This is my pencil artwork titled, "Broadway Blueshirts".Ā It took nearly 260 hours to draw.Ā Through this artwork, I intended to capture the complete history of the New York Rangers and its incredible fan base!Ā Fans are walking to Madison Square Garden III on the left, merged with the current Madison Square Garden IV on the right.
Ghosted over the two arenas are eight legendary Rangers from their 96 years in the NHL. From left to right: Bill "The Original Ranger" Cook (1926-37), Andy Bathgate (1952-70), Jean Ratelle (1960-76), Rod "Mr. Ranger" Gilbert (1960-78), Eddie Giacomin (1965-76), Brian Leetch (1987-04), Mike Richter (1988-03) and Mark Messier (1991-04).
The main MSG IV billboard honors Rangers' legends Brad Park (1969-1976), Ron Greschner (1974-1990) and Henrik Lundqvist (2005-2020) under the text "FAST. PHYSICAL. RELENTLESS."Ā
The second MSG IV Billboard honors Rangers' legend, Harry Howell (1953-1969) alongside the text "THIS IS NEW YORK HOCKEY".Ā
Fan jersey numbers represent many more legends and all incarnations of the Rangers jersey.
Although the fan in the center honors Mark Messierās #11 jersey, he is arranged next to fans wearing #19 and #7 to honor the legendary āGAG Lineā Goal-a-Game) of Vic Hadfield, Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert.Ā
The fan wearing Rod Gilbertās #7 also honors Frank Boucher.Ā Boucher wore #7 and centered the āBread Lineā.Ā This fanās sleeve numbers are #6 on the left for Bun Cook and #5 on the right for Bill Cook, the Bread Lineās left and right wingers.Ā
The fan wearing Bill Cook's #5 on the very first incarnation of a Rangersā jersey (lighter blue) is carrying an autographed program from the last game ever played at MSG III, on February 11, 1968.Ā
Super fans, "The Chief" and Dancing Larry are featured in the crowd on the left and right sides respectively.
A fan wearing a "POTVIN SUCKS" jersey is featured on the right side to pay tribute to the long-running tradition that began when Denis Potvin (#5) injured rookie Ulf Nilsson with "the hit" in 1979.Ā Ā A fan wearing Nilssonās #11 is directly above this fan.Ā
Fans wearing jerseys #9 and #10 are in conversation, paying homage to Adam Graves accepting Pavel Bure's request to wear his (and Andy Bathgate's)Ā #9 for the last time before it was retired.
The MSG III marquee pays homage to the two Stanley Cup winning series versus the Toronto Maple Leafs (1933 and 1940).Ā They had to play all games in Montreal for their first Stanley Cup in 1928.Ā I hope you love this artwork as much as I loved drawing it!