On June 12 in NYR history: Sal “Red Light” Messina honored

What happened on June 12 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 2005, New York Rangers radio color commentator, Sal Messina, was named the winner of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award.  Created in 1984, it is intended to “to recognize distinguished members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting.”

If anyone deserved the award, it was Messina who was a fixture on Ranger radiocasts from 1973 until he retired in 2002.  He began his career alongside Marv Albert and finished it with Albert’s son, Kenny.

Messina played hockey in the minor leagues, skating in the Eastern Hockey League for the Long Island Ducks and New York Rovers.  A goalie, that’s how he got the nickname “Red Light.” While in the minor leagues, he also served as the Rangers’ back up goalie from 1962-64 when teams carried only one netminder.  He never got into a game or even dressed in a Rangers’ uniform, but was always available at home games in case he was needed.

Anyone who listened to radiocasts during Messina’s tenure will remember his knack for peculiar observations.  He was the Rangers’ version of Yogi Berra when it came to misappropriation of the English language.  Born in Astoria, Queens, Messina was one of the last color commentators who got his job through love of the game as opposed to a career as a former NHL player.

The Foster Hewitt Award was named for the Canadian broadcaster who was most famous for his description “he shoots, he scores!”   Messina was joined by fellow Ranger broadcasters John Davidson in 2009 and Sam Rosen in 2016 as Hewitt Award honorees.

Today’s birthdays

16 NHL players have been born on June 12 and a quarter of them played for the Rangers. It’s also the birthdate of a former coach.

Michel Bergeron was born on June 12, 1946 in Montreal, Quebec.  After making the playoffs for seven straight seasons as coach of the Quebec Nordiues, he was hired as Rangers coach by GM Phil Esposito in 1987.  The Blueshirts gave the Quebec Nordiques a first round draft pick in what was in essence, a trade for  coach.  It didn’t work out as Bergeron and Esposito clashed and Bergeron lasted less than two full seasons in New York.  Bergeron, nicknamed “Le Petit Tigre” (The Little Tiger), was a volatile figure and his disastrous tenure as coach of the Rangers ended up costing Esposito his job as general manager.

Mathieu Schneider was born on this date in 1969 in New York, NY.  He had an amazingly long career in the NHL, playing 21 years for 10 different teams. A Montreal draft pick in 1987, he began his career as a Canadien and won a Stanley Cup in 1993.  The defenseman was traded to the Rangers in 1998 from Toronto for Alexander Karpovtsev. He played two seasons for the Rangers before going to Columbus in the 2000 expansion draft. Born in Manhattan, Schneider grew up in New Jersey before moving to Rhode Island where he became a hockey prospect.

Wade Redden was born on this date in 1977 in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan.  He was the second overall pick by the Islanders in the 1995 draft, but was traded to Ottawa before he suited up on Long Island.  He played 11 years as a top defenseman for the Senators before signing as a free agent with the Rangers in 2008. .  Unfortunately, his play had begun to decline and when the 31 year old signed a six-year, $39 million contract with the Rangers it got even worse.  He was eventually buried in the AHL, the highest paid player in that league, and the Blueshirts used a compliance buyout to get out of the deal in 2013.  Redden’s deal will go down in history as one of the worst free agent signings in NHL history.

Paul Ronty was born on this date in 1928 in Toronto, Ontario.  He was a center who played 488 games in nine seasons in the NHL.  He played four seasons for the Rangers with his best year in 1952-53 when he scored 16 goals and 54 points in 70 games. He was a top six scorer in the NHL three times in his career including that season with the Rangers.

Bob DeCourcy was a goalie born on June 12, 1927 in Toronto, Ontario.  He played just one game in the NHL for the Rangers, coming in relief of starter Chuck Rayner on November 12, 1947 against the Bruins as the non-roster back up who would only dress and play if there was an injury to the starting goalie. He played  28 minutes and allowed six goals for a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 12.29.  He resides in the franchise record books as the goalie with the highest lifetime GAA.   It’s not even close as the second highest GAA is Percy Jackson at 8.00. fully four goals fewer.