of bread-line rising THE LAST — and so far, only — time Vancouver won _the Stanley Cup, the team was known as the Millionaires, a name hardly ‘ _ in keeping, with their cup- ’ winning bonus — $300 a. (Mame * But that, was 1915, when you “could buy a good three-piece suit for under $15... The last time the New York Rangers won the cup, one of the few surviving members of that team, Clint Smith, remembers the-bonus* was $1,270 a man plus another $500 kicked in by the Madison Square _ Garden Corporation: That was 1940, “and another of the survivors, Alex - Shibicky, points out that if you went to the factory door in Windsor or Detroit, the combined total would buy: you two Dodge automobiles. «+. The winner of the current series ' “between the Canucks and the ‘Rangers will earn considerably more — something over $40,000 per man. , But, given income tax, something _- unknown to the players 54 and 79° "; years ago, there may not be enough | ‘left over to buy even one moderately "expensive car in these inflated times. Certainly per game, the players are making much less money than they did during the regular season. “: ‘And this just may explain why the . Canucks, who were only a .500 team during the 84-game schedule, have looked so much better during |. - these six weeks of playoff action. “... Everyone is on ths same page now. Cliff Ronning makes exactly _the same money. as Pavel Bure. Kirk McLean, the million-dollar-a- year goalie, takes home no more than rookie centre Nathan Lafayette. No one is worrying about bonuses for goals, assists and total points, because there aren’t any. Without these distractions, the Canucks have come together as a team in the real sense of the word. If owners and general managers had their way, all bonuses would be based on team performance, not individual attainments. But in the era of the player agent, they don’t get their way. Except at play-off time, when everyone is “\qual under the dollar sign. Smith and Shibicky remember that everyone was pretty equal on the frugal Rangers’ operation of - more than 50 years ago. Salaries ranged from a low of $4,000 to a high of $6,000. Smith, who played centre for the 1940 team, has lived in West Vancouver since he built his home there in 1954. In the °50s and ’60s he operated the Esso service station at Marine and Capilano Road. —* Shibicky, who played right wing with Neil and Mac Colville on what was known as the Bread Vine (they brought in the bread), is retired in White Rock. ‘ Both recently celebrated their 80th birthdays; both remain interest- ed in the game. Smith is a regular at the Pacific Coliseum; Alex gets his fix from television. Who do they like? - Shibicky:.“Hell, I’m pulling for. the Canucks. I’ve been living out here for 45 years. But I think the - Rangers have too much depth for them. This is one of the best teams ‘ money can buy.” Smith: “I’m neutral. r ve been a regular at the Coliseum ever since the Canucks got into the NHL. But for 50 years I’ve been pulling for the Rangers to win another cup. I think they will this time. I don’t think the Canucks have the horses.” New York’s general manager, Neil Smith (no relation) De, flew Clint to New York as the team’s guest for the first two games against the Islanders in the opening round. It was a thank-you fora couple of pieces of memorabilia Clint had given him during the Rangers’ March visit here. - Given the stories told about the ‘tight ship general manager Lester Patrick ran in the bad old days, it couldn’t have happened in 1940. After they had beaten the Maple TAKaya Golf Centre Best Prices (65 talis $4.00) | (25% per ball less than competition) Longest Distance (280 yards) New Balls (Topflite Range Balls) Yardage Markers ‘NEW HOURS Weekdays 9:30 am-9:00 pm Weekends 8:30 am-9:00 pm UIMGya oneal gai Leafs in six at Toronto, Lester stood on the training table and announced: “The party is on in the Tudor Room at the Royal York...but...all the sticks and sweaters and equipment in this room belong to the Ranger hoc wy club. | want to see it all at training camp next fall.” Lester’s younger brother, Frank, also — and no doubt necessarily —- ran a frugal Vancouver operation in 1915, One of the game’s preat visionar- ies (he is credited, among other things, with introducing the blue- lines and the forward pass to heck- ey), he not only owned and managed the Millionaires, but also coached them and was their star defenceman. And he was the league president, to boat. It saved a lot of Salaries. So there were historic associa- tions when the Canucks and Rangers opened the final fast night in New York City. One brother brought three cham- pionships (the Rangers also won in 1928 and 1933) to New York. The other put together Vancouver's only — cup champion. Strangely, should the favored Rangers win in either the fifth or seventh games, it will be the first time New Yorkers wil] actually see their darlings win the Stanley Cup. On those other occasions they had to move out of the Garden to make room for the Ringling Brothers Circus. In 1940 they got in the first two . games at home, then played the next two games in Toronto. The big story that spring was the great Joe DiMaggio’s holdout against the Yankees, He finally signed the night the Rangers won the cup. The next day the headlines in all the New York papers screanied: “DiMAG SIGNS!” Somewhere on the back pages it was noted that the Rangers had won the Stanley Cup. 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