49. Bill Fairbairn

Everybody liked Billy Fairbairn. Billy Fairbairn was quiet, he hit, he worked hard, he took his hits and he played up and down that wall. And you could trust him every step of the way.
-Derek Sanderson¹

Heading into Bill Fairbairn’s rookie season of 1969-70, Rangers GM and coach Emile Francis recognized immediately that the winger Fairbairn might be a good match with center Walt Tkazcuk. Even The Cat probably didn’t realize how right he was; Fairbairn and Tkazcuk were joined at the hip for the next seven seasons on the “bulldog line” that was an ideal, two-way second line. The pair also quickly established themselves as the top penalty-kill forwards. Fairbairn later remembered, “I played with Walter and we clicked right off the bat and if I hadn’t started off with him I wouldn’t have been runner up for the rookie of the year. We just sort of jelled when we went to training camp…”² Dave Balon completed the bulldog line in 1969-70 and 70-71 and enjoyed the most productive offensive years of his career. “Playing with Walter and Dave was very easy,” Fairbairn recalled. “The connection between us happened really quickly. We read each other’s instincts very well.”³ Fairbairn led all rookies in goals and assists in 1969-70 but lost out on the Calder Trophy to goaltender Tony Esposito.

Fairbairn’s sophomore season was shortened due to a nasty bout of mono. It kept him out of 22 games and limited his effectiveness when he did get back in the lineup. Nothing kept Fairbairn out of the lineup for five straight seasons between ’71-’72—’75-’76. His offensive output was never overwhelming but was a significant and remarkably consistent bonus to continued strong defense and penalty killing. “I didn’t want to be scored against and had to work hard at defensive play. I was more or less classified as a defensive player and penalty killer rather than a goal scorer, but I did get my fair share of goals.”⁴ “I don’t know how I got those goals because I had one of the worst shots in the league. I think the goalies were kind of surprised when I shot the puck because when I let it go it was like a changeup in baseball and that would be my hard shot…But it was accurate and I had help from my two line mates…As a line we really clicked well. I could never have played on a better line.”⁵

Balon was traded away early in the 1971-72 season and various replacements were given looks on the left side of the bulldog line. In the opening round of the 1972 playoffs, Fairbairn led all players with eight points in the six-game defeat of Montreal.

In 1972-73, the rookie winger Steve Vickers stepped in as the perfect complement for the Tkaczuk-Fairbairn line. “Playing with Walt Tkaczuk and Billy Fairbairn has to be the easiest way for a left wing to break into the NHL,” Vickers said. “They’re doing all the work and I’m getting the goals.”⁶ Fairbairn said, “Dave and Steve were both good goal scorers. They were magic with the puck around the net there and it was pretty much up to me and Walter to get them the puck. They were the go to people, Dave and Steve both, because they were kind of natural goal scorers and they were close to the net all the time so they weren’t too hard to find. Steve especially because he was always right off the post there and he stayed away from the defensemen and if you could get him the puck he made sure it went in.”⁷ The trio’s chemistry helped Vickers win the Calder Trophy and score 30+ goals in each of his first four seasons.

Fairbairn was the epitome of unselfishness, and liked to work the boards and entice opposing d-men to run him to free up his linemates. “I liked going along the boards. I didn’t go off my wing too often but if I could get the defensemen to take the body on me then Walter would be wide open…I didn’t mind taking the hits.”⁸ Tkaczuk actually pleaded with Fairbairn to skate to open ice: “He wouldn’t leave the boards and he would wait for a guy to hit him. Then, at the last second, he’d give me the pass so I could get a two-on-one. I would ask him, ‘Would you please, every once in a while, get off the boards and go center ice?'”⁹

By 1975-76, back issues were hampering Fairbairn and newly installed GM/coach John Ferguson didn’t care for the style Fairbairn and Tkaczuk played.¹⁰ Shortly into the 1976-77 season, Fairbairn and Nick Beverly were sent to Minnesota in exchange for Bill Goldsworthy. Though his back woes made it difficult to skate, Fairbairn gutted it out for a couple more seasons between Minnesota and St. Louis before retiring.

A quiet person, Fairbairn kept a low profile even while playing, and has kept it even lower since. The Hockey News reported in 2004 that “Fairbairn struggled with life after the NHL” and quoted him as saying, “When hockey’s been your life, it’s hard to know where to go.”¹¹ He returned to his native Manitoba and did some work as a realtor and ran a sporting goods store. In 2017, his former junior team the Brandon Wheat Kings reported that injuries from his playing days “had a lasting impact…he now needs help getting his shoes and socks on because he can’t bend over. He has had one hip replaced and the other is scheduled to be done. He also has Parkinson’s disease.”¹²

He remains an underappreciated Ranger. Vickers said, “Those two guys (Fairbairn and Tkaczuk) were unselfish, they didn’t care who got the goals, who got the points, as long as we won.”¹³ Fairbairn was also called on to shut down opposing teams’ top lines and kill penalties. His 12 shorthanded goals with the Rangers rank fourth all-time. Emile Francis certainly appreciated having Fairbairn in his lineup and said:

When the game was on the line, guess who was out there—Fairbairn. When we came down to the last minute of a period or a one-goal game, trying to protect the lead, guess who was out there—Fairbairn. I put him against the other team’s best lines. He and Tkaczuk could kill penalties but were so offensive that the other team couldn’t get out of their own end when we were shorthanded. They used to call Fairbairn ‘Dog’ because he would bite you in the ass. He would come after you. He wouldn’t let you alone!¹⁴

Fairbairn himself has said, “I love New York and still love the Rangers. They are my only team.”¹⁵

Watch Fairbairn clean up Tkaczuk’s rebound at the start of this clip, then put in another one on a play starting at 0:22 of the video: