New York Rangers: Their tragic past

The recent, untimely death of Edmonton Oilers forward Colby Cave (only 25 years old) might have reminded New York Rangers fans how differently we see sports as adults, than we did as young fans.

Before we kept track of New York Rangers roster moves, No Movement Clauses, hometown discounts, and failed drug tests, back before those things even existed, sports taught children about teamwork, hustle, discipline, winning (and losing) gracefully, and dealing with adversity. It taught us about life.

And sometimes death.

I was only 11 years old when I heard that former Mets reliever Danny Frisella had died in a dune buggy accident. It was one of the first times I had to deal with that kind of tragedy. I can remember staring at his 1974 baseball card, trying to come to grips with such a bizarre concept.

Unfortunately, tragic deaths have always been a part of the sports (and hockey) world. Both the Hobey Baker Award and the Vezina Trophy were named after people, not specifically because they were great athletes (though they were) but because they died young.

Roughly 191 players (pro and amateur, local and international) have died while their hockey career was still active. Among the various modes of death are:

33 car accidents, two pedestrians hit by cars, two boat accidents, and five motorcycle crashes.

15 players died in three separate bus accidents,  40 died in five different plane crashes, and two lost their lives while riding a horse.

One died in World War I and four died in World War II.

There were 18 heart attacks, two victims each of pneumonia and influenza, and three died from leukemia.

There is one case each of death by epilepsy (complications), blood poisoning, tuberculosis, and a burst appendix.

Two players were stabbed, four murdered, and seven killed themselves.

One player was electrocuted, one died in a fire, one fell from a balcony, and five drowned.

Cancer, drugs, and alcohol are well-represented on the list, with three deaths with unknown causes, and 17 players died as a result of on-ice incidents, mainly errant skates and pucks.

One player, Duncan MacPherson, a 1984 Islander draft pick, died under “mysterious circumstances”, hit by a snow-grooming machine and lost in snow at a ski resort in Austria in 1989. His body was found in a glacier four years later.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the players and former players the Rangers have lost over the years.