This home red dureen gamer by Olympic Sporting Goods was worn by Bill Gadsby during the 1965-66 NHL season. This Calgary native made his NHL debut in 1946-47 with the Chicago Blackhawks where he played for 9 seasons before being dealt to the New York Rangers in 1954. Gadsby spent 7 years with the Rangers before they dealt him to the Detroit Red Wings in 1961. Gadsby’s last stop allowed him to play alongside his best friend, Gordie Howe. Gadsby spent five seasons with Detroit and helped lead them to the Stanley Cup Finals three times. Gadsby, a tough and gifted rearguard, retired after 1248 games played over 20 NHL seasons. His toughness was evidenced by 1539 PIMS. Bill was among the best defenseman of his era and was three-times a runner up for the Norris Trophy. Gadsby was an 8-time NHL All Star who also earned 7 first or second Team NHL All Star Honors. Gadsby was the first defenseman to score 500 NHL points and when he retired, he was the leading scorer among defenseman in NHL history. Gadsby was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on his first ballot with the class of 1970.
Removed from the right breast of this gamer is the alternate Captain’s “A”. Sewn into the collar are the Olympic Sporting Goods, a faded instruction and the size tag. The game wear on this size 48 sweater is solid and consists of stick and slash marks, board burns, board paint transfer, un-repaired burn holes, a couple of small runs, stitch popping, material pulls, collar pilling, inner pilling and a couple of handfuls of team-sewn repairs. Shown above is a beautiful photo match of Gadsby wearing this exact jersey during the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals. On the back player number is a beautiful blue sharpie signature in Gadsby’s own hand. This spectacular jersey is also packed with amazing provenance; acquired by our consignor while with his friend at Olympia Stadium in the late 1960’s. His friend, an Olympia Stadium operations employee in charge of the ice, indicated that the “equipment” in the storage room across the hall from the Red Wings dressing room was about to be discarded and that he was free to help himself if there was anything he wanted. Our consignor was a fan of Gadsby and chose to bring this jersey home with him, where it remained for more than 50-years. This spectacular fresh to the hobby photo matched example was in fact Gadsby’s last game worn jersey, worn during the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals as this Hall of Famer took to the ice for the final time, choice!
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