The late, great Andy Bathgate was a Rangers legend, Stanley Cup champion and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was known for playing the game clean in an era where hockey was a violent sport and his blistering shot. It was one shot that Bathgate took in particular that would change the game of hockey forever.
In the 1950’s, the New York Rangers were a basement team. Other teams would look at the schedule and write games against the Rangers off as a win. Bathgate however was the standout on the Rangers. Bathgate was an eight time all star and knew how to put the puck in the net. “Bathgate was our star, our premiere player, our marquee attraction, and deservedly so,” said his close friend and former teammate Harry Howell.
Bathgate would top the 80-point mark three times in his career and the 70-point mark four times. Not easy accomplishments in an era where every time you drove to the net you had to worry about getting speared or slashed, something Bathgate spoke out against. Bathgate would also score 40 goals in the 1958-59 season and win the Hart Trophy as the leagues most valuable player. Later on in his career he would win the Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1964-65 season.
All of Bathgate’s accomplishments however, have been overshadowed by one play. One game.
On November 1, 1959, Andy Bathgate would change the face of the game with his shot. The Rangers were playing the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden and Andy Bathgate struck goaltender Jacques Plante in the face with a shot that left him cut and bloodied. “It was deliberate on my part for what he did to me,” said Bathgate.
Earlier in the game Bathgate was chasing a puck down into the corner of Montreal’s zone. Plante had stuck his stick out and caught Bathgate’s skate sending him flying into the boards headfirst. Keep in mind; players did not wear helmets either at this time. “He could have ended my career,” said Bathgate. “I was just giving him a little love tap.”
Bathgate escaped any serious injury and returned to the locker room with just cuts on his ear and face.
Later in the game, the puck would wind up on the stick of Bathgate. Bathgate, known for his accurate and booming slapshot knew exactly what he was going to do. “Plante’s head was sticking out there just like a chicken, just so he could see what was going on,” said Bathgate. Bathgate took a high shot, and the puck struck Plante in the face right below the eye. Plante crumpled to the ice cut and bloodied.
"It was actually a wrist shot," Said Bathgate. "It wasn't a hard shot, but I tried to give it to him the same as me and I guess I caught him. It was a shot with feeling in it. It wasn't a blast and I wasn't trying to score because the angle was really bad.” Plante returned to the locker room where he was stitched up quickly in so that the Canadiens would not have to use the house goalie.
Plante would return to the game and step out onto the ice wearing a mask that looked like something out of a horror movie. Goaltenders in that era were often discouraged by coaches, and some forbidden from wearing masks as coaches felt that it would hinder their peripheral vision. When Plante stepped out onto the ice wearing a mask, it was big deal. It changed the game.
The crowd, Montreal teammates, the Rangers and even Bathgate were surprised he wore the mask in a game. “When he came out with the mask on, we were surprised that he'd gone that far," said Bathgate. "He was very innovative when it came to goaltending, so it wasn't surprising he'd be the one to try it. We had heard he had one, but we were surprised it covered his whole face."
In today’s game, some players can shoot the puck over 100mph. A 6 oz. piece of vulcanized rubber hitting someone in the head at that speed is more than enough to kill them, so it is hard to imagine any person in their right mind to step into the crease without a mask today. Jacque Plante may have been the one to wear the legendary mask that revolutionized goaltending, but Bathgate took the shot that changed the game.
