Pete Rose’s Three-Homer Game: Cincinnati Reds v. New York Mets 4/29/1978

Photo Credit: Fine Art Storehouse

By Zane Miller

On April 29^th, 1978, Cincinnati Reds third baseman Pete Rose was closing in on joining the exclusive 3,000-hit club, a mark set by just eight other hitters during the World Series era at the time. However, one area where Rose was not close to breaking major records was the home run category, as he had accumulated 143 home runs in his 2,346 career games played coming into the 1978 season.

This was just fine as far as the Reds were concerned, of course, considering the fact that he led MLB in hits six times to that point and had nine seasons with over 200 hits, all of which in a Reds jersey. Hitting for power simply wasn’t a major part of his game, but all of that changed on a Saturday afternoon in Shea Stadium, as the Reds visited the New York Mets in the second game of a three-game weekend series.

As they had done throughout the 1970s, Cincinnati entered the afternoon with a winning record, sitting pretty at 13-7. Meanwhile, the Mets had fallen to 9-12 on the year after losing the first game of the series by a score of 5-1. Today, they sent out starting pitcher Nino Espinosa, who had a solid showing in his first full season in 1977, pitching exactly 200 innings to an ERA of 3.42 with 10 victories. The Reds brought on the recently acquired Doug Capilla to start, coming off of a rough 1977 in which he posted a 4.47 ERA in 108 innings pitched for seven wins. Rose, as usual, was put in the leadoff spot, and the game was on.

Rose’s day at the plate got off to an inauspicious start, as Espinosa struck him out looking to begin the first inning. The Reds went down without any runs scored, but this would not be the case in the Mets’ half of the inning. After walking the first two batters, Capilla allowed both to score on an RBI single from left fielder Steve Henderson and an RBI sacrifice fly from first baseman Willie Montanez. The next two batters also walked to load the bases, prompting manager Sparky Anderson to pull Capilla from the game after getting just one out. The attempt to stop the bleeding was unsuccessful, however, as Mets second baseman Bobby Valentine drilled a two RBI single off of reliever Dale Murray to make it a 4-0 first inning.

Not looking to waste any time in getting a comeback going, Reds first baseman Dan Driessen was able to get the team on the board with a solo home run to lead off the second inning. However, Espinosa quickly regained his composure and got three strikeouts to end the inning. The score would stay at 4-1 when Rose came back up to the plate to lead off the third. He was able to strike immediately with a first-pitch line drive single, but the Reds were unable to take advantage with any runs despite eventually working the bases loaded in the inning. Meanwhile, the Mets were able to increase their lead to 6-1 in the bottom half as it seemed they could do no wrong.

Anyway, things started going wrong for the Mets in the fourth inning, with Cincinnati getting their second leadoff homer of the afternoon as center fielder Cesar Geronimo took Espinosa deep. While New York was able to get the next two outs without damage, they weren’t so lucky on Rose’s return to the dish. After working a 3-1 count, he smacked the next pitch over the right field fence for another Reds solo home run. The home run parade was far from over, though, as right fielder Ken Griffey needed just one pitch to add another solo shot, which coincidentally also went to right field. Despite still hanging onto a 6-4 lead, Espinosa was taken out of the game in favor of rookie relief pitcher and former Miami University standout Mardie Cornejo, who retired the side.

After reliever Pedro Borbon got the Mets out in order to end the fourth, the Reds offense was right back at it despite facing a new pitcher. With two runners on against Cornejo, Geronimo had another big hit with a double to deep left-center field. This was more than enough to to tie the game at six apiece, but the Reds weren’t done yet. After Geronimo stole third, he was driven in shortly after on an RBI single by catcher Don Werner, giving the team their first lead of the game. With Werner still on base, Rose drilled a hanging curveball into the Mets’ bullpen for a three-run lead and his second home run of the contest.

The offensive onslaught was on from there, as the Mets were unable to slow the Reds down as Cincinnati went up 13-7 in the top of the eighth inning. One thing they were able to do, however, was hold Rose to a single in his at-bat to open up the seventh. With one away in the eighth inning, Rose faced reliever and 1976 rookie of the year Butch Metzger. Again, Rose brought the count to 3-1, then swatted the next pitch far back into left-center field. Henderson attempted to chase the ball down, but ran out of room as it cleared the outfield fence for the fifth Cincinnati home run, and Rose’s third, of the day.

The score would hold as the Reds won it 14-7, improving to a 13-7 record in game which had been tough on both bullpens. No pitcher went more than four innings in the game, but Reds pitcher Doug Bair picked up the save after going the final three and a third innings. Rose’s five total hits brought him just four away from 3,000, which he reached less than a week later on May 5^th. About a month and a half after his three-homer performance, he would embark on his famous 44-game hitting streak, helping the Reds to finish the year at an impressive 92-69 record.

How Elite Were They? #57- Marc Bulger’s 12-win 2003 Season

Photo Credit: Getty Images

By Zane Miller

After being selected in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, quarterback Marc Bulger would have his work cut out for him in terms of working his way up the depth chart. Aside from veteran starting quarterback Jeff Blake, the Saints also had promising rookie Aaron Brooks, the most recent backup in Billy Joe Tolliver, as well as NFL Europe standout and previous How Elite Were They? subject Jake Delhomme making up the quarterback room. Of course, this leads to the head-scratcher of why the Saints felt the need to use a draft pick on a new quarterback to begin with, but nonetheless Bulger had arrived on the NFL circuit.

To the surprise of no one, Bulger did not appear in any regular season contests for the Saints in 2000. In fact, he wasn’t even on the team by the end of the season, as he was waived late in the going. However, Bulger wasn’t off of a roster for long, interestingly being claimed by the Saints’ division rivals in the Atlanta Falcons. While the Saints and Falcons were going in opposite directions as New Orleans had a fairly successful playoff run and Atlanta was in the midst of a 4-12 train wreck, Bulger still didn’t crack the gameday roster as he was limited to a practice squad role for the final two weeks of the year 2000. Before the season could come to an end, though, Bulger was cut by the Falcons and left on the outside once again. Fortunately for him, he would find what would become his more permanent home that offseason.

After the St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams suffered a stunning first-round exit at the hands of the Saints, granting New Orleans their first-ever postseason victory, the Rams opted to bring in one of their former prospects in Bulger for the 2001 season. Despite the letdown of 2000, the team was not at all far removed from their exceptional 1999 season in which they posted a 13-3 record and let the league in offense on the way to a Super Bowl title, eventually earning the nickname “The Greatest Show on Turf”. The starting quarterback spot was still headed by 1999 MVP Kurt Warner, with veteran career backups Jamie Martin and Paul Justin also on the team. During the 2001 preseason, Justin sustained a season-ending ACL tear, thus moving Bulger into the third-string role going forward.

While Bulger didn’t take the field in 2001, he still got to see an amazing season from his team as they amassed a 14-2 record, which remains the franchise record for single-season wins. Taking a first-round bye as the #1 seed in the NFC, the Rams rolled past the Green Bay Packers in the second round and survived the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship game, meaning that Bulger was headed back to New Orleans. This time, however, he would be on the sideline for Super Bowl XXXVI against the New England Patriots. In said Super Bowl, the Rams fought back from a 14-point halftime deficit, tying it up at 17-all with less than two minutes to go, but unfortunately for Bulger, his fellow sixth-round pick from the 2000 draft class in Tom Brady orchestrated the game-winning drive, setting up kicker Adam Vinatieri for the 48-yard field goal which gave the Patriots their first championship in franchise history.

The Super Bowl loss seemingly lingered into the 2002 season, with St. Louis stumbling out of the gate with five straight losses to open the year. Not helping matters, Warner (who won his second MVP in 2001) was sidelined with a broken finger in week 4. Martin was set to fill in in his absence, but he too went down after a knee injury just one game later. After two years of sitting on the sideline, Bulger finally had his opportunity to prove that he was starter material.

Bulger made an impact starting with his first game, throwing for three touchdowns and 186 yards as the Rams beat the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders 28-13. A few weeks later, Bulger what would be the best game of his NFL career, getting four touchdowns on 453 passing yards in a 28-24 comeback win against the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers. The Rams rattled off five straight victories to get back into playoff contention, and it seemed Bulger’s potential was higher than the Gateway Arch. However, like the other two QBs before him, he also missed significant time with an injury, this time with a sprained finger. The Rams fell in their next three games and although Bulger was able to make a return later on, it wasn’t enough to salvage the season as they went 7-9 and missed the playoffs. However, the promise that Bulger showed in his mid-season play would end up being a preview of things to come in 2003.

While Bulger wasn’t technically the starter to begin the 2003 season, it would work out that way as Warner suffered a season-ending hand injury in week one. This gave Bulger the reins the rest of the year, which proved to be a wise decision on September 28^th against the Arizona Cardinals. That afternoon, he threw for two touchdowns and 272 passing yards as St. Louis cruised to a 37-13 win. The Rams’ domination continued into their next game on October 13^th as they faced the Atlanta Falcons, with Bulger getting another pair of touchdown passes with 352 yards. The Rams easily took care of business in the Monday night contest, nabbing a 36-0 shutout. Their next game on October 19^th versus the Green Bay Packers wouldn’t be nearly as much of a runaway, but Bulger still had another strong game, scoring three touchdown passes and 247 passing yards in the team’s 34-24 win.

Bulger’s hot streak continued as he returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh to face the Steelers on October 26^th. He quickly linked up with wide receiver Torry Holt for a 36-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive and opted to stick with Holt for most of the game, as he ended the day with an astounding 174 receiving yards. In all, Bulger threw for 375 yards and a touchdown in the Rams’ 33-21 win to improve to 5-2 on the campaign. While the team’s winning run came to an end on November 2^nd against the San Francisco 49ers with a 30-10 loss, Bulger wasn’t the main problem as he collected a season-high 378 passing yards along with a touchdown (with Holt getting 200 receiving yards on the dot).

While Bulger’s stats didn’t reach this same level in the second half of the season, this was due to the return of future Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, who missed the bulk of the first half with both hand and knee injuries. However, he didn’t skip a beat upon his return, rushing for over 100 yards in four straight games to finish off the month of November and begin December. This of course meant that Bulger wasn’t required to throw it as much, as Faulk’s strong play helped the team to a seven-game winning streak. The regular season wrapped up neatly with a 12-4 record, with Bulger being credited with all 12 of those wins. The Rams held off the 10-6 Seattle Seahawks to win the NFC West crown, which happened to come with a first-round bye in the playoffs. Their first opponent would be the NFC South-winning Carolina Panthers, who made the trip over to St. Louis for the January 10th, 2004 matchup.

The Rams made their way into the red zone on all three of their complete first-half possessions, but were unable to capitalize as they were forced to settle for three short field goals, enabling Carolina to have a slim 10-9 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, neither side was able to get into the end zone, though the Panthers one-upped the Rams to go up 16-12 going into the final frame of regulation. To open up the fourth, however, Bulger threw a crucial interception, turning it over to longtime Panthers safety Mike Minter. After a 36-yard pass from former teammate Delhomme to should-be Hall of Famer Steve Smith, fullback Brad Hoover punched it in for what might have been the dagger with 8:50 left to play.

Facing a 23-12 deficit, the Rams were forced to put their fortunes on the right arm of Bulger, though the comeback attempt initially went off to a horrible start as he immediately threw his second interception of the day. Luckily for St. Louis, the Panthers went three-and-out and actually lost seven yards in the process, prompting a 53-yard field goal attempt which doinked harmlessly off of the left upright. With a second life, Bulger and the Rams got down to business, moving into Carolina territory once again. The biggest play of the drive came in a fourth-and-two situation, where Bulger hit Faulk out of the backfield for a 22-yard gain. Even though they were in the red zone, they were far from out of the woods as they faced a third-and-10. Using an empty backfield formation, Bulger found Faulk, this time lined up as a slot receiver, down the middle with Faulk doing the rest to pick up another first down. The Rams eventually worked it all the way to the one-yard line, with Faulk appropriately finishing off the drive with a touchdown run. With just over two minutes left, though, the Rams would need to pull off a two-point conversion to cut it to a three-point lead. Bulger faked the handoff to Faulk, before finding rookie wide receiver Dane Looker to put St. Louis just a field goal behind.

With just one timeout remaining, Rams head coach Mike Martz opted to go with an onside kick try. Kicker Jeff Wilkins floated the ball towards the Panthers’ hands team after making a hard right turn, where it bounced off the chest of a sliding Jermaine Wiggins. This sent the ball on another high bounce, allowing Wilkins to recover his own onside kick just past the Rams 40-yard line. An exhausted Panthers defense was forced to head back onto the field, and were unable to stop a pair of lengthy completions from Bulger to another future Hall of Famer in receiver Isaac Bruce. Although the offense was already in the red zone and still firing on all cylinders with quite a bit of time still left on the clock, Martz made the controversial decision to let the clock run down and settle for the tying field goal, which Wilkins put through from 33 yards out to send the game into overtime.

In the days before both teams were entitled to at least one possession in overtime, both sides had golden opportunities for walk-off field goals on their opening drives. However, Panthers kicker John Kasay missed a 45-yarder before Wilkins missed from 53, but the Rams’ chance to end it would come again after a Carolina punt. From inside Panthers territory, Bulger again connected with Faulk out of the backfield, turning it into a 25-yard catch and run to put it just outside of field goal range. However, the atmosphere inside the Edward Jones Dome would make a 180 just one play later. Trying to find Holt on the first-down play, Bulger’s pass was intercepted by rookie cornerback Ricky Manning, bring the scoring threat to an abrupt halt. The Rams’ fate was sealed on the first play of double overtime, as Delhomme completed a pass to Smith just past midfield, who dodged a pair of potential St. Louis tacklers on the way to the game-winning 69-yard touchdown. Bulger ended the wild afternoon with 332 passing yards despite giving up three interceptions, while Delhomme grabbed the 29-23 OT victory with one touchdown pass, 290 yards and one interception.

Bulger remained the Rams primary starter throughout the rest of the 2000s, though he was never quite able to recapture the success of his first year and a half with the club. He would help St. Louis to another playoff appearance in 2004 in spite of the team’s 8-8 regular season record, and picked up a 27-20 victory in the first round over the Seahawks before a blowout against Atlanta ended the postseason run. Unfortunately, the end of the 2000s were not kind to the Rams, as the team could only muster a total of six wins in the final three years of the decade. Bulger retired after a brief stop with the Baltimore Ravens in 2010, finishing with 41 career victories. After hanging up the cleats, Bulger opted to get involved in a different sport, though likely not the one you’re thinking of. In 2016, Bulger joined up with other retired NFL stars to form a team on the World Curling Tour (appropriately enough with the Winter Olympics coming up as I’m writing this), which eventually led to him opening a new curling training center in Nashville in 2021.

Ranking Every NHL Rookie of the Year (1940s)

Photo Credit: NHL

10. John Quilty (1940-41)

Quilty secured the Calder Trophy as a member of the Montreal Canadiens in 1940-41, earning 18 goals and 16 assists while playing in all 48 contests. Unfortunately for Quilty, he would not be able to reach these heights again at the NHL level, playing to diminishing returns in 1941-42 before leaving to serve in World War II for the Royal Canadian Air Force. He returned to play for 1946-47 and had a pretty strong postseason effort that season, but could only patch together limited playing time in 1947-48 and opted to exit the NHL in favor of the Quebec Senior Hockey League soon after.

9. Pentti Lund (1948-49)

Known for being the first player born in Finland to go full-time at the NHL level, Lund captured the Calder Trophy in 1948-49 with the New York Rangers after scoring 14 goals and 16 assists. His next two seasons were unusual to say the least, as his 1949-50 campaign saw him collect 18 goals with just nine assists, before doing a complete 180 in 1950-51 with four goals and 16 assists. During the 1951-52 season, however, Lund suffered a severe eye injury, causing permanent blindness in his right eye. Even so, he was able to return before the end of the season, amazingly only missing about three months of play. Lund came back in 1952-53 and did well considering the circumstances with eight goals and nine assists, which likely would have won him the Masterton Trophy had the award existed at the time. Similar to Quilty, Lund left to join a different league after that season.

8. Kilby MacDonald (1939-40)

MacDonald grabbed the Calder in 1939-40 for the New York Rangers, earning 15 goals and 13 assists along the way. The Rangers qualified for the postseason and took down the Boston Bruins in six games to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, with MacDonald contributing a pair of assists. Although MacDonald was held off of the scoresheet in the Finals against the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York still took the series in six games for their third title in franchise history.

Already a Stanley Cup champ, the sky seemed to be limit for MacDonald. However, the 1940-41 season instead saw him run into a sophomore slump, scoring less than half of the points he had the year before despite playing in two more games. As was the case for many NHL players at this time, MacDonald left the league in order to serve in World War II for the Canadian Army. He came back to the Rangers during the 1943-44 season and immediately made an impact with seven goals and nine assists in just 24 games, but injury issues in 1944-45 forced MacDonald into an early retirement.

7. Frank McCool (1944-45)

This is a tough one to rank as McCool definitely deserved more than a seventh-place on this list, and it goes without saying that he has one of the best names for any goalie in NHL history. In the 1944-45 season, McCool burst onto the scene, getting 24 victories, a league-leading four shutouts and a 3.22 goals against average while playing in all 50 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. This allowed him to take home the Calder Trophy, but he was far from done that season as Toronto was in the playoffs.

In the first game of the opening round against the bitter rival Montreal Canadiens, McCool posted a shutout in a 1-0 Maple Leafs win, setting the tone for the rest of the series as the team went on to advance to the Finals as McCool took the other three wins as well. Facing the Detroit Red Wings for the title, McCool led Toronto to a 3-0 series lead. He was easily the standout player from this start as he nabbed three consecutive shutouts, two of which in 1-0 wins. However, McCool was unable to bail out the Maple Leafs’ struggling offense as the series continued, with the Red Wings fighting back to force a game seven after wins by scores of 2-0 and 1-0 in overtime. In the decisive game, though, McCool stopped the reverse sweep bid, giving up a lone goal in a 2-1 nailbiter for the Maple Leafs’ fifth championship.

With a Stanley Cup ring in just his rookie season, McCool looked to lead Toronto to further success in the years to come. Sadly, he would not have this opportunity, as a history of stomach ulcers forced him to retire midway through the 1945-46 season. Despite his career being cut short, in my opinion McCool established himself as the greatest ‘one-year wonder’ in NHL history.

6. Grant Warwick (1941-42)

Warwick has the distinction of being the final Calder Trophy winner to be hand-picked by league president and award namesake Frank Calder, who personally selected the rookie of the year from the award’s inception until his unexpected passing in early 1943. With the New York Rangers for his rookie campaign, Warwick contributed 16 goals and 17 assists, helping the Rangers to what would be their final winning record until the 1955-56 season.

Despite the team’s struggles, Warwick maintained his role as a consistent 20-goal scorer throughout the 1940’s, including a personal best season in 1944-45 as he put up 20 goals and 22 assists in 42 games played. However, after a rough 1949-50 campaign with the Montreal Canadiens in which he added just two goals in 26 games, Warwick was sent down to the AHL and never made a return to the big league club. He left the NHL system behind after the 1951-52 season, instead playing in the Okanagan Senior Hockey League for the next several years. This left his NHL time at a total of 147 goals and 142 assists for 289 points in 395 games played.

5. Jim McFadden (1947-48)

One of the few Irish-born NHL players, McFadden won the Calder Trophy in 1947-48 with 24 goals and 24 assists for the Detroit Red Wings. During the 1948 playoffs, McFadden broke through in the first round against the New York Rangers, earning four goals and a pair of assists in the six-game series victory, including two goals and an assists in game two. In the Finals against the Toronto Maple Leafs, McFadden scored the opening goal of the series, but would be held to just one assist the rest of the way as the Red Wings were swept in four games.

Unfortunately for McFadden and the Wings, they would suffer the same fate in 1949 as Toronto swept them aside in the Finals for their third straight championship, with McFadden notably scoring just one assist throughout the playoffs. However, both he and the team refused to be denied in 1949-50, finishing with the best record in the league to reach the postseason once again. After winning a hard-fought seven-game first round series against the Maple Leafs, the Red Wings were back in the Finals again for a battle with the Rangers, though this turned out to be just as much a challenge. McFadden looked to establish himself early with a goal and an assist in game one, but was kept off of the scoresheet for the next five contests in what became a seven-game series.

In the championship-deciding game seven, the Rangers grabbed a 3-2 advantage just after the game’s halfway mark, but McFadden came through just a few minutes later with the game-tying goal on an assist from Jimmy Peters to end his scoring drought. The tie game held through a scoreless third period and first overtime frame, before left winger Pete Babando, who had only scored six times all season, put in the game-winning goal at the 8:31 mark of the second overtime. On his third Finals appearance, McFadden was a Stanley Cup champion.

After a solid 1950-51 season, McFadden was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks as part of a seven-player deal. While the Black Hawks were in the midst of a disastrous tailspin by the early 1950’s, as they would finish dead last in the standings in five of the six seasons, McFadden proved to be one of the lone bright spots for the club. In fact, he posted his career-best season in 1952-53, leading Chicago in scoring with 23 goals and 21 assists on the way to an unexpected playoff appearance. After a slow start in 1953-54, however, McFadden would leave the NHL to join the newly-formed Western Hockey League (not to be confused with the modern-day WHL), playing in the upstart league until his 1956 retirement. For his NHL career, McFadden claimed exactly 100 goals with 126 assists for 226 total points in 412 games, to go along with his 1950 Stanley Cup title.

4. Howie Meeker (1946-47)

Despite being known primarily for his legendary broadcasting career, Meeker also had a rather impressive NHL playing tenure, starting with his Calder Trophy title in 1946-47 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. That season, Meeker earned 27 goals and 18 assists (including scoring five goals in a single game) as the Maple Leafs easily reached the postseason and it wouldn’t take long before he made an impact in the first round against the Detroit Red Wings. In game one of the series, Meeker captured the overtime game-winner, before getting a pair of goals in game four for what would be a five-game series win to advance to the Finals. Facing the Montreal Canadiens for the Cup, the series would not be as fruitful as the previous one for Meeker as he had just one assist in the first five games. With the Maple Leafs holding a 3-2 series lead in game six, though, Meeker showed why he was named rookie of the year, assisting on both of Toronto’s goals in the 2-1 series-clinching victory. With that, Meeker was officially a Stanley Cup champion, but of course he was far from done.

Meeker followed up his Calder-winning campaign with another strong showing in 1947-48, with the Maple Leafs claiming the best regular season record in the league as the favorites to go back-to-back in the playoffs. In the opening round versus the Boston Bruins, Meeker contributed at least one point in all of Toronto’s wins in the series, taking a goal and four assists in the five-game triumph. This set up a bout with the Red Wings in the third Finals matchup between the two teams that decade, with the Maple Leafs winning the previous two meetings. Indeed, the Red Wings were no match for Toronto, as the Maple Leafs grabbed the four-game sweep. Meeker registered just one goal on the series, but with the team winning each contest by multiple goals, this was just a minor setback on the road to his second career title.

The Maple Leafs went on to capture their third consecutive championship in 1949, though they were forced to do it without Meeker, who went down for the season with a broken collarbone before the halfway point of the year. He returned to lineup for the 1949-50 season with another solid performance in the new 70-game season, but this turned out to be the last time he would play in more than 80 percent of the regular season.

In the 1950-51 season, Meeker was limited to just six goals as he continued to battle with injuries, but most importantly he was healthy for the upcoming playoff run. The Maple Leafs disposed of the Boston Bruins in the first round once again, bringing up a Finals rematch with Montreal. This series was noteworthy as each of the five games went into overtime, but Meeker would be shut out from the scoresheet in the first three games. This changed in game four, as he scored the go-ahead goal in the second period for what would be a 3-2 OT win. With just one more victory needed in game five, this too would go into an extra frame as Toronto rookie forward Tod Sloan got the game-tying tally with just 32 seconds to go in regulation. However, this OT period would not last long. As Meeker collected a loose puck behind the Montreal net, he passed it over to fellow forward Harry Watson. Although Watson was unable to put in the shot, the puck found its way to defenseman Bill Barilko. Barilko made no mistake, finding the back of the net with the goalie out of position to give the Maple Leafs their ninth Stanley Cup title, though Barilko would tragically pass away in a plane crash during the offseason.

Now a three-time Stanley Cup champ, Meeker looked to use this momentum to bounce back from his recent rough regular season, but this would not be the case as he was hounded by a back injury. In his final two seasons, he was limited to a total of 30 games before his retirement as a player in 1954, ending up with 83 goals and 102 assists for 185 points in 346 games played. While he had a brief stint as head coach of the Maple Leafs shortly after his retirement, Meeker began his broadcasting work as a studio analyst for Hockey Night in Canada in 1969. He remained in the role for the next 18 years, becoming a fan favorite due to his energetic delivery and incorporation of the telestrator, which was a new technology at the time, along with coining the phrase “Golly-gee willikers!”. In 1998, he received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame for contributions to hockey broadcasting.

3. Edgar Laprade (1945-46)

Laprade picked up the Calder Trophy in 1945-46 for the New York Rangers, scoring 15 goals and 19 assists. He slowly built on this success over the next couple of seasons, including getting a career-high 34 assists in 1947-48. Shortly after, in the 1949-50 season, Laprade picked up an even 22 goals and 22 assists to help lead the Rangers into the postseason. He captured a pair of assists in a five-game first round triumph versus the Montreal Canadiens, before taking on the vaunted Detroit Red Wings in the playoffs. In game two, Laprade played a crucial role with a pair of third period goals, ultimately giving the Rangers a 3-1 win. However, despite Laprade ending the Finals with three goals and three assists, the Red Wings would gut out a seven-game series victory.

While he was unable to reach the playoffs again after the 1950 run, Laprade still had the impressive feat of playing two full seasons without committing a single penalty, interestingly doing so in both his rookie season and his final season before retirement in 1954-55. In fact, Laprade had just one season in his career with double-digit penalty minute totals, as he finished with a mere 42 penalty minutes over the course of his 500-game long career. This, along with his 108 goals and 172 assists for 280 career points, was likely the catalyst for his 1993 induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

2. Gus Bodnar (1943-44)

Bodnar earned the Calder Trophy for 1943-44 as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring 22 goals along with a then-rookie record 40 assists. This mark would stand in the record books through the 2016-17 season, but Bodnar would have plenty of other reasons to be remembered in the annals of NHL history. Although his goal totals dropped significantly in 1944-45, he remained a brilliant passer with 36 helpers on the season. Despite Toronto having a disappointing regular season by their standards, they nonetheless made it into the playoffs with a first-round matchup against the Montreal Canadiens. In game four of this series, Bodnar scored the game-winning overtime goal as the Maple Leafs led three games to one, before netting a crucial insurance goal in the deciding game six. The Leafs would face the Detroit Red Wings in the Finals, where Bodnar came in clutch once again as he scored the only goal of game three, enabling Toronto to go up three games to none. The Red Wings nearly fought their way back with three straight wins of their own, but Bodnar and the Maple Leafs were able to shut it down in game seven for his first Stanley Cup.

After a decent bounceback in 1945-46, Bodnar again hit a down year in 1946-47 with just four goals and six assists in 39 games played. However, the Maple Leafs were still near the top of the standings and handily made it into the playoffs. Bodnar did not play in Toronto’s opening round defeat of the Red Wings, but made his way back into the lineup for what would be the final game of the Finals against Montreal. Holding a 3-2 series lead in game six, the Maple Leafs would fend off the Canadiens 2-1, allowing Bodnar to lift the Stanley Cup for a second time. After this season, though, Bodnar was traded to the team he would spend the bulk of his NHL career with, that being the Chicago Black Hawks.

Bodnar had a nice introduction to his new organization in 1947-48, before putting up the best season of his career since his rookie season. For 1948-49, Bodnar collected 19 goals and 26 assists, but the Black Hawks came up short of reaching the postseason. Unfortunately for Chicago, this became a common occurrence throughout the 1950’s, but Bodnar nonetheless gutted it out through the difficult times as a staple center in the organization as he generally scored around 40 points per season. Eventually, Bodnar wound his career down with the Boston Bruins, retiring after the 1954-55 season with 142 goals and 255 assists for 397 points in 667 games played.

1. Gaye Stewart (1942-43)

Stewart had an impressive start to his NHL career even before taking the Calder Trophy, winning his first Stanley Cup in 1942 at just 18 years old with three playoff games played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, despite not appearing in any regular season contests. He won the Calder in 1942-43, nabbing 24 goals and 23 assists in Toronto. With this also taking place during World War II, Stewart missed each of the next two seasons as he served in the Royal Canadian Navy. He rejoined the Maple Leafs in 1945-46 and improved on his already impressive rookie campaign, leading the league with 37 goals on the way to a first-team All-Star selection. While he wouldn’t be able to follow up those numbers in 1946-47, the Maple Leafs themselves were still on top of the hockey world as they went on a deep playoff run once again. They took down the Detroit Red Wings in the opening round, where Stewart had a goal and three assists in the five-game series, to take on the Montreal Canadiens in the Finals. The team recovered from a 6-0 loss in game one to defeat the Canadiens in six games, with Stewart adding a goal and two assists along the way for his second Stanley Cup title.

Stewart started out the 1947-48 season with the Maple Leafs, but shortly after the season began he, along with teammate and fellow Calder winner Gus Bodnar, were traded across the border to the Chicago Black Hawks. The deal immediately paid off for the Black Hawks, as Stewart claimed 26 goals and 29 assists in 54 games for Chicago, taking second-team All-Star honors as well. He followed this up with two more 20+ goal campaigns, before being traded again prior to the 1950-51 season. Stewart spent his final two full-time seasons with the Red Wings and New York Rangers to modest success, before being signed on a minor league deal with the Montreal Canadiens. Stewart played just five games with the Canadiens in 1952-53 and didn’t get called up at all for the 1953-54 regular season, but would surprisingly get an opportunity for his third Stanley Cup in the 1954 playoffs. After not having played in the NHL for a year and a half, Stewart was brought up in game five of the Stanley Cup Finals against one of his old teams in the Red Wings. Detroit held a 3-1 series lead at that point, but Montreal fought back with two straight wins to force a game seven. Unfortunately for Stewart and the Montreal faithful, the run ended with the Red Wings scoring a 2-1 overtime win. This turned out to be the final NHL game for Stewart, who played the 1954-55 season in the AHL before retiring with 185 goals and 159 assists in 502 NHL games to go along with his two Stanley Cups.

Who I Want to Win in the 2025 NFL Playoffs

 

Photo Credit: Bleacher Report

By Zane Miller

AFC Wild Card

#7 LA Chargers v. #2 New England- Los Angeles

#6 Buffalo v. #3 Jacksonville- Buffalo

#5 Houston v. #4 Pittsburgh- Pittsburgh

NFC Wild Card

#7 Green Bay v. #2 Chicago- Chicago

#6 San Francisco v. #3 Philadelphia- Philadelphia

#5 LA Rams v. #4 Carolina- Carolina

AFC Divisional

#7 Los Angeles v. #1 Denver- Los Angeles

#6 Buffalo v. #4 Pittsburgh- Buffalo

NFC Divisional

#4 Carolina v. #1 Seattle- Carolina

#3 Philadelphia v. #2 Chicago- Chicago

AFC Championship Game

#7 Los Angeles v. #6 Buffalo- Los Angeles

NFC Championship Game

#4 Carolina v. #2 Chicago- Carolina

Super Bowl LX

#N4 Carolina v. #A7 Los Angeles

Winner: Carolina Panthers