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Phil Esposito was
born on February 20, 1942 in Sault
Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. After a
few years in the minors, Esposito
broke through with the Chicago
Blackhawks in 1963. In Chicago he
was soon tasked with being Bobby
Hull's setup man. But his career as
a Blackhawk would only last until
1967 when he was traded to the
Boston Bruins along with Ken Hodge
and Fred Stanfield for Pit Martin,
Jack Norris and Gilles Marotte. In
Boston he was part of the great
Bruin teams with superstar
defenseman Bobby Orr. In 1969 he
became the first NHL player to score
over 100 points in a season, a feat
he would accomplish a total of 6
times in his career. Apart from
winning the Art Ross trophy as the
leading scorer, Esposito also won
the Hart Memorial trophy as the
league's most valuable player in
1969...Book
Phil Esposito for Your Event
The following year
saw the Boston Bruins win their
first Stanley Cup in 29 years.
Esposito continued on his torrid
pace as he broke Bobby Hull's single
season record for goals by scoring
76 in the 1970-71 season. This
record would stand until Wayne
Gretzky scored 92 goals in 1981-82.
In 1972 he was the central figure in
Team Canada's emotional victory
against the Soviet Union in the
Canada Cup. Esposito would continue
to chalk up points and accolades
with the Boston Bruins. But in 1975
he was traded with Carol Vadanais to
the New York Rangers for Brad Park,
Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi. Though
his most productive days were behind
him, Phil Esposito continued to
average a point per game with the
Rangers and helped them reach the
Stanley Cup finals in 1979. He
retired from hockey in 1981 and was
elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1984. He was the general manager
of the New York Rangers between
1986-89, helped land a franchise in
Tampa Bay in the early 1990s and was
their first general manager.
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Phil Esposito for Your Event
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