Story Summary
Ron Duguay has been remembered by veteran hockey writer Stan Fischler as a stylish, generous and approachable New York Rangers figure following Duguay’s death at the age of 69.
Fischler, widely known as “The Hockey Maven”, recalled a television feature in which Duguay took him shopping at an upscale Manhattan clothing store. What could have been an uncomfortable joke at Fischler’s expense instead became a lasting memory of Duguay’s consideration. Duguay selected an outfit that included brown boots, blue jeans, a white shirt and a brown leather jacket, then reassured Fischler as they posed outside the shop: “You look very handsome, Stan. I dare say, VERY HANDSOME.”
The tribute presents Duguay not simply as the suave Rangers personality associated with the 1970s and 1980s, but as someone who made time for people. Fischler wrote that Duguay never rejected an interview or turned his back on anyone, whether the Rangers had won or lost.
Key Facts
- Ron Duguay, a New York Rangers figure from the 1970s and 1980s, died at the age of 69.
- Stan Fischler began working with the Rangers as an assistant publicist in the 1954-55 season before covering the club as a beat writer from 1955.
- Fischler recalled that Duguay took him shopping for a television feature and assembled an outfit including brown boots, blue jeans, a white shirt and a brown leather jacket.
- Fischler described Duguay as a player who never rejected an interview or turned his back on anybody, regardless of a Rangers result.
- Duguay told Fischler, “You look very handsome, Stan. I dare say, VERY HANDSOME.”
IHM Discussion
Fischler’s recollection is deliberately personal, centred less on a career retrospective than on one afternoon in Manhattan. That makes its portrait of Duguay especially clear. The fashion-conscious public image was real, but Fischler’s memory is that Duguay used his confidence to put another person at ease rather than to make himself the centre of attention.
The shopping trip was arranged around the contrast between Duguay’s polished style and Fischler’s self-deprecating concern that he did not belong in such a setting. Fischler expected to feel awkward. Instead, Duguay quickly made the occasion comfortable, picked the clothes and offered an uncomplicated compliment. The leather jacket remains a tangible reminder for Fischler of that day.
Their relationship stretched well beyond the feature. Fischler had spent extensive time around Duguay and the Rangers, and his tribute returns repeatedly to accessibility. In a sport where players’ public personas can become fixed around image, statistics or a famous era, Fischler’s account preserves a different part of Duguay’s standing: a man remembered for treating people well.
Why It Matters
Duguay’s Rangers years made him one of the recognisable personalities of his generation, and Fischler’s tribute adds a human dimension to the loss. It records why a player’s impact can endure beyond what appears in a record book.
For Rangers followers and people who encountered Duguay around hockey, the memory also speaks to the value of availability and ordinary kindness. Fischler’s account does not claim that one shopping trip defines a life, but it explains why that particular moment stayed with him for so long.
Mini Q&A
Who was Ron Duguay?
Ron Duguay was a prominent New York Rangers figure during the 1970s and 1980s who died at the age of 69.
What did Stan Fischler remember about Ron Duguay?
Fischler recalled Duguay taking him shopping for a television feature, choosing a new outfit for him and making him feel comfortable throughout the experience.
Coach Mark Comment
Players with presence can make others shrink or settle, often without noticing which effect they are having. Duguay apparently chose the latter. That is a useful standard inside any hockey environment: confidence carries more weight when it leaves the people around you more comfortable, not less.
IHM Final View
Stan Fischler’s farewell to Ron Duguay is a warm account of a Rangers icon whose style was matched by generosity. The jacket, the compliment and the shared joke remain vivid because, for Fischler, they revealed the person behind the image.