September 15, 1976: The 1st Canada Cup

Left to right: Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, Bobby Clarke

September 15, 1976, 50 years ago: Canada defeats Czechoslovakia, 5-4 at the Montreal Forum, and wins the 1st Canada Cup, taking the Final, 2 games to none. Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs scores the winning goal, 11 minutes and 33 seconds into overtime. Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins, who wanted to sit it out because of his injured knees, but was talked into it with an appeal to patriotism, was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Unless you count the 1972 "Summit Series" between Canada and the Soviet Union -- in which Orr was too injured to play -- this was the 1st time hockey had had something resembling soccer's World Cup, with the best available players, both professional and amateur, eligible, something that Hockey Canada had been insisting upon.

Hockey Canada also put aside its pro-NHL bias, which led to WHA players like Bobby Hull, Gerry Cheevers and Bernie Parent being kept out of the '72 Summit Series and nearly blowing it for Canada, and included players signed to both leagues.

That was the theory, anyway. In reality, while Cheevers and Parent had both been welcomed back into the NHL, only Cheevers was selected. Parent, having helped the Philadelphia Flyers win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and '75, had been battling a neck injury in the 1975-76 season, although he did start the regular season in goal in Philadelphia. And the only player actually with a WHA team at the time was Hull, of the Winnipeg Jets.

In the round-robin games, Canada went 4-1, Czechoslovakia 3-1-1, the Soviet Union and Sweden both 2-2-1, the U.S. 1-3-1, and Finland 1-4. In addition to Montreal, games were played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the Ottawa Civic Centre, the Winnipeg Arena; and one American arena, The Spectrum in Philadelphia (naturally, tying in with the U.S. Bicentennial), hosted 2 games, both of them matches of the U.S. team.

The U.S. team included some familiar names: Rick Chartraw, who was with the Montreal Canadiens team that had just won the 1st of 4 straight Stanley Cups, and Bill Nyrop, the Captain, who won the 1st 3 of those Montreal Cups; Mike Milbury of the Boston Bruins' tough-guy "Lunch Pail Athletic Club"; Lee Fogolin of the Buffalo Sabres; Lou Nanne of the Minnesota North Stars, who would become better known as an executive; Robbie Ftorek of the Phoenix Roadrunners, the Boston area native who had famously become the 1st U.S. high school hockey player on the cover of Sports Illustrated; and Craig Patrick, part of hockey's greatest family, son of Lynn, grandson of Lester, grandnephew of Frank, and also better known as an executive, the GM of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team and the Pittsburgh Penguins' 1991 and '92 Stanley Cup winners.

The Soviet team included some '72 Summit Series holdovers, including goaltender Vladislav Tretiak, Captain Alexander Maltsev, and Valeri Vasiliev. But they were in a transition between the team that scared the hockey world in '72 and the one that would dominate the late 1970s and all through the '80s. And none of them played so much as a shift in the NHL, due to travel restrictions imposed by their country.

Also due to Warsaw Pact restrictions, most of the Czech players did not play in the NHL. The brothers Peter and Marián Šťastný played on the Czech team, as their native Slovakia was still part of the country. They, and their younger brother Anton, would play in the NHL, including together with the Quebec Nordiques. There was also Bohuslav Šťastný on the team, but he was not related to them, and was Czech rather than Slovak. František Kaberle played on the Czech team, and his sons František Kaberle Jr. and Tomáš Kaberle played in the NHL. However, despite the shared surname, Jiří Holík was not related to later NHL star Bobby Holik.

The Sweden team included Toronto Maple Leafs stars Börje Salming, and WHA Winnipeg Jets stars Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson and Lars-Erik Sjöberg. Although many players from Finland have done well in the NHL, only 1 member of their 1976 Canada Cup team played in the NHL: Tapio Levo, a defenseman who was with the Colorado Rockies in 1982 when they moved to become the New Jersey Devils.

The tournament is now called the World Cup of Hockey. Canada won the tournament in 1976, 1984, 1987, 1991, 2004 and 2016. The Soviet Union won it in 1981. The U.S. won it in 1996, after losing the Final to Canada in 1991. With 2016, it was set to be held every 4 years, in September, right before the start of the new season. The 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID epidemic. A bid to merely postpone the 2020 WCOH to 2021, rather than cancel it outright, failed, leaving the concept in limbo.

UPDATE: The 2024 edition was not held, either. Instead, a "4 Nations Face-Off" was held, with Canada beating the U.S. in the Final in Boston on February 20, 2025, after Sweden and Finland had been eliminated. An agreement has been reached to stage a WCOH in 2028.

The Mets' Entire Existence

Yesterday, the Yankees' win over the Mets, and the San Diego Padres' win over the San Francisco Giants, eliminated the Mets from the possibility that they could make the Playoffs in the 2026 Major League Baseball season, in spite of having the biggest payroll to start the season -- the 2nd-biggest as the season approaches its conclusion.

The Mets' entire existence is based on the fact that a bunch of whiny babies couldn't accept that New York still had one Major League Baseball team left after 1957, and it was better than either of the two that left.

In 1953, the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee. Their fans didn't give up watching baseball, they just switched to the Red Sox. In 1954, the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles. Their fans didn't give up watching baseball, they just switched to the Cardinals. In 1955, the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City. Their fans didn't give up watching baseball, they just switched to the Phillies.

But when the Giants and the Dodgers moved after the 1957 season, their fans acted like New York was without baseball. They decided they would rather give up baseball entirely rather than root for the Yankees. Then, offered the choice of either the Yankees or a brand-new expansion team that would stink for the first few years, they chose to stink. As if that gave them any moral high ground.

It didn't. The Mets exist solely to provide an alternative to the greatest franchise in the history of sports. Their entire existence is based on immaturity and stupidity.

And, in 2000, the Yankees made Met fans pay for that choice.

Citi Series Out of the Way, Now Let's Focus On What Really Matters

The bacteria that causes Legionnaire's disease was found in a cooling tower at Yankee Stadium last night. They say the place will be safe for occupancy for the start of tonight's series with the Minnesota Twins.

I don't know about this... This year alone, we've already had close to 100 people catch it in New York, and 12 die from it.

You let Met fans into your stadium, and...

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Anyway, Friday night was the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and it was appropriate that the Mets were the opponents on the weekend. A moving pregame ceremony was held at Yankee Stadium, with members of the 2001 Yankees and the 2001 Mets, and people connected with the losses of that day of treachery.

Carlos Rodón started for the Yankees, allowing 2 runs, only 1 earned, on 3 hits, 1 walk and 8 strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings. In contrast, Nolan McLean, the rookie that Met fans were saying is better than Cam Schlittler, got tagged for 5 runs in 5 innings. This included a 3-run home run from Cody Bellinger in the 2nd inning, and a leadoff homer by Ben Rice in the 5th.

The Mets threatened in the 9th, but, with considerable appropriateness, Juan Soto grounded into a double play to end it. Yankees 6, Mets 4.

At the same time, Rutgers lost to Boston College, 28-21. Not an especially bad loss, as was the one to UMass the week before. But, now, they're 0-2.

The Saturday afternoon game was bad. Gerrit Cole had nothing, giving up 5 runs, 3 of them home runs, and not getting out of the 5th inning. Tim Hill and Bradley Hanner were both worse. And Zac Thornton pitched well for the Mets. Bellinger and Spencer Jones each had 2 hits, but the rest of the Yankees combined only got 3. Mets 12, Yankees 2.

Yesterday's game was a splendid pitcher's duel. Schlittler went 6 innings, allowing just 1 hit, a double to Brett Baty in the 5th, and 2 walks, striking out 8. Rice homered again in the 1st, giving him 38 on the season. Admittedly, it was a short-porcher. Austin Wells hit one that was not, reaching the 2nd deck. Both were hit off Christian Scott. That was all the scoring: Yankees 2, Mets 0. Oh, yes: Soto struck out to lead off the 9th. He did hit one of the Saturday homers, though, and was booed throughout the weekend.

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So, now that the Citi Series (not a Subway Series) is over, we can focus on what really mattered. Here's where things stand. First, yesterday's loss by the Mets and the win by the San Diego Padres over the San Francisco Giants means the Mets are officially eliminated from the National League Playoff hunt.

In the American League Eastern Division, the Yankees trail the Tampa Bay Rays by 4 games with 15 games to go. Their Magic Number to clinch a Playoff berth is 1, meaning they can get it with a win over the Twins tonight.

The remaining games:

* Tonight, tomorrow night, and Wednesday afternoon: Away to the Minnesota Twins -- thus giving them time to get Yankee Stadium cleaned out.

* Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon: Away to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

* Day/night doubleheader on September 22, night games on September 23 and 24: Home to the Tampa Bay Rays. Hopefully, the Yankees will still be close enough for this to give them the chance to take the Division.

* Night games on September 25 and 26, and a day game on September 27: Home to the Baltimore Orioles.

The Rays have today off, then 3 at home to the Sacramento Athletics, then 3 at home to the Boston Red Sox, then a day off, then the 4 in The Bronx against us, and they close with 3 away to the Phillies. Beyond any question, even if you take out the 4 games between us, they have a tougher schedule.

We can still win the Division. And that would put us in the best possible position to win the whole thing.

Let's win the whole thing.

September 14, 1926: The King-Byng Affair

William Lyon Mackenzie King

September 14, 1926, 100 years ago: Canada holds a general election. It is won by the Liberal Party, which means that its Leader, former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, will be returned to the job. And that means that the people of Canada were sending a message to their "mother country," Great Britain: We may still be a part of your Empire, but we will decide our own fate.

Since "Confederation" gave Canada a partial independence in 1867, the nation's head of state had been the British monarch, represented in-country by a Governor-General; and the head of government had been the Prime Minister, the Leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons.

In 1921, Julian Byng, 1st Baron Byng of Vimy, was named Governor-General of Canada by King George V. Lord Byng had been the commanding officer of the Canadian Corps at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in Vimy, France during World War I. As a result, he was called Canada's greatest military hero, and he replaced the Duke of Devonshire as Governor-General.

Julian Byng

The titles of the outgoing and incoming Governors-General was not unusual: From 1867 to 1952, the Governors-General included 2 Dukes, 6 Earls, 2 Lords who went on to become Earls after their fathers died, 3 Marquesses, 2 Viscounts, and 2 Barons.

Among them were the donors of the trophies for the championships of ice hockey and Canadian football, respectively: Frederick Stanley, who had to resign as Governor-General because his father had died, and passed to him the title of Earl of Derby; and Albert Grey, the 4th Earl Grey, grandson of Charles Grey, for whom Earl Grey tea was named.

In 1920, Robert Borden, who had been Prime Minister through World War I, retired, and handed the office off to Arthur Meighen. But in the next election, in 1921, his Conservative Party lost to the Liberal Party, and Mackenzie King -- usually referred to by his 3rd and 4th names, not by all 4 -- became the new Prime Minister. On October 29, 1925, Meighen returned to power with a coalition government, as he took the Tories to a lead in the Commons, but not a majority.

Arthur Meighen

King, however, thought he could retake the government by peeling off some members of the coalition. He combined the Liberal and Progressive caucuses to gain a plurality, and hung on to power. But the following year, due to a scandal that didn't involve King himself, the coalition fell apart.

King turned to Lord Byng, and asked him to exercise his power and dissolve Parliament, so that a new election could be called. Byng refused, citing the will of the people that had given Meighen the lead in the most recent election, and the right to form his coalition. On June 29, 1926, Byng asked Meighen to form a government, and he did.

Because of the possibility of losing a vote in the Commons, Meighen advised Byng to appoint the ministers of the Crown in an "acting" capacity only, to avoid triggering the automatic by-elections Ministers faced when accepting their appointments at the time. King used the technique to mock the government, and to further his accusation that Meighen had acted irresponsibly by accepting Byng's appointment, attracting Progressive support to take down the fledgling government. The government lost a motion regarding the "acting" Ministers by one vote, only 3 days after Meighen's appointment. With no other parliamentary leader to call upon, Byng called a new election for September 14.

King effectively campaigned against Byng, instead of against Meighen, and won the most seats in the House of Commons, although his party won a smaller proportion of the popular vote than the Conservatives. However, this was largely because the Liberals did not run candidates in all ridings, and had an informal electoral pact with the Progressives and Liberal-Progressives. In particular, the election results in the Province of Manitoba had the Conservatives capture almost 40 percent of the vote, twice the vote share of any other party, but not finishing 1st in a single riding, so they won no seats. Thus, King's Liberals were able to govern.

It became known as "The King-Byng Affair," and Byng returned to Britain at the end of the year. He was raised to the rank of Viscount. Meighen resigned as Conservative Leader. He ended up being knighted for his service to the British Empire. He was the last Prime Minister of Canada who saw himself as being a member of the British Empire, and so he was the last Prime Minister of Canada to be knighted as a result. He became Sir Arthur Meighen, despite the fact that his 1st government lasted 527 days, and his 2nd government lasted 89 days.

The incoming Prime Minister had not only defeated his predecessor: He had, for all intents and purposes, forced the Governor-General to resign, showing the Crown that Canada was its own nation, with its own government, speaking for its own people. Since 1926, no Governor-General of Canada, and no monarch of Great Britain, has tried to impose his or her will on the Prime Minister. All of which makes it weirder that the Prime Minister would be named "King."

With the Great Depression having started, Mackenzie King would lose the 1930 election, to a Conservative Party now led by Richard B. Bennett. But Bennett could not get Canada out of the Depression, and held off calling a new election for as long as he constitutionally could, finally standing for one in 1935. King and the Liberals won it.

Canada entered World War II along with Britain in 1939. Despite this, an election was held on time in 1940, and the Liberals slightly increased their majority. Another was held on time in 1945 -- between V-E Day and V-J Day, as it turned out, just as Britain's was -- and the Liberals lost seats, but hung on to enough seats to keep their majority. King retired in 1948, as Canada's longest-serving Prime Minister.

Julian Byng died in 1935, Mackenzie King in 1950, Arthur Meighen in 1960. Today, when Lord Byng is remembered, it is mainly as the husband of Evelyn Byng. During her time in Canada, she became a fan of the sport of ice hockey, and the Byngs attended Ottawa Senators games together in the nation's capital.

Evelyn Byng

In 1925, Evelyn donated the Lady Byng Trophy, to be awarded to "the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability." After her death in 1949, the NHL changed the trophy's name to the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.

The process of Canada becoming self-governing was further affirmed in 1982, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Queen Elizabeth II signed the Constitution Act, "repatriating" Canada's Constitution, meaning that Canada can amend the document as it sees fit, without getting the permission of Britain's Parliament. The British monarch remains Canada's head of state, but has little say over Canada's governance.

In 1952, right after becoming Queen of the United Kingdom, and thus also the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II had to appoint a new Governor-General of Canada. She chose Vincent Massey. He had the diplomatic credentials, but he was not of noble birth, the 1st Governor-General for whom this was true. Indeed, from Massey onward, no Governor-General of Canada has even received a knighthood.

In 1959, upon Massey's retirement, Queen Elizabeth appointed Georges Vanier, the 1st Francophone Governor-General. The Vanier Cup, the championship of Canadian college football, is named for him. In 1984, the Queen appointed Jeanne Sauvé, who became not only the 1st female Governor-General, but also the 1st lifelong civilian.

In 1999, the Queen appointed Adrienne Clarkson, who is of Chinese descent, making her the 1st nonwhite Governor-General. Given the strong Asian presence in Canada, especially in the West, it is not surprising that the country had an Asian head of state before it had a black one. It is also not surprising that the 1st black head of state was a Francophone: In 2005, following Clarkson's retirement, the Queen appointed Michaëlle Jean, who was born in Haiti.

In 2021, the Queen appointed Mary Simon, who is Inuk on her mother's side, making her the 1st Governor-General of Indigenous descent. She was the last of the 13 appointed by Queen Elizabeth. All previous British monarchs had appointed 17.

As of September 14, 2026, 5 of the last 6 Governors-General have been women, including the incumbent, Louise Arbour, a former United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights.

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September 14, 1926 was a Tuesday. Dick Dale, the lefthanded guitarist whose instrumentals helped launch "surf rock," was born on this day. 

September 13, 1996: The Death of Tupac Shakur

September 13, 1996, 30 years ago: Tupac Shakur dies, 6 days after being shot in Las Vegas. The rapper and actor was 25 years old, but had already built a career that still has hip-hop fans hailing him as one of the best and most influential rappers of all time.

Lesane Parish Crooks was born on June 16, 1971 in East Harlem. His mother, Afeni Shakur, "wanted him to have the name of revolutionary, indigenous people in the world. I wanted him to know he was part of a world culture, and not just from a neighborhood." So, when he was one year old, she renamed him Tupac Amaru Shakur, after a Tupac Amaru II, a descendant of the last ruler of the Incas, executed in Peru in 1781, after his failed revolt against Spanish rule.

Both of his parents had been members of the Black Panther Party. His godmother, JoAnne Chesimard, a.k.a. Assata Shakur, was convicted for her role in the murder of a New Jersey State Trooper in 1973, escaped from prison, and fled to Cuba.

In 1984, Afeni and Tupac moved to Baltimore. At the Baltimore School for the Arts, he studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet, and became friends with Jada Pinkett. Later to become an actress, Jada has called Tupac the love of her life. This became one of the complications in her marriage to rapper-actor Will Smith.

In 1988, the Shakurs moved to Marin City, California. Marin County, north of San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge, is mostly wealthy. Marin City is at the other end of the economic spectrum. Tupac did not graduate from high school, although he later got his GED. But he "graduated" to stardom in the West Coast hip hop scene, with his 1991 album 2Pacalypse Now, after briefly being with the Oakland-based group Digital Underground.

That would be the 1st of 4 albums released his lifetime, along with Strictly 4 My N.I.G.A.A.Z... in 1993, Me Against the World in 1995, and the 1st double-length album in hip-hop history, All Eyez on Me, in 1996. Like many other rappers, he got into acting, and had more success than most, including co-starring with Janet Jackson in the 1993 film Poetic Justice. Most of his roles were similar to his image, as an introspective but tough guy.

But Tupac was no saint. In 1993, he was arrested in Atlanta for shooting 2 off-duty police officers, who were charged with making false statements. All charges ended up being dropped. In 1994, he was convicted of 2 counts of first-degree sexual abuse, although he was acquitted of several other charges. He was sentenced to 18 months to 4 1/2 years in prison, and ended up serving 8 months at New York's Riker's Island.

In 1993, Tupac became friends with Christopher Wallace, the Brooklyn-based rapper who called himself The Notorious B.I.G. and Biggie Smalls. (Tupac also had multiple identities, including 2Pac and Makaveli.) It appears that Tupac was the man who told Biggie that Sean Combs -- at the time, known as Puff Daddy -- would make him a star. Which happened.

On November 30, 1994, while in New York recording verses for a mixtape of Ron G, Tupac was shot in the studio's lobby. He recovered at the home of actress Jasmine Guy, who became his friend after he appeared on the sitcom A Different World.

 The relationship between Tupac and Biggie had deteriorated. Biggie recorded a song titled "Who Shot Ya?" As rappers frequently do, Tupac recorded an answer song, "Hit 'Em Up." Not only did it accuse Biggie and his people of knowing who the shooter was, but included the line, "You claim to be a player, but I fucked your wife!" It was an insinuation that Tupac had had sex with singer Faith Evans, whom Biggie had married. The video was devastating, as Tupac delivered the line to a Biggie lookalike, complete with "pimp cane," who just nodded his head at the accusation. Only 2 people have ever known whether it was true: Tupac, who said it, and never changed his story; and Faith, who has always denied it.

And so the feud -- really, a sub-feud within the East Coast vs. West Coast rap rivalry -- between Biggie and Tupac became the nastiest feud in music history. (Salieri didn't actually have anything to do with the death of Mozart.) If there were ever "peace talks," the general public wasn't aware of them.

On September 7, 1996, Tupac was in Las Vegas, with his boss, Death Row Records CEO Marion "Suge" Knight, to see the Heavyweight Championship fight between Mike Tyson, a longtime friend of Tupac's, and British boxer Bruce Seldon. It didn't last long: Seldon was the current champ, but former champ Tyson knocked him out in the 1st round.

This fight was at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, a new 17,000-seat arena at the MGM Grand Las Vegas casino-hotel. Afterward, in the hotel's lobby -- apparently, Tupac hadn't learned to stay out of lobbies -- someone in their group saw Orlando Anderson, a member of the Crips gang in Compton, California, known as "Baby Lane." That someone had a beef with Anderson, and assaulted him.

Tupac soon stopped by his hotel room, and then headed with Knight to his Death Row nightclub, Club 662, in a black BMW 750iL sedan, part of a larger convoy. At about 11:15 PM, at a traffic light on Las Vegas Boulevard, a white, 4-door, late-model Cadillac sedan pulled up to the passenger side, and an occupant rapidly fired into the car. Tupac was hit 4 times: Once in the arm, once in the thigh, and twice in the chest. Knight was not hit, but was cut by shards of glass.

Tupac was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, and was put on life support. He died 6 days later, at 4:03 PM on September 13. He was 25 years old. He was cremated the next day.

Did Anderson, or somebody working for him, do it? Las Vegas police interviewed him once, and did not arrest him. He later died in an unrelated shooting. Some of Tupac's associates have suggested that Biggie, Diddy, and their people were involved. Biggie had an airtight alibi, but that doesn't mean that someone didn't do it on his behalf -- or without his order. Still, it doesn't fit with Biggie's personality: Maybe someone working for him did it, but he wouldn't have sanctioned it.

Six months later, Biggie was shot and killed on a visit to Los Angeles. Tupac's people have been implicated, but, as with Tupac's own murder, there has never been enough evidence found to bring an indictment. Officially, both murders remain unsolved.

Like some other performers, including Jimi Hendrix, several albums of material have been released under Tupac's name since his death. Also like Hendrix, his fans have gobbled them up, only to realize that there was a reason why the performer didn't release the material while they lived: The performers, themselves, didn't think it was worthy, and it showed.

As with Elvis Presley and Doors lead singer Jim Morrison, there are people who believe that Tupac's death was faked, and that he is still alive. It gets weirder than that: I was listening to the radio late one night, around 2002 or so, and I heard a man calling up the station, saying, "Tupac is talking to me, man." The host assured the caller that Tupac was dead. The caller seemed to understand that, but said that Tupac was talking to him from beyond the grave.

In 2017, in his 1st year of eligibility, Tupac was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

UPDATE: On September 29, 2023, Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a member of the Compton Crips gang, was arrested for ordering Tupac's murder. On August 31, 2026, he was convicted in Las Vegas. That would seem to solve the case. He has also been linked to Biggie's murder, but, officially, that remains unsolved.

September 13, 1926: Emile Francis Is Born

In the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Gil Hodges managed the Mets. Wilbur "Weeb" Ewbank coached the Jets. and William "Red" Holzman coached the Knicks. These men received everything they needed to win a World Championship, including a little bit of luck.

Emile Francis was the biggest man in New York hockey at the time. He had everything he needed -- except a little more luck.

Emile Percival Francis was born on September 13, 1926 is born in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. He tended goal in professional hockey from 1943 to 1960, including in the National Hockey League from 1947 to 1952. With the Chicago Black Hawks in 1948, he designed an improved goaltender's glove, based on a baseball catcher's mitt. He was a member of the New York Rangers team that reached the 1950 Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Detroit Red Wings in 7 games. If that had been the extent of his contribution to the game, that would be enough to remember him.

After retiring as a player, "the Cat" went straight into coaching, and was named the Rangers' general manager in 1964, naming himself head coach in 1965. He built a team that included Eddie Giacomin in goal; defensemen Brad Park, Gary Doak, Dale Rolfe, Jim Neilson, Rod Seiling and Ab DeMarco; left wings Vic Hadfield, Glad Sather and Dave Balon; centers Jean Ratelle, Phil Goyette, Bobby Rousseau, Pete Stemkowski and Walt Tkaczuk; and right wings Rod Gilbert and Ron Stewart.

Gilbert remains the Rangers' all-time leading scorer. He, Ratelle and team Captain Hadfield formed "The GAG Line," short for "Goal-A-Game." All three of them, plus Park and Seiling, would be named to the "Team Canada" for the 1972 "Summit Series" with the Soviet Union. Gilbert, Ratelle, Park and Giacomin would join Francis in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

This team was good, and good enough to not play dirty. There were no thugs on the roster. Later goons like Nick Fotiu, Tie Domi and Ulf Samuelsson would have had no place on it.

On January 12, 1969, the Jets won Super Bowl III. On October 16, 1969, the Mets won the World Series. On May 8, 1970, and again on May 10, 1973, the Knicks won the NBA Championship. The pieces for the Rangers seemed to be in place: A smart builder, a strong and deep team, and a new Madison Square Garden with a passionate fan base to support them.

But it just didn't happen. There were too many other good teams at the time. In 1968, the 1st season of "The New Garden," the Rangers reached the Quarterfinals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but lost to the Black Hawks of Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito. In 1969, they got to the Quarterfinals again, but lost to the Montreal Canadiens of Jean Béliveau, Henri Richard and Yvan Cournoyer, who went on to win the Cup. In 1970, again, they got to the Quarterfinals, but were beaten by the Boston Bruins of Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, Tony's brother, who went on to win the Cup.

In 1971, they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Quarterfinals, the franchise's 1st Playoff series win in 21 years. They faced the Black Hawks, and in Game 6 at The Garden, Stemkowski scored in the 3rd overtime to win it. It became the franchise's "Where were you?" moment. But they lost Game 7 in Chicago.

In 1972, it looked like it was all coming together: They beat the defending Champion Canadiens in the Quarterfinals, then swept the Black Hawks in 4 straight in the Semifinals. But the Bruins were back, and were just too strong for them. Nobody spoke of a "curse" on the Rangers, and there was no great moment of calamity: Francis' Broadway Blueshirts were simply beaten by a better, stronger, more experienced team.

In 1973, the Rangers beat the Bruins in the Quarterfinals, and hope rose that this could be it. But they lost to the Black Hawks in the Semifinals. This was the 1st season for the expansion team in the suburbs of Long Island, the New York Islanders. In 1974, the Rangers beat the Canadiens in the Quarterfinals, as they were in a transition between the Béliveau-Richard years and the Guy Lafleur years, and goalie Ken Dryden took a year off to finish law school. But the Philadelphia Flyers were on the rise, and beat the Rangers in the Semifinals, then won the Cup by beating the Bruins.

In 1975, the 3rd-year Islanders shocked the Rangers in the 1st round of the expanded Playoffs. Suddenly, there was a new "team of the future," and the Rangers looked like a team of the past. Francis' transactions seemed to take on an air of desperation, a "The future is now" idea. His waiving of Giacomin to make room for the prospect John Davidson was right in the long term, but the public relations of it, and of the subsequent trade of Ratelle and Park to the Bruins for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais, earned himthe wrath of Ranger fans. It's been suggested that the change of Ranger fans from "the classiest fans in hockey" to the boors of "the Blue Seats" began at this time.

Francis was fired as head coach in late 1975, and as GM in early 1976. He later served as head coach and GM of the St. Louis Blues, helping find new owners that saved the team (Ralston Purina, who briefly had the St. Louis Arena renamed the Checkerdome); and of the Hartford Whalers.

He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and died on February 19, 2022, at the age of 95. Apparently, he and the Rangers made up, because they annually present the Emile Francis Award to a notable supporter of youth hockey. The Emile Francis Trophy is presented by the American Hockey League to the winner of its Atlantic Division.

His son, Bobby Francis, won the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year with the 2002 Phoenix Coyotes. (Established for the 1973-74 season, Emile never won it.)

Emile Francis will never be as well-remembered in New York sports as Gil Hodges, Weeb Ewbank or Red Holzman -- or Billy Martin or Joe Torre, or Bill Parcells. He might be better-remembered than Mike Keenan, who walked out on the Rangers right after they finally won the Cup in 1994. He should be remembered as a man who gave everything had to build a hockey winner in New York.

While Emile Francis was their boss, the New York Rangers were good, if not quite good enough. Certainly, there was no reason to say they "sucked."

September 12, 1976: A Hit for Minnie Miñoso -- at Age 53

September 12, 1976: The Chicago White Sox sweep a doubleheader from the California Angels at Comiskey Park, 2-1 and 5-1.

In the 10th inning of the opener, Sid Monge walked future Yankee Jim Spencer, and gave up a game-winning double to Brian Downing, making a winning pitcher out of future Yankee Rich "Goose" Gossage.

Minnie Miñoso, age 53, batted 9th as the designated hitter, and went 1-for-3, singling off Monge in the 2nd inning. He got the 2nd game off. A longtime player for the White Sox, he was coaching for them, and team owner Bill Veeck, seeing yet another opportunity to perk up publicity for his team, activated him. At the time, Miñoso was believed to be the oldest player ever to get a hit in a major league game.

This is because Charlie O'Leary, another coach briefly reactivated for a late-season game, in his case in 1934, was believed to have been born in 1882, so Miñoso got credit for breaking his record. Later, it was discovered that O'Leary was born in 1875, so he was just short of turning 59. So, while Miñoso's achievement was remarkable, it was not unprecedented.

In 1980, Veeck sent him up to bat again, making him a 5-decade player (1940s to 1980s), but he did not get a hit. So O'Leary remains the oldest player to come to bat, the oldest to get a hit, and the oldest to score a run.

Mexican lefthander Francisco Barrios went the distance for the win in the 2nd game. But his career would end tragically: In 1981, while still an active player, he injured his elbow, then, during the strike that season, he was arrested for cocaine possession in a Chicago bar owned by Chicago Bears player Doug Buffone.

He entered a rehab program, but the White Sox released him before the season ended. He signed with a team in the Mexican Pacific League, and pitched for them in 1982. The Milwaukee Brewers were interested in him. But he died of a heart attack, probably brought on by cocaine use. He was 28 years old.

September 12, 1976 was also the opening Sunday of an NFL season. Two new expansion teams made their regular-season debuts. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Houston Oilers, 20-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. And the Seattle Seahawks lost to the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 30-24 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

The following week, the Buccaneers lost their 1st home game, 23-0 to the San Diego Chargers at Tampa Stadium. The Seahawks lost their 1st 5 games, before beating the Buccaneers in Tampa on October 17. They finished 2-12. The Bucs were worse: They went 0-14, and their drought stretched to 0-26 the next season, before finally beating the New Orleans Saints on December 11, 1977.