When Ed Sandford recalled his good old hockey days

After playing for the Bruins for eight seasons from 1947 to 1955, Ed Sandford retired in 1956. He spent one season each with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks before retiring completely. Following his retirement from playing, he worked as an off-ice official in Boston for 30 years.

In the "Voices From The Past" segment, Stan Fischler highlights former Boston Bruins player Ed Sandford.

Ed Sandford became a hockey player almost by chance. As a child, he played on an outdoor rink in Toronto and joined the neighborhood hockey team.

"I didn't intend to be one, I just happened to enjoy the game when I was a kid in Toronto. We had an outdoor rink where everybody skated and it had a neighborhood hockey team. By the time I was 11, I was good enough to make the club and we played teams from nearby towns..."

As he played more, he got better. He eventually made it to the major team at St. Michael's College, where he helped his team win Canada's Junior championship, the Memorial Cup.

"The more I played, the better I got and that added to the enjoyment. Meanwhile, teammates were encouraging me to stick with it and move up to the Ontario Hockey Association. I finally got accepted at St.Michael's College -- actually a Toronto high school -- where hockey was a big deal. I made it to the Major team -- sometimes playing defense -- and we went on to win Canada's Junior championship, the Memorial Cup. That got us a lot of attention from NHL scouts who saw pro prospects on our squad."

Although Ed Sandford was initially more interested in getting an education than turning pro, he eventually received an offer to play for the Boston Bruins. He hesitated at first, but eventually decided to give it a shot, which turned out to be one of the best moves of his life.

"I didn't know it at the time but the Bruins must have been scouting me because right out of the blue I got an offer to play in Boston. At first I hesitated because I hated the idea of giving up school. I finally decided to give it a shot, and am I ever grateful that I made that decision. It was one of the best moves of my life."

Ed Sandford's rookie year with the Bruins was a decent start to his NHL career. While the competition was tough, with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings being the top teams, Ed Sanford was able to stick with the big club and play 59 games. He was a solid, two-way player who was not a high-scoring forward, but he managed to score 10 goals and 15 assists.

"Not too bad. For starters, I was able to stick with the big club and play 59 games. That, for me, was an accomplishment. Another was that we finished third behind Toronto and Detroit which put us in the playoffs, another big thing for my first year. I wasn't a high-scoring forward but more a solid, two-way player and, all things considered, 10 goals and 15 assists was a decent start to my big-league career."

One of Ed Sandford's favorite teammates was Johnny Peirson, who had a smart, right-hand shot and was the right wing on Sanford's line. Peirson was a standout player who was always watching the opposition to try to offset their moves, which made him "The Thinking Man's Hockey Player."

"I had several, but one of the younger guys, Johnny Peirson, was a standout who had been a McGill University student. He was the right wing on my line -- a smart, right-hand shot who played his position very well. I called him 'The Thinking Man's Hockey Player' because he was always watching to see what the opposition was doing and trying to offset them."

The most unusual aspect of Ed Sandford's NHL career was the incident that took place during the opening playoff round in 1951, when the Bruins went up against the Maple Leafs. The second game of the series was tied 1-1 after regulation and into the first overtime. It was called off due to the "Blue Laws" in Toronto, which prohibited games from being played on Sundays. The Bruins lost the next game and the series, but if that second game had not been called off, the series might have turned out differently.

"That was in 1952-53 and we surprised a lot of people. As it happened, in the first round we played Detroit and, boy, were they ever strong. That season the Red Wings were the defending champs and beat us 7-0 in the playoffs opener. Everybody in hockey figured us for dead but we rebounded in Detroit and stunned them in the second game, 5-3. When we got back home our third-liner, Jack McIntyre, scored a game-winning overtime goal and from there we went on to knock out Detroit in six games. I got six goals in that series and it put us up against the (Montreal) Canadiens in the final round. I was getting closer than ever to the Stanley Cup"

Ed Sandford NHL Career

Ed Sandford was a professional ice hockey player who played in the NHL for 10 seasons from 1952 to 1962. Sanford was born on May 7th, 1930, in High River, Alberta, Canada. He began his junior hockey career playing for the Regina Pats and the Calgary Buffaloes before turning pro in 1950 with the Boston Bruins farm team, the Hershey Bears.

Ed Sandford made his NHL debut in 1952 and spent the next eight seasons with the Boston Bruins. He is known as a hardworking and tenacious forward who was a reliable scorer and a strong two-way player. In his first full season with the Bruins, Sandford scored 27 goals and 24 assists in 68 games and finished second in the Calder Trophy voting for rookie of the year.

Ed Sandford was part of the famous "Uke Line" for the Bruins, playing alongside fellow Ukrainian-Canadians Johnny Bucyk and Vic Stasiuk. Together, they formed one of the most productive lines in the NHL, helping the Bruins reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1957 and 1958.

Ed Sandford was traded to the New York Rangers in 1960, where he played for two seasons before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings in 1962. He played six games with the Red Wings before being sent to their minor league affiliate, the Pittsburgh Hornets. Ed Sandford retired from professional hockey in 1963 at the age of 33.

In his 10-year NHL career, Ed Sandford played a total of 527 games, scoring 128 goals and 146 assists for a total of 274 points. He is a hardworking and dedicated player who is respected by teammates and opponents alike for his toughness and work ethic. After retiring from hockey, Sanford returned to his hometown of High River, where he ran a successful car dealership for many years.