John Ferguson Sr.

For other people named John Ferguson, see John Ferguson (disambiguation).

John Bowie "Fergy" Ferguson Sr. (September 5, 1938 – July 14, 2007) was a professional ice hockey player and executive. Ferguson played left wing for the Montreal Canadiens from 1963 to 1971. After retiring from active play, he became a coach, and later a general manager. He is the father of John Ferguson Jr.

John Ferguson Sr.
John Ferguson Sr, Montreal Canadiens
Born	(1938-09-05)September 5, 1938 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Died	July 14, 2007(2007-07-14) (aged 68) Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	1959–1971

Early years

Ferguson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on September 5, 1938. His father died when he was 9, and he was raised by his mother near the Pacific National Exhibition grounds. Ferguson loved horses and hung around Hastings Park as a child. Aside from his interest in horses and hockey, he also played lacrosse. Ferguson's hockey career began as a stickboy for the Vancouver Canucks, then of the Western Hockey League. He became interested in the role of enforcer when he saw the more talented Canucks players get hit repeatedly, without having their teammates attempt to respond or dissuade their opponents.

Playing career

Ferguson played his junior hockey in Western Canada, with the Melville Millionaires of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in 1956–57, and 1958–59. In 1959–60, he was playing professionally with the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League. In 1960, he moved to the American Hockey League and the Cleveland Barons.

In 1963–64, he was promoted to the Canadiens as an "enforcer" to protect captain Jean Beliveau from aggressive defenders—merely twelve seconds into his first NHL game, he was in a fight with Ted Green of the Boston Bruins; Ferguson won the fight. It was said that his unexpected retirement in 1971 caused problems for the Canadiens, who then started getting roughed up by other teams. Rumours persisted that General Manager Sam Pollock wanted to bring him out of retirement. [1]

Ferguson was also a potential offensive threat. Playing on a line with Beliveau, Ferguson led all NHL rookies in scoring in his first season and finished as runner-up for Calder Trophy in 1963–64. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound left-winger also scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1969, during a season that saw him score a career-high 29 goals with a plus-30 rating. In 85 post-season games, he scored 20 goals and added 18 assists. He also earned two selections to the NHL All-Star Game.

During his playing career, he won the Stanley Cup five times: in the years 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, and 1971, and always earned more than 100 penalty minutes in a regular season.

Sorel Titans

Ferguson was coach for the Sorel Titans, one of six semi-professional Quebec Lacrosse League clubs that played in the 1960s. In supporting the league, Ferguson told the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper: "I hope both ends of the country can bring the game out of the bushes and bring back an interest. Lacrosse needs expansion."

Post-playing career

In 1972, he became the assistant coach of Team Canada who defeated the Soviet team in the Summit Series. Ferguson gained some notoriety because he asked Bobby Clarke to take out Soviet star Valeri Kharlamov with a slash to the latter's ankle. Ferguson later justified his orders saying "that guy is killing us."

In the years to follow, he became the head coach and later general manager of the New York Rangers. He lured Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson away from the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1978 to the Rangers. Both were considered to be the Jets' best players, and among the best in the WHA as a whole. Ferguson stopped coaching in 1977, and was fired as general manager in 1978, at which time he became the general manager of the Jets in the WHA and, starting in 1979, the National Hockey League.

He worked for the Ottawa Senators in the early 1990s as director of player personnel. He is credited with finding Daniel Alfredsson for the Senators. He was a special consultant to the general manager of the San Jose Sharks.

Later years and death

Ferguson was married to Joan, and they had four children together: John Jr. (former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs), Catherine, Chris and Joanne.

He and his wife lived in Windsor, Ontario in his later years to be close to horses. He served as GM for the Windsor Raceway in 1988.

In September 2005, Ferguson was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He died on July 14, 2007.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1956–57	Melville Millionaires	SJHL		51	11	17	28	49		—	—	—	—	—
1957–58	Melville Millionaires	SJHL		50	14	30	44	100		—	—	—	—	—
1958–59	Melville Millionaires	SJHL		44	32	34	66	83		—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Fort Wayne Komets	IHL		68	32	33	65	126		13	1	1	2	17
1960–61	Cleveland Barons	AHL		62	13	21	34	126		—	—	—	—	—
1961–62	Cleveland Barons	AHL		70	20	21	41	146		6	2	2	4	6
1962–63	Cleveland Barons	AHL		72	38	40	78	179		7	3	3	6	17
1963–64	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		59	18	27	45	125		7	0	1	1	25
1964–65	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		69	17	27	44	156		13	3	1	4	28
1965–66	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		65	11	14	25	153		10	2	0	2	44
1966–67	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		67	20	22	42	177		10	4	2	6	22
1967–68	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		61	15	18	33	117		13	3	5	8	25
1968–69	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		71	29	23	52	185		14	4	3	7	80
1969–70	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		48	19	13	32	139		—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		60	16	14	30	162		18	4	6	10	36
AHL totals				204	71	82	153	451		13	5	5	10	23
NHL totals				500	145	158	303	1214		85	20	18	38	260

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Division rank	Result
NYR	1975–76	41	14	22	5	(67)	4th in Patrick	Missed Playoffs
NYR	1976–77	80	29	37	14	72	4th in Patrick	Missed Playoffs
WPG	1985–86	14	7	6	1	(59)	3rd in Smythe	Lost in First round
Total		135	50	65	20	120

See also

• Notable families in the NHL

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• "Tough exterior, soft heart" (Winnipeg Sun column on the passing of John Ferguson Sr.)