My very first Ranger memory has to do with AB and it is sort of a strange one. I think it was in 1958, when I was ten years old, growing up in the Bronx.
For some reason my Mom decided to take a walk (of about a mile) to the neighborhood where she had grown up. It was a Saturday afternoon. When we got to her old neighborhood, we went into a "dairy store" and bought some cheese (I even remember the type, edam cheese),
Now the key thing was that the store was on Bathgate Avenue. When we returned home, I remember watching the Rangers on TV, and seeing their star player, Andy Bathgate. For some strange reason, just having returned from Bathgate Avenue and seeing Andy Bathgate on TV, the two Bathgates, melded in my head. I have never forgotten it. And here I am, 58 years later, still rooting for the Rangers.
Another AB memory. When the NHL expanded to 12 teams in 1967-1968, the very first game the Rangers played against an expansion team was against the Pens at the old MSG. Everyone was kind of excited to see how the Rangers, an up-and-coming team, would do against expansion fodder. Sure enough, the Rangers jumped out to a big lead and then let up. The Pens came roaring back with a few goals. One, perhaps the first, was scored by AB, playing for the Pens. The Rangers did right the ship and win.