The fact that the Rangers have enjoyed so much success (6-0) playing outdoors brings to mind another "Good Luck" episode in Blueshirt history when a secret potion helped the team to victory – for a spell. Author-historian George Grimm was inspired to remind The Maven of this tale after watching the New Yorkers win in Miami.
The potion was called "Leone's Magic Elixir," a concoction developed during the 1950-51 season by Gene Leone, who owned the famed theater district restaurant Leone’s.
Gene had been a long time Rangers fan and good friend of Rangers manager Frank Boucher. He also hosted the weekly New York Hockey Writers Association luncheons in his basement grotto
"'Leone’s Magic Elixir' which was supposed to restore the Rangers confidence was delivered to Boucher in mid-December 1950 in a large black bottle with a note attached that read 'Drink it and Win!'
"I told the boys this was a magic brew, a new liquid vitamin discovery," Boucher wrote in When the Rangers Were Young. "We passed it around in paper cups from the wash-room. I told the writers, as seriously as I could, that Gene had just provided the Rangers with the key to a glowing future."
Even though the ingredients of Leone’s brew were a closely guarded secret at the time, it has been said that the elixir was a simple mixture of warmed up orange juice and ginger ale, with a little honey. There was nothing magical about it, but it gave the Blueshirts the psychological lift they needed.
(Some players went along with the gag but privately told The Maven that the taste was roughly equivalent to the water off Brighton Beach. Or worse!)
Nevertheless, the results were amazing! After drinking the elixir, the Rangers began winning and by early January, had lost only twice in a stretch of 11 games.
But the big test would come on January 6 when the Rangers traveled to Toronto, where they hadn’t won since December 1947. The Maple Leafs were among the best teams in the league and eventual Stanley Cup champions.
Regarding the elixir, there was a major logistical problem that needed to be solved. The Rangers were in Toronto and Leone, who was in New York, insisted on mixing the concoction as close to game time as possible.
To overcome this obstacle, the Blueshirts enlisted the help of longtime beat reporter Jim Burchard who had been following the story of the magic elixir for readers of the New York World-Telegram.
Once the brew was ready, it was given to Burchard, who was scheduled to fly to Toronto that afternoon and present the bottle to the Rangers right before game time.
But Burchard would first have to get the bottle through customs and as it turned out, the Maple Leafs had gotten wind of the Rangers’ plan and arranged for border officials to seize the bottle, which was stored in a sealed bag and kept warm by three hot water bottles.
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However, this is where a photographer from the Toronto Globe and Mail named Harold Robinson stepped in and saved the day. Robinson, who had been assigned to cover the arrival of the magic potion by sportswriter Al Nickleson, distracted the customs agents and bribed them with cigars so Burchard was able to slip by. Robinson then sped Burchard to Maple Leaf Gardens where the Rangers quaffed Leone’s magic brew and beat the Leafs 4–2.
The Blueshirts played better hockey for another few weeks, but eventually whatever real or imagined effect the elixir had on them wore off and they fell back to their inconsistent ways.
Leone's well-publicized stunt did put more people in the seats. According to Boucher, by Christmas 1950 the attendance was averaging around 10,361 per game but after the publicity generated first by the hypnotist Dr. David Tracy and then Leone’s elixir, it jumped up to 13,000 per game!
P.S. The magic elixir gambit didn't hurt business at Gene's grand West 48th Street eatery either!