This Day in Hockey History – November 4, 1962 and 1977 – Bill’s 500th then Phil’s 600th

Nov 4, 2019

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On the surface, Bill Gadsby and Phil Esposito do not seem to have much in common. They were born nearly two decades apart, and the former was a defenseman and the latter a center. However, they each played for three NHL teams, beginning with the Chicago Blackhawks and later spending roughly the same amount of time playing for the New York Rangers. And on November 4, Gadsby scored his 500th point in 1962 while Esposito scored his 600th goal in 1977.

Gadsby signed with Chicago in 1946, and in November 1954, he was traded to the Rangers. New York traded him to Detroit in February 1960, but the deal fell through when the others involved refused to report. The trade went through in June 1961 instead, so Gadsby was in his second season playing for the Red Wings when he reached 500 points.

On November 4, 1962, Gadsby’s final team was hosting his first team at Olympia before 12,706 fans. At the beginning of the game, he bore part of the blame for Chicago’s only goal. He received the first penalty of the game at 5:30, and just as it was ending, Bobby Hull scored. Gadsby was also called for the second penalty of the game, at 11:55 that period. The score would not change until the third period.

When Gadsby became the first NHL defenseman to reach 500 points, he did so with a timely assist. Parker MacDonald scored two power play goals only 50 seconds apart to tie then beat Chicago. Both of them were assisted by Gordie Howe. Between them, “Al MacNeil was called for interference and the Wings went into power play formation again. Gadsby fed the puck in to MacDonald at the corner and Parker backhanded it into the net with the point moving him into a tie for the NHL scoring lead.” Rookie Alex Faulkner, the “slick little center from Newfoundland, took the puck away from Hawk defenseman Wayne Hillman in front of the net and jabbed it past Glenn Hall” for an unassisted insurance goal. The Red Wings had tallied three goals in just 2.5 minutes to remain unbeaten thus far that season.

The following season, Esposito began his NHL career with Chicago, where he only stayed until 1967. His career exploded after being traded to the Boston Bruins, so hockey fans were stunned when he was part of a major package deal with their rivals, the Rangers. With the trade taking place on November 7, 1975, he was approaching his second anniversary in New York when he scored his milestone goal.

On November 4, 1977, the Rangers visited the Pacific Coliseum to play the Vancouver Canucks for 15,000 people. They had to delay for 15 minutes when the Zamboni broke down and another needed to come clear the ice. The Rangers ended up winning 5-1 to break a three-game losing streak.

This game also began with a power-play goal in the first period. Esposito scored at 12:17 when “Steve Vickers fed him the puck from the corner.” Joking later, Esposito admitted, “I flubbed it good. It was a change of pace shot, off the tow of my stick, like a knuckleballer. But what the hell, I’ve flubbed a lot of goals in my time. And I’ve taken them all.” The goalie who let it in, Cesare Maniago, said the same. “It came off the toe of his stick. I know he likes to shoot right away and I anticipated a bit and leaned forward a little, but the shot went high.”

Esposito was only the third to score 600 goals, following Gordie Howe (786 goals) and Bobby Hull (604 goals). That meant he only needed four more goals to tie Hull, and 35-year-old Esposito thought it would happen because “I’ll still be around at least until I’m 39 because I’ve got three more years and an option on my contract.” Esposito thought, “I’ll probably get another telegram from Bobby. He sent me one the last time I broke one of his records.” Hazy in his memories of other milestone goals, Esposito commented, “I remember my first one. That was against Terry Sawchuk and Bobby Hull and Reg Fleming got assists. I just remember the first one and the last one – and not much in between.”

After reaching the milestone, Gadsby played for Detroit until 1966. He then coached the Red Wings for the 1968-69 season and two games of the following season. Similarly, Esposito skated with the Rangers until 1981 and then coached them for the 1986-87 season and two games of the 1988-89 season. He was their general manager for three years before founding the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992. Gadsby and Esposito were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970 and 1984, respectively.