1965-66 Topps 44 Bill Gadsby Hockey Card (Front)
1965-66 Topps 44 Bill Gadsby Hockey Card (Back)
Card Notes
Bill had 15 years in NHL with Chicago and New York when Rangers traded him away as too old. Now enters 20th year, tying NHL record.
Whom did Wings give up for Gadsby?
En Français
Bill etait depuis quinze ans dans la ligue Nationale avec Chicago et New-York quand les Rangers l’ont echange a cause de son age. Est a sa vingtieme saison dans la ligue Nationale.
Details
For Bill Gadsby, 1965-66 would be his last season as a player in the NHL. He went out on a high note, contributing 17 points from the blue line over 58 regular season games. In the post season, he helped the Detroit Red Wings reach the Stanley Cup final before falling in six games to the Montreal Canadiens.
Gadsby came to Detroit via a June, 1961 trade with the New York Rangers, in exchange for Les Hunt. The Red Wings definitely won the trade with Hunt never appearing in a single game in the NHL.
Bill almost arrived in the Motor City a year earlier. On February 5, 1960, a trade was completed between the Rangers and Red Wings that was to see Gadsby and Eddie Shack go to Detroit while Red Kelly and Billy McNeill were slated to move to the Blue Shirts. However, Kelly and McNeill refused to report to New York and the trade was voided.
Between 1946-47 and 1965-66, Gadsby played 1,248 regular season and 67 Stanley Cup playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970.