Terry sawchuk & Gilles Villemure
Team: New York Rangers
Style: Blue Jersey
Year: 1969-70, 1970-71
Set: N/A
Size: N/A
Manufacturer: Gerry Cosby
Material: Durene
Tagging: Cosby's and year tag in hem
Patches: none
Acquired From: another collector; originally from Gamewornauctions.net
Photomatched: Yes, to both Sawchuk & Villemure
Vezina Trophy Winner: Sawchuk - 1952, 1953, 1955, 1965; Villemure - 1971
Description from Gamewornauctions: This blue durene gamer by Cosby was worn by Terry Sawchuk during the 1969-70 NHL season, his last NHL season. Gilles Villemure took over the reigns as Ed Giacomin’s sidekick with the Rangers following Terry Sawchuk’s untimely death at age 40 on May 31, 1970, following a fatal fight with teammate Ron Stewart in April of 1970. Gilles Villemure then wore this jersey during his 1970-71 Vezina Trophy winning season. Lastly, based on the tagging, it is also possible that Don Simmons wore this jersey while with the Rangers prior to Sawchuk’s arrival to New York.
Terry Sawchuk is renowned as one of the NHL’s all-time greats. During his illustrious career he established virtually every major goaltending record. Sawchuk began his career in 1949-50 with the Detroit Red Wings and wore their uniform for 14 seasons during his 21-year NHL career. Sawchuk also stood between the pipes for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings and the New York Rangers. In addition to winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year, he captured 4 Vezina Trophies, was 7 times a 1st or 2nd Team NHL All Star and played in 11 NHL All Star Games. He led the Red Wings to 3 Stanley Cups in the 1950’s and then also backstopped the Toronto Maple Leafs to their last Stanley Cup title in 1967, giving him 4 Stanley Cup Championships.
Sawchuk passed away at 40 years of age in the spring of 1970 following complications stemming from a fight with teammate Ron Stewart on Long Island in the house they were sharing. At the time of his passing, Sawchuk was the NHL’s all-time leader in Wins with 447 and shutouts with 103. He was posthumously elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1971. To this day, many consider Sawchuk as the greatest goalie to have ever played the game. In the famed list of the Hockey News top 100 NHL players of all-time, Sawchuk was their highest ranked goalie; coming in ranked as the 9th greatest NHL player of all-time. Gilles Villemure spent the first 8 years of his 10-year NHL career with the New York Rangers. During his memorable career in New York, he teamed with Ed Giacomin between the pipes for the Blueshirts. In a 3-year span from 1970-71 thru 1972-73, Villemure put up GAA totals of 2.30, 2.09 and 2.29 and Wins totals of 22, 24 and 20 despite playing in 34, 37 and 34 games respectively; quite impressive. The 1970-71 season saw Villemure and Giacomin win their only Vezina Trophy, awarded to the best goaltending duo in the NHL. Villemure completed his career with a 2-season stint with the Chicago Blackhawks after being traded in 1975. To this day, this 3-time NHL All Star is beloved by the Rangers faithful.
Sewn into the hem of this gamer is the Cosby and the now heavily frayed year tagging. The game wear on this vintage dureen is spectacular, as you would imagine, from its use over the course of multiple seasons. In addition to burns, paint transfer, pilling throughout, stitch pops and general trauma there are also in excess of a dozen team-sewn repairs! Shown above is a beautiful photo match of Sawchuk wearing this exact jersey during the 1969-70 season. Also shown above is a beautiful photo match of Villemure wearing this exact jersey during the 1970-71 season.
On February 1, 1970 at Madison Square Garden in New York, the New York Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-0. On that night, Sawchuk was sporting his home blue Rangers jersey as he posted the last Win #447, and shutout #103, of his NHL career, both of which were longstanding NHL records. Gilles Villemure inherited this sweater and wore it following Sawchuk’s death as he earned his first All Star Game appearance and won the only Vezina Trophy of his career during the 1970-71 season. This outstanding well-worn photo matched item is chock full of both NHL and New York Rangers history.
