Things I Miss About The Old Garden On Eighth Avenue, Between 49th and 50th Street.
1. ICELAND: It was the Rangers rooftop practice rink with the loud, aluminum sideboards. It doubled as a place to go pleasure skating at night and, additionally, Met League "Darkhouse" games were held there on Sunday mornings.
2. COSBY'S: The big – Queen Of All Hockey Stores – on Eighth Avenue was as much a part of MSG as its box office. Founder Gerry Cosby was the main man who sold everything hockey including Cosby's vast line of equipment. Current boss Michael, who learned the trade there, runs the operation now in Sheffield, Massachusetts.
3. AL MULLER'S: The German-American restaurant sat on 50th Street right across the street from the MSG Balcony entrance. Muller's was the post-game schmooze center featuring good eats and a talking parrot that once allegedly told Phil Watson he was a lousy coach. (Depending on the season, that bird had it right.)
4. NEDICK'S: Embedded in MSG's Eighth Avenue entrance, Nedick's was a popular fast food joint before there were fast food joints. The main items were hot dogs, and orange drink plus coffee. It was cheap, handy and featured a new culinary invention – the hot dogs were heated on a roller stove.
5. GARDEN CAFETERIA: This eatery directly across Eighth Avenue, corner of 50th was the best of its kind and a good place to hang out after a Blueshirt practice. Rangers Tony Leswick and Edgar Laprade were almost arrested when discussing a "power play" while two FBI men sat across the aisle. The gendrames thought they were planning a bank heist!
6. GLADYS (TWO D'S) GOODDING AT THE CONSOLE: An organ was installed in old MSG in 1937 and Ms. Goodding played at it until the arena closed. She had a special tune for every single team – including the Rovers – and played requests from the players. She loved hockey; watched every game and was loved by all.
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7. THE PRE-ZAMBONI ICE MEN: Two barrels-of-hot-water-on-wheels were pushed around the ice by two Garden fellas followed by two more with squeegees that smoothed the surface. They were fun to watch.
8. THE LOBBY SIGN: Beyond the MSG entrance – and hanging from the lobby ceiling – was an unforgettable sign: HOCKEY – FASTEST GAME ON EARTH!