According to The Maven's unofficial count, about 80 percent of Rangers fans also root for the New York Yankees. As best I can figure, about 99 percent still are in a state of World Series shock – and I don't blame them one bit. As a historian, I decided to check my archives to determine whether the Blueshirts ever were felled by a similar total team collapse. Guess what? I found such an example. It happened during the 1958-59 season when the Rangers were blessed with such Hall of Famers as Andy Bathgate, Gump Worsley, Harry Howell and Bill Gadsby. Up until the middle of March 1959, the Phil Watson-coached Rangers were the second best team in the NHL, after the defending Cup champion Canadiens. But, starting on March 15, 1959, the roof began falling in on the Blueshirts. On that night at old Madison Square Garden, Toronto's George Armstrong scored a hat trick in a 6-5 win over New York. "The Leafs were chasing the Rangers for the fourth and final playoff spot," wrote Toronto historian Mike Leonetti. "The Leafs were trailing the Blueshirts by seven points with just five games remaining. A weekend home-and-home series would go a long way toward settling the issue." The Leafs won the first game 5-0 on Saturday night. Their coach Punch Imlach began taunting Watson, outrageously claiming that Toronto would catch New York. Watson laughed it off. A night later – after Armstrong's hat trick and the Leafs win – Watson stopped laughing, especially after Bob Pulford beat Worsley for the winner on a long, bouncing shot. Igor Shesterkin Has Reportedly Rejected Contract Extension Paying Him $11 Million Per Season Slowly but surely, Imlach's sextet cut the Rangers lead thanks to three straight wins. By the final night of the season, the Blueshirts were home and the Leafs in Detroit. The Rangers game was an hour earlier and they lost to Montreal. If the Leafs could beat the Red Wings they would capture the final berth by a point. I guess you can figure out what happened. Toronto beat Detroit 6-4 and sneaked past the beleaguered Blueshirts. "A Leafs dynasty was in the making," Leonetti concluded. As for the Rangers, the Blueshirts playoff miss resulted in Watson being fired early in the 1959-60 season. It wasn't until the 1961-62 campaign before the Rangers made the postseason again! That hockey collapse 65 years ago haunts some Rangers fans I know to this day. I fear that the Yankees' choke against the Dodgers will last a similar lifetime!
