[Johnny Pie]

Originally Posted by Howatt8

No problem JP, I can understand why some would not consider Fotiu to be a top 25 fighter. Being a lifelong Ranger fan, I certainly liked having Fotiu, but I'm not related to the guy or anything, nor do I find the need to exaggerate anything he's ever done. I thought Gunslinger and Flyer Frank summed it up rather well with a few short words.

Two terms I hate to use when it comes to heavyweights is "afraid" or "punked out". I don't think there is one enforcer that ever played this game that didn't turn down someone at some point. In the WHA, Fotiu turned down Ted Scharf, for whatever reason. Scharf clearly challenged Fotiu in front of the net and Fotiu turned and skated away.

Personally, I don't think anyone in their right mind would say that a guy like O'Reilly was afraid of Nick Fotiu. That, to me, is laughable. I watched O'Reilly fight with a separated shoulder, go to the box and pop his shoulder back in, talk about a warrior. O'Reilly was the type of guy that you could kick his ass 5X and he'd be looking forward to fight number 6, lol.

I think a lot of older Ranger fans remember those pre-1976 years when the Rangers were the leagues biggest pansy's. You probably remember the 72 playoffs when Sanderson beat up on Rod Gilbert and Bobby Rousseau. Then you go to 1974 and you watch Schultz beat up on Pete Stemkowski, Middleton, Rolfe, and Brad Park.

I remember a game where the Rangers allowed Schultz to beat up on Rick Middleton and Bob Kelly to beat up Gene Carr with no retaliation. In 76, Curt Bennett breaks Dave Maloney's jaw.

This is what Ranger fans lived with. So if Ranger fans overrate Fotiu, IMO, it is somewhat understandable, seeing as what we lived with for over a decade. Not saying it should change anyone's opinion and as I've grown older and wiser, I understand the case against him and agree with it to a degree. He is certainly overrated by Ranger fans and I can't stand reading about all this fear and terror he invoked. However, he was much more respected amongst his peers than he is on these fight boards.

You're a Bruins fan, so you wouldn't quite understand, seeing as how you not only iced the toughest team in the league for quite some time, but you also had the number 1 heart and soul guy in O'Reilly and the greatest player to ever play the game in Orr.

Man, I am actually jealous, lol.

Howatt again I agree with most of what you say and also others make valid points. Reasonable arguments .I have never argued that he wasn't very well respected and that he didn't give his teammates courage and a certain amount of stability. Never said he wasn't tough or wasn't a good fighter. It was exactly the B.S about the fear and terror he invoked because of his fights and strength that got me. He never showed in his fights this unbelievable ability to take apart the top tier fighters. All I am saying is put him in his proper place without all the hype. I do understand that Ranger fans might overrate him because of the feeling that you finally have someone to stand up to the best but it actually frustrated me that he didn't do more. I was afraid of what he could do but better Top fighter fight top fighter instead of no fighting. Imagine if Schultz and Maloney and Gillies and so many other Tough guys didn't fight with Oreilly, Cash etc. . We certainly didn't win them all but I am sure glad they fought. One thing about the Rangers I tried to show with the pictures is in the pre 72 era they were not a bunch of *******. They fought with Bruins and others. When the game didn't have the designated tough guys they didn't run and hide. Even against my Bruins they lost because of Orr not because they were run out of the building. The Bruins had more player/fighters but the Rangers were far from sissies.