–58	Melville Millionaires	SJHL		50	14	30	44	100		—	—	—	—	—
1958–59	Melville Millionaires	SJHL		44	32	34	66	83		—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Fort Wayne Komets	IHL		68	32	33	65	126		13	1	1	2	17
1960–61	Cleveland Barons	AHL		62	13	21	34	126		—	—	—	—	—
1961–62	Cleveland Barons	AHL		70	20	21	41	146		6	2	2	4	6
1962–63	Cleveland Barons	AHL		72	38	40	78	179		7	3	3	6	17
1963–64	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		59	18	27	45	125		7	0	1	1	25
1964–65	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		69	17	27	44	156		13	3	1	4	28
1965–66	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		65	11	14	25	153		10	2	0	2	44
1966–67	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		67	20	22	42	177		10	4	2	6	22
1967–68	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		61	15	18	33	117		13	3	5	8	25
1968–69	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		71	29	23	52	185		14	4	3	7	80
1969–70	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		48	19	13	32	139		—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		60	16	14	30	162		18	4	6	10	36
AHL totals				204	71	82	153	451		13	5	5	10	23
NHL totals				500	145	158	303	1214		85	20	18	38	260

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Division rank	Result
NYR	1975–76	41	14	22	5	(67)	4th in Patrick	Missed Playoffs
NYR	1976–77	80	29	37	14	72	4th in Patrick	Missed Playoffs
WPG	1985–86	14	7	6	1	(59)	3rd in Smythe	Lost in First round
Total		135	50	65	20	120

Gallery

Ferguson's first two NHL goals on October 8, 1963.

External Links

• John Ferguson, Sr.'s career stats at The Internet Hockey Database