This home red dureen gamer by Olympic Sporting Goods and General Athletic was worn circa the 1960’s by goalie Roger Crozier. Crozier entered the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings in 1963-64, where he played 15 games, following what was a stellar and highly decorated minor league career. The Red Wings management was so impressed with Roger that they exposed Terry Sawchuk in the waiver draft and lost him to Toronto. Handed the full time job between the pipes in 1964-65, his first complete NHL season, Roger led the NHL in games played with 70, Wins with 40 and shutouts with 6. He was the well deserved winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie.

The following season saw Roger again lead the league in games played and shutouts. His incredible play led his team all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals where they eventually fell at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in a hard fought 6 game series. Crozier’s play was so outstanding that, despite being on the losing team, he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. It isn’t hard to see why Roger was so beloved by the Detroit faithful.

Injuries and ill-health prevented Crozier from building upon his legendary early career successes. In June of 1970, Crozier was traded by the Red Wings to the expansion Buffalo Sabres where he would serve to stabilize the young franchise. The city of Buffalo also loved Crozier and in 1974-75 he regained the form of his youth, posting 17 Wins vs. only 2 losses and a tie and helped lead the Sabres to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. Crozier’s untimely death in January of 1996 saddened the entire hockey community. The Buffalo Sabres paid homage to the man by wearing his player number “1” on their game jerseys for the remainder of that season.

Sewn to the collar of this dureen is the Olympic Sporting Goods and size tagging. Sewn into the hem is the General Athletic tagging. This vintage sweater was worn by Crozier during the early part of his career and despite light game use it should be appreciated by the many of us who admired the man who guarded his team’s goal with such class and pride.