Andy Bathgate’s and Harry Howell’s numbers are retired as they are raised to the rafters in a ceremony beforean hockey game between the New
York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Bathgate and Howell played for the Rangers in the “Original Six” era. The longtime former teammates were honored together Sunday night in a pregame ceremony when Howell’s No. 3 and Bathgate’s No. 9 were retired by the New York Rangers. While Howell spent a little more than one season with the Rangers after the team moved into the current Garden on 33rd Street in the heart of Manhattan, he and Bathgate made their marks in the old building – sharing 704 games as teammates. “Is there any better place to play hockey in the whole damn world than New York” Bathgate told a cheering crowd, full of many fans who likely never saw him play. “This night is beyond our furthest dreams, believe me.” Bathgate’s New York tenure ended 45 years to the day of the long-awaited tribute when he was part of a seven-player trade on Feb. 22, 1964, that sent him to the Toronto Maple Leafs – the Rangers’ Original Six opponent Sunday night. “Who am I supposed to root for tonight” Bathgate said, laughing. “I’m just kidding. We need the win.” They were joined at center ice by several former teammates, along with Hall of Fame opponents Red Kelly, Dick Duff, Frank Mahovlich and Stan Mikita.
The 76-year-old Bathgate will share his No. 9 in the rafters with more recent fan favorite Adam Graves, a member of the Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup-winning team who had his version of No. 9 retired by the club earlier this month.