If a comedy act can emerge from the biggest mass brawl on Old Garden ice (March 16, 1947) leave it to the Rangers to pull it off.
At the very height of the Canadiens-Blueshirts donnybrook, there were innumerable one-on-one bouts; sometimes terribly one-sided.
In one such fight, Monreal's Buddy O'Connor – one of the NHL's cleanest players – found himself on the receiving end of a punch that broke the Habs' jaw. But, for reasons unknown, the name of the perpetrator remained secret.
The Rangers' Buddy O'Connor counterpart was Ab DeMarco, a 160-pound center whose punch on a good day might dent a Kleenex. As it happened, Ab escaped major damage in the brawl and showed up for the Rangers team meeting the next day, led by manager Frank Boucher, a multiple Lady Byng Trophy winner.
What few knew was that Boucher had been a big O'Connor fan – he later traded for Buddy – and was upset that one of his players broke Buddy's jaw.
"Who hit O'Connor?" Boucher demanded of his men. The coach was steaming but no one came forward. "It was deathly silent," wrote columnist Jimmy Powers in the Daily News. "Suddenly, to the complete amazement of everyone in the room, up popped skinny, gaunt DeMarco."
"I did it, boss," Ab shouted and was greeted with riotous laughter; nor could Boucher restrain himself.
DeMarco continued: "I did it, I tell you, I nailed him with a right....like this...."
Jimmy Powers: "Ab proceeded to demonstrate -- waving the skinniest pair of arms you ever saw, going through a shadow-boxing routine which wound up with an imaginary knockout blow."
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Broadcasting history was made at old Madison Square Garden on March 16, 1947.
The real kayo artist remained a mystery until the summer of 1947 when O'Connor was traded to the Blueshirts. On the first day of training camp New York defenseman Bill (The Beast) Juzda welcomed the newly-acquired center.
"I apologize," said Juzda.
"For what?" asked O'Connor.
"I'm the guy who belted you that night at the Garden and I'm really sorry it happened."
"Not to worry," added good sport Buddy. "It's all in the game."
They hugged and somewhere in the minors a skinny, funny center was off the hook. Ab DeMarco!