Remembering My Very First Rangers Game

The Maven is turning "My First Rangers Game" into a regular weekly feature. The response to the original entry by Andrew Meier has produced some dandy new entrants.

This week's edition comes via multi-talented Alan Greenberg of Delray Beach, Florida.

Both a political and hockey author, Greenberg grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. In fact, he played roller hockey in the shadows of Ebbets Field, home of the iconic Brooklyn Dodgers.

Without further ado, I'll let Al tell you his Rangers tale that began at the old MSG which was located on Eighth Avenue between 49 and 50th Streets.

"My first 'live' Blueshirts game was November 10, 1954. Rangers vs. Toronto. After seeing a few games on black-and-white TV and enjoying the calls by play-by-play guy, Win Elliott, I decided it was time to be there in person. I was thirteen years old.

"I set out with three of my pals, Ira “Buddy” Jacobson, Aaron “Lightnin’” Schneider and Bruce Nissenbaum. I had been to the old Madison Square Garden before for the circus and basketball. As I quickly found out, hockey was special. The clean sheet of ice, the enthusiastic fans, Gladys (Two Ds) Goodding's organ music and most of all, the speed and grace of the game. No ads on the ice or boards. No helmets or goalie masks.

"With Gump Worsley in goal, the Rangers were edged by Toronto, 2-1. The Rangers featured Andy Bathgate, Dean Prentice, Harry Howell and Camille Henry but the real intriguing player was a rough, tough and very popular rookie defender named 'Leapin’ Lou Fontinato.

"Toronto had Vezina Trophy-winner and future Hall of Famer Harry Lumley in goal and its stars were defenseman Tim Horton as well as forwards Sid Smith and Ted Kennedy.

"For a few years in the late fifties there was no radio or television coverage of the Rangers. If you wanted real-time information you had to be at the game. The Garden capacity was 15,925 and it was rumored that it was the same 15,925 people for every game.

"The best bargain was the side balcony. For the fifty cents student price you had the best seat in the house, providing you were in the first two rows. Beyond that you didn’t have a full view of the ice. The protocol was that one guy got there early, ran up the long flights of stairs and reserved the first row in one section. But since It was hard to outsmart the regulars, we normally chose the end balcony which had reserved seating. One guy got there when the box office opened two hours before the game and bought tickets for all of us. Less than a buck with our school discount.

"We rendezvoused about 30 minutes before the start at Nedicks – the hot dog and orange drink joint in front of the Garden – and then went upstairs. In those days the pre-game warmup was fifteen minutes before and then they went right to the game. No ice resurfacing.

"Our post-game ritual was a snack at the Automat on 50th Street and then the D train back to Brooklyn.

"The Old Garden was a special place. Very noisy and with crowded corridors. Until they shifted to digital time clocks, it was baffling to try to figure the time remaining in a period or penalty.

'There were characters galore. There was a guy who would parade in during warm-ups wearing a leopard skin jacket and playing the trombone. For some reason we called him Pierre but I don’t think that was his name.

"Between periods there were 'Kick Hockey' games in the stairwells, using a crushed beer cup as a puck. Those games became aggressive and often lasted beyond the start of the next period.

"The Rangers Fan Club had a big banner in the End Arena where several members had season tickets. We took a weekend trip with the Fan Club during a January school break. First we took the train to Toronto for the Leafs and then Buffalo to see the Bisons, the Rangers AHL affiliate.

"For me, the Rangers craze started 70 years ago and it hasn't gone away!"