Steve Vickers (ice hockey)
A sharpshooting winger whose brilliant rookie season with the New York Rangers earned him the Calder Trophy, defining a solid decade-long NHL career.
Born 1951 (age 75)·Canadian ice hockey player·Birthday: April 21·Baby Boomers
Biography
Steve Vickers arrived in the NHL with a splash that few rookies ever manage. Joining the New York Rangers in the 1972-73 season, the left winger from Toronto didn't just adjust to the league; he dominated it. Paired often with the legendary Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert on the famed 'GAG Line' (Goal-A-Game), Vickers used his accurate shot and intelligent positioning to score 30 goals in his first campaign, a feat that secured him the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie. For ten seasons, all with the Rangers, Vickers was a model of consistent, two-way play. He wasn't the flashiest star on a team featuring hall-of-famers, but he was a crucial component, three times topping the 30-goal mark and providing reliable scoring from the wing. His career was cut short by a back injury at 31, but his legacy remains that of a player who maximized his talent and delivered from his very first shift on Broadway.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Steve was born in 1951, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Steve Was Born
The biggest hits of 1951
#1 Movie
Quo Vadis
Best Picture
An American in Paris
#1 TV Show
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
Steve's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1951Born
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1956Started school
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1964Became a teenager
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Could drive
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1969Could vote
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1972Turned 21
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1981Turned 30
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1991Turned 40
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 50
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 60
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2021Turned 70
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2026Age 75 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year in 1973 after scoring 30 goals for the New York Rangers.
- Recorded three consecutive 30-goal seasons for the Rangers from 1974 to 1976.
- Played his entire 10-season NHL career with the New York Rangers, appearing in 698 regular season games.
- Scored a career-high 41 goals and 85 points during the 1974-75 season.
Did You Know?
He was originally drafted by both the NHL's Rangers and the WHA's New York Raiders in 1971, choosing the NHL path.
Vickers wore the number 8 for the Rangers, a number later retired for two other franchise greats, Camille Henry and later, Rod Gilbert.
His brother, Gary Vickers, also played professional hockey, primarily in the minor leagues.
After retiring, he worked for a time as a stockbroker in New York City.
“You don't think out there, you react. The game is too fast.”
