When goalie Jack McCartan led his fellow American Olympians on the ice at Squaw Valley, California in 1960, he could not have imagined how his hockey career would change within a year.
“We all knew that we were Olympics underdogs,” the Minnesotan later recalled. “It was just a case of seeing what would happen.”
What happened was that The Star-Spangled skaters stunned the hockey world by winning the Gold Medal. After that – on virtually the short hop – Rangers general manager Muzz Patrick signed Patrick to a Blueshirts contract.
It had not been a good 1959-60 season for Rangers goalies. Future Hall of Famer Gump Worsley had been injured. Gump’s replacement, former Cup-winner Al Rollins was a splendid pinc hitter but McCartan’s Gold Medal histrionics had captured the imagination of the New York hockey crowd. So, Rollins was shoved aside for McCartan.
I covered McCartan’s debut as he stunned the MSG crowd, making 33 saves and spurring the New Yorkers to a 3-1 win over Detroit. By far the highlight was this rookie goalie stunning iconic Gordie Howe on a clean breakaway.
“McCartan played four more games that March,” remembered historian Alan Greenberg, “and gave up only seven goals.”
Patrick extended McCartan’s contract for the next (1960-61) season but Jack’s magic had disappeared. After six and a third games he had given up 30 goals and was farmed out.
There has been an endless dispute about why McCartan’s career abruptly ended. The conclusion was that two factors sent him packing. One was that he just wasn’t good enough over the long haul.
The other resulted from a fight between the Rangers forward Eddie Shack and Chicago’s Reg Fleming. After that fight was broken up, Fleming picked up a stick and started up to center ice after Shack.
McCartan: “I thought he was going to hatchet Shack with his stick. So, I slid my stick up toward center ice so Shack could pick it up and defend himself. Well, nothing happened there so I skated up to get my stick back. Meanwhile, Fleming was skating back to get his gloves behind the net.
“As we passed he suckered me with a punch to the head. That was it, and I had all to do to stay on my feet. He hit me a good shot and I saw stars.”
That was it for Jack McCartan. He spent most of the rest of his career in the minors with a brief interlude with the World Hockey Association’s Minnesota Fighting Saints in his hometown of St. Paul.
“Looking backward,” McCartan concluded, “I didn’t have that much of a career but getting a chance to play in the NHL made it all worthwhile!”