In the late 1960s, the New York Rangers were transformed from National Hockey League also-rans to Stanley Cup contenders. Gilles Villemure was part of that transformation. The little goaltender, who had a long wait to make it to the NHL because the league had six teams until after the middle of the decade, joined Eddie Giacomin to give the Rangers as strong a 1-2 goaltending tandem as there was in the league. The Vezina Trophy-winning twosome was a fixture on Ranger teams that threatened to end the franchise's long Stanley Cup drought, only to come up short. Now, 30 years later, Villemure writes about his days with the Rangers, telling stories about old pals like Rod Gilbert, Vic Hadfield, Brad Park, Jean Ratelle -- and his boss, Emile "The Cat" Francis. The Rangers finally won that Stanley Cup in 1994, ending over 50 years of frustration, but it was those Francis teams -- the ones with Villemure and Giacomin in goal -- that brought New York's Blueshirts, Madison Square Garden's finest, to the top of the NHL. Read what Gilles Villemure has to say about this wonderful team in his "Tales From The Ranger Locker Room.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Villemure, after a long road in junior hockey and the minor leagues that included brief visits to the NHL, he made the New York Rangers as Eddie Giacomin's backup.
Shalin is a sportswriter for the Boston Hearld.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A look back at the N.Y. Rangers of the 60's and 70's.,
By Anthony Accordino (Massapequa Park, New York United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Gilles Villemure's Tales from the Ranger Locker Room (Hardcover)
If you were a young man growing up in New York and you were a hockey fan, The NY Rangers of that era were easily the best team never to win a Stanley Cup. At any given time those teams were fortified with four or five future hall of famers, including, Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, Harry Howell, Brad Park and fast Eddie Giacomin in goal. Ranger back-up goalie Gilles Villemure has written an excellent look back at a team and a time, that will bring back many memories for Ranger fans. The entire cast of Ranger characters like Vic Hadfield, Emil Francis, Pete Stemkowski, Dale Rolfe, Rod seiling, Jim Neilson, Billy Fairbairn, Walter Tkaczuk, and Ted Irvine just to name a few are brought back to life with many tales and behind the scenes stories from the locker room. The book features an introduction from quite possibly the most popular Ranger in history Eddie Giacomin. Both Giacomin and Villemure won the vezina trophy in 1970-71 and they were considered by many in the hockey world as the best goaltending combination in the NHL. Even though they never won a Stanley Cup, this group of New York Rangers were without a doubt one of the best teams in their long 75 year history. If you are an oldtime fan like myself, I highly recommend this book.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must for Ranger fans,
By Brian Nugent (Long Island , NY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gilles Villemure's Tales from the Ranger Locker Room (Hardcover)
Attention all hockey fans! Yoa are going to love all the stories from the Ranger Teams of the early 70s as told by one of they're own Gilles Villemure.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must-have for all of those older Ranger fans!!!,
By
This review is from: Gilles Villemure's Tales from the Ranger Locker Room (Hardcover)
I concur with all the previously stated reviews. I was 13 years old in 1970, living on Long Island, and Gilles Villemure and Eddie Giacomin were my idols!! Imagine my suprise when my book arrived with Mr. Villemure's signature inside the front flap! I must also add that Villemure's mask, on the cover of the book, was the coolest goaltender's mask in hockey!! Thanks to Gilles and Mike Shalin for bringing back so many great memories.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
