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Bill Goldsworthy: NHL Scoring Leader

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phil esposito bill goldsworthy goal leadersOkay, not really. Back in 1973-74 and 1974-75, when O-Pee-Chee produced their ‘leaders’ cards, they set the cards up with each leader from the Eastern Division and Western Division on the front of the card. So, back in 1974-75, O-Pee-Chee hockey card number 1 features Phil Esposito and Bill Goldsworthy on the front of the card as each division’s goal scoring leader.

Goldsworthy did have a great season, scoring 48 goals in 74 games for the less than stellar Minnesota North Stars. It was a far cry from Esposito’s 68 and placed him fifth overall in the league behind Rick Martin of the Buffalo Sabres, Mickey Redmond of the Detroit Red Wings and Ken Hodge of the Boston Bruins.


In fact, Bill scored just over 20% of Minnesota’s goals in 1973-74. Think about it – one in every five goals for the North Stars that season was scored by Bill. With his 74 points, he played at part in over 31% of Minnesota’s total goals. Just for reference, when Alex Ovechkin scored 65 goals for the Washington Capitals in 2007-08, it was 27% of the team’s goals. When Wayne Gretzky set the unreachable record of 92 goals in 1981-82, the total was 22% of the Edmonton Oilers total goals.

The 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee number 1 card featuring Goldsworthy and Esposito on the front is valued at $5.00. The 1974-75 set consists of 396 hockey cards and a complete collection is valued at $500. In comparison, the Bill Goldsworthy rookie card from 1968-69 is valued at $12.00 with the set consisting of 216 cards and the full collection being valued at $2500.

Bill Goldsworthy played in the National Hockey League from 1965-66 to 1977-78. He spent additional time in the World Hockey Association at the end of the 1977-78 season and for 17 games in 1978-79 before retiring. Goldsworthy’s was a career created by the 1967 NHL expansion. With the Bruins, he played just 31 games over two seasons. After being picked up by the North Stars in the expansion draft, Bill was an instant full-time player and continued to be until a trade sent him to the New York Rangers during the 1976-77 season. For his final three years in Minnesota, Goldsworthy wore the ‘C’.


Bill Goldsworthy Collection



 



 


1973-74 wasn’t his only time amongst the league’s top goal scorers. In 1969-70, he finished sixth in the NHL with 36 goals over 75 games. His NHL career ended with Bill scoring 283 goals and totalling 541 points over 771 regular season games. The closest he came to winning a Stanley Cup championship came in Minnesota’s first year. The North Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in the quarter-finals before falling to the St. Louis Blues in the semi-finals in seven games. Bill contributed 15 points in those 14 games.

Goldsworthy got his championship but it was before his NHL days. Bill played three years with the Niagara Falls Flyers of the OHA from 1962-63 to 1964-65. In his final campaign in junior, the Flyers reached the Memorial Cup and dispatched the Edmonton Oil Kings in five games.

Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM
1962-63 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 50 7 11 18 71
1963-64 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 56 21 47 68 91
1964-65 Boston Bruins NHL 2 0 0 0 0
1964-65 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 54 28 27 55 164
1965-66 Oklahoma City Blazers CPHL 22 2 5 7 65
1965-66 Boston Bruins NHL 13 3 1 4 6
1966-67 Oklahoma City Blazers CPHL 11 4 1 5 14
1966-67 Buffalo Bisons AHL 22 9 11 20 42
1966-67 Boston Bruins NHL 18 3 5 8 21
1967-68 Minnesota North Stars NHL 68 14 19 33 68
1968-69 Memphis South Stars CHL 6 4 0 4 6
1968-69 Minnesota North Stars NHL 68 14 10 24 110
1969-70 Minnesota North Stars NHL 75 36 29 65 89
1970-71 Minnesota North Stars NHL 77 34 31 65 85
1971-72 Minnesota North Stars NHL 78 31 31 62 59
1972-73 Minnesota North Stars NHL 75 27 33 60 97
1973-74 Minnesota North Stars NHL 74 48 26 74 73
1974-75 Minnesota North Stars NHL 71 37 35 72 77
1975-76 Minnesota North Stars NHL 68 24 22 46 47
1976-77 Minnesota North Stars NHL 16 2 3 5 6
1976-77 New York Rangers NHL 61 10 12 22 43
1977-78 New York Rangers NHL 7 0 1 1 12
1977-78 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 4 1 2 3 4
1977-78 Indianapolis Racers WHA 32 8 10 18 10
1978-79 Edmonton Oilers WHA 17 4 2 6 14
NHL Totals 771 283 258 541 793
WHA Totals 49 12 12 24 24

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