John Ferguson, Sr.

John Bowie Ferguson Sr. (September 5, 1938 - July 14, 2007) was a professional player. Ferguson played as a left winger for the Montreal Canadiens from 1963 to 1971.
==Early Years==
Ferguson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on September 5, 1938.
==Playing Career==
Ferguson played his junior hockey in Western Canada, with the Melville Millionaires of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in 1956–57 to 1958–59.
In 1959–60, he was playing professionslly with the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League. In 1960, he moved to the American Hockey League and the Cleveland Barons.
The New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens both wanted Ferguson in 1963. The Barons' owner asked John which one he wanted to go to. Ferguson wanted the Canadiens because the Rangers had not given him a chance earlier in his career.
The Canadiens badly needed an enforcer to protect their smaller forwards. Lou Fontinato, who had done the job for the Canadiens in 1962-63, had suffered a career-ending injury. Also Dickie Moore, a left winger, had retired.
Merely twelve seconds into his first NHL game in the 1963-64 NHL season, he was in a fight with Ted Green of the Boston Bruins; Ferguson won the fight and established a reputation - as a tough fighter - that he never lost.
Ferguson was also an 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.
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.
Ferguson retired in 1971, the same time as his linemate Jean Beliveau.
==Post-playing Career==
In 1972, he became the assistant coach of Team Canada who beat the Soviet team in the Summit Series.
In the years to follow, he became the head coach and later general manager of the New York Rangers. He was fired from that job in 1978, at which time he became the General Manager of the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association and, starting in 1979, the National Hockey League. He worked for the Ottawa Senators in the early 1990s and was a Special Consultant to the General Manager of the San Jose Sharks.
==Misc==
Upon the closing of the Boston Garden he received one of the penalty boxes from the arena, former Boston Bruins enforcer Terry O'Reilly received the other.
==Later Years and Death==
Ferguson 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. Ferguson was survived by his wife Joan and children John (former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs), Catherine, Chris and Joanne.
==Career statistics==
  	  	  	 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	 	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	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	AHL totals 	AHL totals	 	204 	71 	82 	153 	451 	 	13 	5 	5 	10 	23
NHL totals	NHL totals 	NHL totals	 	500 	145 	158 	303 	1214 	 	85 	20 	18 	38 	260
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Coaching record==
Team 	Year 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Post season
Team 	Year 	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	Total 	135 	50 	65 	20 	120 	 	
==Gallery==
Ferguson1stGoalOct863.jpg|Ferguson's first two NHL goals on October 8, 1963.
==External Links==
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Category:Canadian ice hockey general managers
Category:Cleveland Barons (AHL, 1937-1973) players
Category:Born in 1938
Category:Dead in 2007
Category:Canadian ice hockey players
Category:Fort Wayne Komets players
Category:Montreal Canadiens players
Category:Stanley Cup champions
Category:Retired in 1971
Category:Melville Millionaires alumni
Category:NHL general managers
Category:New York Rangers coaches
Category:Canadian ice hockey coaches
Category:Winnipeg Jets
Category:New York Rangers
Category:Winnipeg Jets general managers
Category:New York Rangers general managers