Bill Fairbairn

William John "Bulldog" Fairbairn (born January 7, 1947) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right wing who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Fairbairn played most of his career with the New York Rangers, later played for the Minnesota North Stars and St. Louis Blues, and retired early in the 1978-79 NHL season having accumulated 162 goals in his career.

Playing career Bill Fairbairn's hockey career began with his hometown's Brandon Wheat Kings, then of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), where he picked up he nickname "Bulldog" for his tenacious play. Fairbairn scored 315 points over the next 3 seasons in Brandon, including 142 (with 60 goals) in 1966-67 playing alongside Juha Widing and Erv Zeimer, earning all-star honours in the process. Fairbairn earned a 3-game appearance with Rangers affiliate the Omaha Knights of the Central Professional Hockey League (CHL) in 1967. That Spring, Fairbairn was loaned to the Port Arthur Marrs of the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League to play for them in the 1967 Memorial Cup. Fairbairn went on to play 8 seasons in New York. Linemate Balon was traded to Vancouver in 1971-72, temporarily placing the Bulldog line on hiatus; the name was resurrected the following season when rookie Steve Vickers joined the team. Ranger legend Rod Gilbert said of Fairbairn and teammate Walt Tkaczuk, "In Tkaczuk and Fairbairn we have the best penalty-killers in hockey."

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1963–64 Brandon Wheat Kings MJHL 4 1 1 2 2 — — — — — 1963–64 Brandon Wheat Kings MC — — — — — 2 1 0 1 0 1964–65 Brandon Wheat Kings SJHL 55 28 31 59 26 9 6 5 11 11 1965–66 Brandon Wheat Kings SJHL 60 36 76 112 94 11 5 12 17 6 1966–67 Brandon Wheat Kings MJHL 55 60 82 142 75 13 12 18 30 33 1966–67 Omaha Knights CPHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1966–67 Port Arthur Marrs MC — — — — — 5 3 4 7 4 1967–68 Omaha Knights CPHL 70 23 33 56 46 — — — — — 1968–69 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1968–69 Omaha Knights CHL 68 28 47 75 63 7 3 6 9 9 1969–70 New York Rangers NHL 76 23 33 56 23 6 0 1 1 10 1970–71 New York Rangers NHL 56 7 23 30 32 4 0 0 0 0 1971–72 New York Rangers NHL 78 22 37 59 53 16 5 7 12 11 1972–73 New York Rangers NHL 78 30 33 63 23 10 1 8 9 2 1973–74 New York Rangers NHL 78 18 44 62 12 13 3 5 8 6 1974–75 New York Rangers NHL 80 24 37 61 10 3 4 0 4 13 1975–76 New York Rangers NHL 80 13 15 28 8 — — — — — 1976–77 New York Rangers NHL 9 1 2 3 0 — — — — — 1976–77 Minnesota North Stars NHL 51 9 20 29 2 2 0 1 1 0 1977–78 Minnesota North Stars NHL 6 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1977–78 St. Louis Blues NHL 60 14 16 30 10 — — — — — 1978–79 St. Louis Blues NHL 5 1 0 1 0 — — — — — NHL totals 658 162 261 423 173 54 13 22 35 42

Awards and achievements MJHL Second All-Star Team (1967) CHL Second All-Star Team (1969) Inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007 "Honoured Member" of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame