When you think of Rangers' history,  automatically the name Lester Patrick comes to mind as the 1926 founding father.

Which is perfectly natural when you consider who was running the team on opening night at Madison Square Garden, November 16, 1926.

But even Lester would tell you that he was the second father – not the first founder of that first, astonishing franchise.

"Conn Smythe beat me to it," Patrick admitted. "He was the guy up in Toronto that the Garden boss (Col. John Hammond had originally hired to put the team together. Conn was the one who discovered everyone who started for us on opening night."

When the original (1926-27) Rangers opened camp at Ravina Gardens in Toronto, Smythe was running the show with HIS skaters on the ice. 

"Of course," says The Old Scout, "nobody could have predicted that fellas like Frank Boucher, Bill Cook, Bun Cook and Ching Johnson would be future Hall of Famers. In fact, hardly anyone knew them at the time."

Among those who were not too hockey swift happened to be MSG President Col. Hammond.

But the Colonel was smart enough to have friends who thought they knew all about the expanding NHL. 

One of them, from Toronto, told Hammond that former Toronto St.`Patrick's star Babe Dye was being made available. "Sign Dye," Hammond's pal insisted, "he'll score goals for you."

But the Dye idea died in the board room and that's where the fireworks began as well.