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Derek Sanderson

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For the American soccer player, see Derek Sanderson (soccer).
Derek Sanderson
Born (1946-06-14) June 14, 1946 (age 78)
Niagara Falls, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Boston Bruins
Philadelphia Blazers
New York Rangers
St. Louis Blues
Vancouver Canucks
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 1965–1978

Derek Michael Sanderson, nicknamed "Turk", (born June 16, 1946 in Niagara Falls, Ontario), is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is now a financial adviser to athletes.

Playing career

Early years

Born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Sanderson played junior hockey in his hometown with the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association. His time with the Flyers saw him being named to the Second All-Star Team in 1965-66, to the First All-Star Team in 1966-67 and winning the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the top scorer in the OHA also in 1966-67. However, Sanderson's highlight during his junior years was probably winning the Memorial Cup in 1964-65 against the Edmonton Oil Kings in five games.[1] During one notable game with the Flyers in 1965-66, with management from the Boston Bruins watching, Sanderson got into a fight with the Oshawa Generals' Bobby Orr, his future NHL teammate. While the Boston scouts were initially there for Orr, this also gave Sanderson valuable attention. The fight with Bobby Orr might have contributed to Sanderson's being called up to play two games with the Boston Bruins for the 1965-66 NHL season.[2] Sanderson also played two games in the CPHL with the Oklahoma City Blazers in 1965-66.

Early career with the Boston Bruins (1968-72)

In 1967-68, Sanderson joined the Boston Bruins full-time in the NHL. He played in 71 games contributing 24 goals and 49 points with the Bruins. Sanderson also collected 98 PIM in his rookie season, establishing himself as a "tough guy" in the league.[3] At season's end, Sanderson was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year, an honor that Orr won the previous year, giving the Bruins their second consecutive Calder Memorial Trophy.[4] Although he had been a leading scorer in junior hockey, his role on the high-scoring Bruins was to centre their defensive line with wingers Ed Westfall and Don Marcotte. They became one of the best defensive lines in the league and Sanderson played a pivotal role as one of the most highly regarded penalty killers and face off men in hockey.[5] In 1969-70, the Boston Bruins made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they faced off against the St. Louis Blues. The series went to a fourth game where Boston was leading the best-of-seven series three games to none. After three periods, both teams were tied 3-3, and the fourth game would need overtime. After only 40 seconds of overtime, Bobby Orr scored the game winning goal for the Bruins to clinch their first Stanley Cup in 29 years. Bobby Orr's goal went on to become one of the most famous goals in hockey history.[6] Often overlooked though was that Sanderson was the player who passed the puck to Bobby Orr for that goal.[7] During his time in Boston, Sanderson became a celebrity. Sanderson received much publicity for his flamboyant "mod" lifestyle. He drove a silver Rolls Royce, flashed diamond rings, and wore a mink coat.[8] Named by Cosmopolitan Magazine as one of the sexiest men in America, he was the subject of gossip columns, a frequent guest on television talk shows, and regularly photographed in the company of numerous beautiful women.[9] Sanderson was in the public eye enough that it has been reported New York Yankees' shortstop Derek Sanderson Jeter was named after him. This has, however, been denied by Jeter himself in an interview on MLB.com.[10] Derek Jeter's father's first name is Sanderson; as a result, this is more likely to be source of his middle name. Sanderson would help the Bruins finish first in the league for the next two seasons, which included a Stanley Cup victory in 1971-72 against the New York Rangers.[11]

Philadelphia Blazers (1972-73)

In the summer of 1972, Sanderson made headlines around the world of sports when he signed what was back then the richest contract in professional sports history. The Philadelphia Blazers of the rival league World Hockey Association had signed Sanderson to a 2.6 million dollar contract, a contract that surpassed that of Brazilian soccer star, Pelé, making him the highest-paid athlete in the world at the time.[12] However his time with the Blazers was a disastrous one. Plagued with injuries, Sanderson appeared in only eight games, recording six points. The Blazers management team had had enough and at the end of the season, Sanderson was paid one million dollars to return to his previous team, the Boston Bruins.[13]

Downward spiral (1973-78)

After being kicked off of the Blazers' roster, Sanderson played with the Bruins for two seasons which saw him suit up for only 54 games out of a possible 156 games. The Bruins seeing no future for Sanderson sent him down the American Hockey League with the Boston Braves for three games before trading him to the New York Rangers in 1974-75. It was with the Rangers that his alcoholism started.[14] Meanwhile, in a distraction from his hockey career, along with New England Patriots receiver Jim Colclough, and the New York Jets star football quarterback Joe Namath, Sanderson opened "Bachelors III", a trendy nightclub on New York City’s Upper East Side. Negative publicity over some of the clubs less than reputable patrons led to problems and eventually Sanderson had to get out of what went from a "goldmine" to a money-losing venture.[15] This would start a downward spiral in which Sanderson would bounce from team to team, never being able to stay with a team for more than two full seasons because mainly of his addiction to alcohol. Although Sanderson had a good first season with the Rangers by recording 50 points in 75 games, he would be traded eight games in to the St. Louis Blues next season. In St. Louis, Sanderson set career highs in assists and points scored in a season with 43 assists and 67 points. Again Sanderson's problems with alcohol and his repeating knee problems would lead Blues management to trade him in 1976-77 to the Vancouver Canucks. Struggling with his addiction to alcohol, Sanderson managed to score 16 points in 16 games with the Canucks, but he was still sent to the minors. Once again, as with the Blues, the Canucks' impatience with Sanderson's struggle with alcohol and his knee problems led them to the decision not to resign him. The Pittsburgh Penguins would sign Sanderson as a free agent in 1977-78. Sanderson would play 13 games with the Penguins, including eight games in the minors before retiring.[16]

Post career

During his career, Sanderson made many bad investments, losing millions of dollars which led him to be quite broke upon his retirement. Along with his substance abuse problems, Sanderson wound up penniless, one time sleeping on a New York City park bench. He was also in poor health, and crippled to the point he had to get around on crutches.[13] Forced to accept the charity of friends who gave him a place to live, several years after his retirement, publicity about his situation brought a second chance from the goodwill of people in the city of Boston, a place of which Bobby Orr said the fans and citizens were the most loyal and decent in the world. Orr spent his own money to check Sanderson and several Bruins personnel into rehab.[17] Sanderson entered rehab in 1979 and beat his addictions and took a job as a professional sports broadcaster. He worked for ten years in broadcasting with NESN. Wanting to make sure, that other hockey players would not follow his dark path, Sanderson with the help of Bobby Orr organized State Street Global Advisors, where he was Director of the Sports Investment Group that provided professional financial advice to athletes in the 90s.[17]

Sanderson is currently Managing Director of The Sports Group with Baystate Wealth Management in Boston. His team works with athletes and high net worth individuals.[18] He is involved with a variety of charitable organizations and makes a number of guest appearances at charitable events to help raise awareness and funding for their cause. His autobiography, 'Crossing the Line,' written with Kevin Shea, was released in October 2012 by Triumph in the United States and by Harper Collins in Canada.[19]

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1962-63 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 2 0 0 0 10 1 0 0 0 0
1962-63 Niagara Falls Flyers M-Cup — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0
1963-64 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 42 12 15 27 42 4 0 1 1 0
1964-65 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 55 19 46 65 128 11 9 8 17 26
1965-66 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 48 33 43 76 238 6 6 0 6 72
1965-66 Boston Bruins NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1965-66 Oklahoma City Blazers CPHL 2 1 0 1 0 4 0 4 4 5
1965-66 Niagara Falls Flyers M-Cup — — — — — 11 7 6 13 78
1966-67 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 47 41 60 101 193 13 8 17 25 70
1966-67 Oklahoma City Blazers CPHL — — — — — 2 0 0 0 0
1967-68 Boston Bruins NHL 71 24 25 49 98 4 0 2 2 9
1968-69 Boston Bruins NHL 61 26 22 48 146 9 8 2 10 36
1969-70 Boston Bruins NHL 50 18 23 41 118 14 5 4 9 72
1970-71 Boston Bruins NHL 71 29 34 63 130 7 2 1 3 13
1971-72 Boston Bruins NHL 78 25 33 58 108 11 1 1 2 44
1972-73 Philadelphia Blazers WHA 8 3 3 6 69 — — — — —
1972-73 Boston Bruins NHL 25 5 10 15 38 5 1 2 3 13
1973-74 Boston Bruins NHL 29 8 12 20 48 — — — — —
1973-74 Boston Braves AHL 3 4 3 7 2 — — — — —
1974-75 New York Rangers NHL 75 25 25 50 106 3 0 0 0 0
1975-76 New York Rangers NHL 8 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
1975-76 St. Louis Blues NHL 65 24 43 67 59 3 1 0 1 0
1976-77 Kansas City Blues CHL 8 4 3 7 6 — — — — —
1976-77 Vancouver Canucks NHL 16 7 9 16 30 — — — — —
1977-78 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 13 3 1 4 0 — — — — —
1977-78 Tulsa Oilers CHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1977-78 Kansas City Red Wings CHL 4 1 3 4 0 — — — — —
WHA totals 8 3 3 6 69 — — — — —
NHL totals 598 202 250 452 911 56 18 12 30 187

References

  1. ^ http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?id=91978
  2. ^ http://bruinslegends.blogspot.ca/2007/10/derek-sanderson.html
  3. ^ http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=14215#.UI7CHsU812A
  4. ^ http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SilverwareTrophyWinners.jsp?tro=CMT
  5. ^ http://thehockeywriters.com/derek-turk-sanderson-a-boston-legend/
  6. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/sports-2/the-strombo-q-a-10-questions-with-former-hockey-star-derek-sanderson.html?p=home&s=home
  7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBHiFijrNR0
  8. ^ http://thehockeywriters.com/derek-turk-sanderson-a-boston-legend/
  9. ^ http://www.aeispeakers.com/speakerbio.php?SpeakerID=890
  10. ^ "Jeter's Mailbag". MLB.com.
  11. ^ http://stanleycuprings.net/boston-bruins-1972-championship-ring/
  12. ^ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/141437-from-derek-sanderson-to-derek-jeter-to-sean-avery
  13. ^ a b CBC News http://www.cbc.ca/sports/columns/top10/fallingdown.html. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ^ [1]
  15. ^ http://bruinslegends.blogspot.ca/2007/10/derek-sanderson.html
  16. ^ http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=14215
  17. ^ a b "The Ever Elusive, Always Inscrutable And Still Incomparable Bobby Orr". CNN. March 2, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  18. ^ http://www.wellandtribune.ca/2012/10/19/derek-sanderson-turning-the-page
  19. ^ http://books.google.ca/books/about/Crossing_the_Line.html?id=FC3QuQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y
Preceded by Winner of the Calder Trophy
1968 		Succeeded by

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