Derek Sanderson


Derek Michael Sanderson, nicknamed "Turk", is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and two-time Stanley Cup winner who set up what many consider to be the greatest goal in National Hockey League history. He currently serves as an advisor for athletes.

Playing career

Early years

Born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Sanderson was the son of Canadian Army Private Harold A. Sanderson, and Caroline Hall Gillespie from Dysart, Scotland. His older sister Karen was born while his father was serving in France in 1944. As a young boy, Sanderson took to hockey, skating countless hours on what was roughly a half-size version of an NHL rink. His father built it, spanning two backyards of small cookie-cutter houses, on lots provided at a small price to servicemen like himself who were returning from the war.
He played junior hockey in his hometown with the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association. His time with the Flyers saw him being named to the Second All-Star Team in 1965-66, to the First All-Star Team in 1966-67 and winning the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the top scorer in the OHA also in 1966-67. In 1964-65, Sanderson helped the Flyers reach the Memorial Cup finals where they faced the Edmonton Oil Kings, winning the championship in five games. After spending four years in the OHA, Sanderson turned pro by signing with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League in 1965–66, and made his professional debut that season by playing two games with the Bruins. Sanderson also played two games in the CPHL with the Oklahoma City Blazers in 1965-66, recording one goal.

Early career with the Boston Bruins (1968–1972)

In 1967-68, Sanderson joined the Bruins full-time in the NHL, playing in 71 games, contributing 24 goals and 49 points. Sanderson also collected 98 penalty minutes in his rookie season, establishing himself as a "tough guy" in the league. At season's end, Sanderson was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year, an honor that Bobby Orr won the previous year, giving the Bruins their second consecutive Calder Memorial Trophy. It remains the only time in Bruins' history that the team has had consecutive Calder Trophy winners.
Although Sanderson had been a leading scorer in junior hockey, his role on the ubertalented Bruins was to centre their defensive line with right wing Ed Westfall and either Wayne Carleton or Don Marcotte at the left side. It wasn't long before Westfall and Sanderson emerged as the most accomplished penalty-killing tandem in hockey. Nonetheless, Sanderson was an underrated offensive threat who scored at least 24 goals in seven different seasons. Remarkably, in the 1970-71 season, he finished with a career-high 29 goals even though he played on the third line and seldom on the power play.
In 1969-70, the Bruins faced the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Finals. Boston led the series three games to none, and the fourth game required overtime, tied 3-3. Forty seconds into the extra period, Sanderson had the puck behind the Blues goal line when he spotted defenseman Bobby Orr breaking to the front of the net. Orr converted his short pass that went through a maze of sticks and legs for the game-winner, clinching the Bruins' first Stanley Cup in 29 years. In 2017, on the 100th anniversary of the league, fans voted the Stanley Cup clincher as the greatest single goal in its history. It also would become Sanderson's signature moment.
During his time in Boston, the flamboyant Sanderson became a sport celebrity as the hockey version of Jets quarterback Joe Namath, who was all the rage in New York at the time. Like Namath, the Boston heartthrob received much publicity for his "mod" lifestyle as seen by his owning a Rolls-Royce car. Named by Cosmopolitan as one of the sexiest men in America, he was the subject of gossip columns, a frequent guest on television talk shows, and regularly photographed in the company of numerous beautiful women. Sanderson helped the Bruins finish first in the league the next two seasons. He also helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 1971-72 against the New York Rangers.
Renowned for his tenacious checking and highly efficient face-off abilities, Sanderson is widely regarded to be among the premier penalty-killers in NHL history. He raised the art to another level with an uncanny ability to score goals despite the manpower disadvantage. Upon his retirement as a player after the 1977-78 campaign, Sanderson was the league leader in career shorthanded goals. Nearly half a century after his last appearance with Boston, he still holds the Bruins team record for most career shorthanded goals in Stanley Cup playoff games, a mark that he shares with Ed Westfall, his longtime teammate. Through the 2020 regular season, his 24 short-handed tallies in the regular season ranked ranked third in club history behind Brad Marchand and Rick Middleton.

Philadelphia Blazers (1972–1973)

In the summer of 1972, Sanderson made headlines when he signed what was then the richest contract in professional sports history. The Philadelphia Blazers of the World Hockey Association signed Sanderson to a $2.6 million contract, making him the highest-paid athlete in the world at the time. His time with the Blazers was disastrous, as, plagued with injuries, Sanderson appeared in only eight games, recording six points. The Blazers management team had had enough and at the end of the season, Sanderson was paid $1 million to return to the Bruins.

Downward spiral (1973–1978)

After being kicked off the Blazers' roster, Sanderson played with the Bruins for two seasons, in which he suited up for only 54 games out of a possible 156. The Bruins, seeing no future for Sanderson, sent him down to the American Hockey League with the Boston Braves for three games before trading him to the New York Rangers in 1974-75.
Meanwhile, in a distraction from his hockey career, along with New England Patriots receiver Jim Colclough, and the New York Jets star football quarterback Joe Namath, Sanderson opened "Bachelors III", a trendy nightclub on New York City’s Upper East Side. Negative publicity over some of the club's less than reputable patrons led to problems and eventually Sanderson had to get out of what went from a "goldmine" to a money-losing venture.
This started a downward spiral in which Sanderson would bounce from team to team, never being able to stay with a team for more than two full seasons, mainly because of his addiction to alcohol. Although Sanderson had a good first season with the Rangers by recording 50 points in 75 games, he was traded eight games in to the St. Louis Blues next season. In St. Louis, Sanderson set career highs in assists and points scored in a season with 43 assists and 67 points, but problems with alcohol and his recurring knee problems led Blues management to trade him in 1976-77 to the Vancouver Canucks. Struggling with his addiction to alcohol, Sanderson managed to score 16 points in 16 games with the Canucks, but he was still sent to the minors. As was the case with the Blues, the Canucks' impatience with Sanderson's struggle with alcohol and his knee problems led them to the decision not to re-sign him. The Pittsburgh Penguins signed Sanderson as a free agent in 1977-78; he played 13 games with the Penguins and eight games in the minors before retiring.

Post-playing career

In April 1979, Sanderson married Rhonda Rapport, a former Playboy Bunny from Chicago. Their son, Scott Leslie Sanderson, died at birth on October 4, 1981, in Niagara Falls. According to a story in the Toronto Star by Ellie Tesher on March 21, 1982, the couple separated soon after that, and Rhonda Sanderson's detailed questions about their son's death led to an investigation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. "Because of this situation, an innocent life was lost and I almost died, too," she told Tesher. "It mustn't happen to other women. They must learn to speak up when they know something's wrong."
During his career, Sanderson made many bad investments and lost millions of dollars; he was broke when he retired and had substance abuse problems. He wound up penniless, one time sleeping on a New York City park bench, and in poor health. Several years after Sanderson's retirement, Bobby Orr spent his own money to check Sanderson and several other former Bruins into rehab. Sanderson entered rehab in 1979, beat his addictions, and took a job as a professional sports broadcaster, working for ten years with New England Sports Network and WSBK-TV with play-by-play announcer Fred Cusick. Wanting to make sure that other hockey players would not follow his path, Sanderson organized The Professionals Group at State Street Global Advisors, where he was Director of The Sports Group that provided professional financial advice to athletes in the 90s.
In 2012, Sanderson became the Managing Director of The Sports Group, in Boston. His team worked with athletes and high-net-worth individuals, but he is not currently listed on the company's website. His second autobiography, Crossing the Line: The Outrageous Story of a Hockey Original, written with Kevin Shea, was released in October 2012. His first autobiography, I've Got To Be Me, written with Stan Fischler, had been published in 1970. In September 2013, Sanderson received the Hockey Legacy Award from The Sports Museum at TD Garden.

Awards and achievements