Derek Sanderson

Derek Michael Sanderson, nicknamed "Turk", (born June 16, 1946 in Niagara Falls, Ontario), is a former Canadian professional Centre who is now a bank executive and restaurateur.
==Playing Career==
He played junior hockey in his hometown. He helped the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association win a Memorial Cup championship in 1965 and Sanderson won the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the league's leading scorer. In 1967 Sanderson appeared in two games as a centre with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). The following season he became a Bruin regular and was voted the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's 1968 Rookie of the Year. 
For the next five years he was an integral part of the Bruins team that won Stanley Cup championships in 1970 and 1972. 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 faceoff men in hockey. During the 1970 Stanley Cup finals Sanderson laid a perfect pass on the stick of Bobby Orr that resulted in the goal that not only won the Bruins their first Stanley Cup in twenty-nine years, but became the most widely published photo in hockey history. The Bruins went on to finish first in the league for the next two seasons, winning the Cup again in 1972.
Nicknamed "Turk," Sanderson was a fan favorite who received much publicity for his flamboyant "mod" lifestyle. He drove a silver Rolls Royce, flashed diamond rings, and wore a mink coat. Named by Cosmopolitan Magazine as one of the sexiest men in America, he was the subject of the gossip columns, a frequent guest on television talk shows, and regularly photographed in the company of numerous beautiful women. He is famously quoted as having told a reporter who asked about his dining habits that his pre-game meal was a steak and a blonde. 
After the 1972 season, Derek Sanderson signed a contract with the Philadelphia Blazers of the newly-formed World Hockey Association. His $2.6 million salary made him the highest-paid athlete in the world at the time. Unfortunately, his play did not live up to the expectations of his salary—nor, realistically, could it have—and between an early-season injury, intemperate remarks to the press, and Blazer financial troubles, Sanderson was bought out before season's end.
He promptly returned to the Bruins but was traded to the New York Rangers after the following season. Meanwhile, in a distraction from his hockey career, along with New England Patriots receiver Jim Colclough, and the New York Jets star quarterback Joe Namath, Sanderson opened "Bachelors III", a trendy nightclub on New York City's Upper East Side. Negative publicity over some of the club's 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. 
His lifestyle arising from money and fame, combined with abuse of alcohol and drugs, resulted in Sanderson's health deteriorating, and his career began to go downhill. While he still played effectively when healthy, he began to be dealt from team to team and even spent some stints in the minor leagues: to the St. Louis Blues early in the 1976 season, to the Vancouver Canucks on waivers midway through the 1977 season. He signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins for the stretch run in 1978, after which—hobbled by repeated knee injuries—he retired. 
He lost millions of dollars in bad investments and with the substance abuse problems, he wound up penniless, in poor health, and crippled to the point that he needed crutches to get around. 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. 
Sanderson beat his addictions and took a job as a professional sports broadcaster. He worked for ten years in broadcasting with NESN and then helped organize State Street Global Advisors, where he was Director of the Sports Investment Group that provided professional financial advice to athletes to ensure they did not wind up impoverished as he had.
Derek Sanderson is currently Vice President and Senior Investment Professional with Howland Capital in Boston, where he invests for young athletes and high networth individuals. 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.
==Gallery==
Sanderson_goal-Christmas1967.gif|Derek Sanderson scores, Christmas 1967.
10Feb1968-Bergman_Crozier_Sanderson.jpg|Derek Sanderson scores on Roger Crozier, February 10, 1968.
1968-Sanderson_Orr_trophies.jpg|1967-68 season trophy winners Derek Sanderson and Bobby Orr.
1Oct1968-Hodge_Murphy_Sather_Sanderson.jpg|Ken Hodge, Ron Murphy, Glen Sather and Derek Sanderson at training camp, October 10, 1968.
Sanderson-6Apr1969.gif|Derek Sanderson's 1969 Quarter-finals series winner, April 6, 1969.
Sanderson_throws_jersey-21Nov1969.gif|Derek Sanderson throws Ray McKay's jersey into the crowd, November 21, 1969.
Sanderson-23Nov1969.gif|Derek Sanderson scores off the face-off, November 23, 1969.
Sanderson_goal-6Dec1969.gif|Tony Esposito is pulled after allowing Derek Sanderson's goal, December 6, 1969.
Dallas_Smith_goal-7Dec1969.gif|Dallas Smith from Derek Sanderson, December 7, 1969.
Sanderson_goal-28Dec1969.gif|Bobby Orr sets up Derek Sanderson for the game winner, December 28, 1969.
4Mar1970-Sanderson_Hodge_go_into_stands.jpg|Derek Sanderson and Ken Hodge go into the stands at St. Louis, March 4, 1970.
Sanderson_ganged_upon-11Apr1970.gif|Derek Sanderson ganged up on, Game 3 of the Quarter-finals, April 11, 1970.
Sanderson_goal-Game6-16Apr1970.gif|Derek Sanderson makes it 4-1 Boston, April 16, 1970.
7May1970-Sanderson_Hall.jpg|Derek Sanderson and Glenn Hall, Game 3 of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals, May 7, 1970.
10May1970-Orr_goal.jpeg|Bobby Orr scoring the 1970 Cup winning goal, May 10, 1970.
Sanderson_goal-5Dec1970.gif|Derek Sanderson scores from Phil Esposito, December 5, 1970.
Orr_goal-23Jan1971.gif|Bobby Orr from Derek Sanderson, January 23, 1971.
Sanderson_goal-2Jan1972.gif|Derek Sanderson scores the game winner, January 2, 1972.
1972-Oct12-Green-Sanderson faceoff.jpg|Ceremonial face-off between former Boston Bruins teammates Ted Green and Derek Sanderson at the Whalers first game, October 12, 1972.
1972-Oct26-Sanderson.jpg|Derek Sanderson against the Cleveland Crusaders, October 26, 1972.
1973-Sanderson.jpg|Derek Sanderson returned to the Bruins line-up on February 10, 1973.
==Video==
Nearly three hours of video from the Bruins-Maple Leafs game on January 6, 1968. All goals are shown including one by Bobby Orr which tied the game 3-3. An interview with Derek Sanderson is shown in the first intermission. During the second intermission, highlights from the December 27, 1967 Bruins-Black Hawks game are shown including a Hat trick by Phil Esposito. Milt Schmidt is then interviewed.
1968 JAN 6 BRUINS @ MAPLE LEAFS
==External Links==
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Category:Born in 1946
Category:Stanley Cup champions
Category:Canadian ice hockey players
Category:Boston Bruins players
Category:New York Rangers players
Category:St. Louis Blues players
Category:Vancouver Canucks players
Category:Pittsburgh Penguins players
Category:Calder Trophy winners
Category:Niagara Falls Flyers alumni
Category:Oklahoma City Blazers (1965-1977) players
Category:Tulsa Oilers (CHL) players
Category:Kansas City Red Wings players
Category:Retired in 1978