The New York Rangers selected Hospodar in the 2nd round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Hospodar, a native of Bowling Green, Ohio, began his NHL career as a late season call-up for the Rangers in 1979-80. He immediately made his presence felt, racking up 118 PIMS in 27 combined regular season and playoff games as a rookie. As a sophomore, Hospodar played in 61 games and racked up 214 PIMS. That postseason saw Ed play in 12 games and accumulate another 93 PIMS, wow! The 1981-82 season was Hospodar’s 3rd year in the league and his last with the Rangers. That year he played in a mere 41 games thanks to his ill-fated decision to pick a fight with Clark Gillies of the cross-town rival New York Islanders. Before the start of the following season the Rangers traded Hospodar to the Hartford Whalers.

Ed spent the next two years of his career in Hartford. “The Boxcar” next joined the Philadelphia Flyers for the start of the 1984-85 season, a year that saw the team bully their way to the Stanley Cup Finals. He was then traded to the Minnesota North Stars 17 games into the following season, where he appeared in 43 games for Minnesota. Ed returned to the Flyers the next year and again enjoyed another trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. He finished his career in 1987-88 with the Buffalo Sabres. Over the course of 9 NHL seasons, this enforcer would appear in 450 regular season games where he racked up a resounding 1314 PIMS. Add to that another 206 PIMS in 42 playoff contests between his time in New York and Philadelphia.

The Quebec Nordiques selected McRae in the 5th round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. McRae began his NHL career with the Nordiques in 1981-82. After playing for two years with the Nords, McRae joined the Maple Leafs where he spent his next two seasons. Basil next spent parts of two years with the Red Wings in the mid 1980’s before rejoining Quebec for a 33-game stint in 1986-87. In 1987-88, McRae joined the Minnesota North Stars for what would be a 5-year stint. A partial season followed with the expansion Tampa Bay franchise before a mid season deal took Basil to St. Louis. McRae spent parts of the next 4 years with the Blues before putting the wraps on his career with the Chicago Blackhawks.

All told McRae spent 15 years running roughshod over the NHL. Despite appearing in only 576 games during that span, McRae amassed 2453 PIMS, one of the all-time greatest per game averages the NHL has ever seen. His single season best came in 1987-88 with the North Stars, when he rang up 378 PIMS. He followed that up the next two seasons with 365 PIMS and 351 PIMS, wow! Pop in any great NHL fight tape from Basil’s era and you’re sure to witness plenty of footage featuring this legendary pugilist.

Offered here is a fight collector’s dream. A gamer worn by 2 legendary goons, Ed “Boxcar” Hospodar and Basil McRae. This would have been McRae’s first gamer from his time in Minnesota, a year that saw him set a career best 378 PIMS during a fight-filled season. The game wear on this sweater is solid and consists of stick and slash marks, board burns, board paint transfer, un-repaired burn holes, inner pilling and a few team-sewn repairs. Terrific fight abuse is also readily evident with a severely stretched out collar with many stitch pops and a well used customized double ribbon style fight strap. For your enjoyment, shown above are some video highlights of McRae letting fly while wearing his road green jersey circa the late 1980’s. A classic heavyweight enforcer jersey that was first worn by “Boxcar” and then by Basil during his first year in Minnesota and one that saw him set a single season career mark with 378 PIMS, choice!