NEW YORK - Many season ticket holders considered Bob Galerstein a good luck charm for the New York Rangers. One can’t blame them since the Blueshirts won the Stanley Cup in the public address announcer’s first season with the team. Yes, he was the voice you heard introducing the Cup and his voice will be etched into minds of Ranger fans until they die.

For the Syosset, NY native, it was the pinnacle of his career. He has seen the highs and lows of the sports business, but June 14, 1994 was a night he will never forget, because along with the rest of the organization, Galerstein got to drink out of the Stanley Cup.

"I don’t think it will ever sink in," Galerstein said to MOFO Sports at the Ranger Fan Club meeting last Wednesday. "That night, I drank out of the cup twice - once in the locker room and once at the Play-By-Play. At the Play-by-Play, 10,000 mouths must have touched it and so many alcoholic beverages were in there; it tasted awful. I came down with the most wicked cold for the next two week, but I guess I would do it again."

It was a well-earned drink as the series against the Canucks was hard fought and very intense. Even down to the very end, there was controversy. A contentious icing call in the last moment was changed to give Vancouver an extra second. The PA announcer remembers it well.

"There were .6 seconds left on the clock and in .6 seconds you won’t get a goal, but if they put more time on, you can," Galerstein explained. "So I hear the rewinding and fast forwarding (of the tape) and finally they said to put 1.6 seconds on the clock. I was a little nervous, because you can get a goal in 1.6 seconds. But Craig MacTavish did his job and it’s the highlight of my career."

But that highlight was 10 years ago and Galerstein left Madison Square Garden at the end of the 2000-2001 season when the Rangers made changes. Fortunately for him, he didn’t have to look far to find work as the upstart 1050 ESPN Radio, whose studios are right next to the Garden, hired him to be a sports anchor.

"ESPN just blossomed into something just very nice," he said. "Of all the jobs I worked at, this is easily the best work environment I worked in. The people running the shop have set a nice atmosphere there. They let us be as creative as we possibly can.

"On top of that, the spirited accord we all have is better than most TV and radio stations and it carries over to the air."

Galerstein can be heard doing the SportsCenters every twenty minutes. He mainly works with Warner Wolf on Saturdays, but also fills in on the weekdays as well. The announcer loves the "creative latitude" that ESPN gives him, while also allowing him to express his opinions on the air. This "long leash" allows Galerstein to not only announce, but also write his own scripts and do his own audio, which is something he really enjoys.

This wasn’t what the 46 year-old Galerstein envisioned when he first came out of school. After doing hockey play-by-play at Ohio University for four years, he found work broadcasting for the Springfield Indians of the AHL in 1981. He worked there for two years as the team became affiliated with the Rangers and moved on to another job in 1983, which turned out to be a milestone in his career.

"I went on to the Philadelphia Flyers to do their TV games, which was the biggest break of my career, because I made my NHL debut on my 25th birthday," the announcer explained. "I was in Philly for the 83-84 season, but they eliminated my job after the season, because they went to a simulcast with Gene Hart."

Heartbroken, he went home to his parents’ house on Long Island, but started working with Major League Baseball Productions and eventually became the backup broadcaster for the New York Islanders. Galerstein stayed in that capacity until 1993, when he was a finalist in an opening for the Flyers play-by-play position.

"I was on the phone with (Flyers front office man) Mark Piazza, who was my contact there and he gave me the bad news. My heart was sinking down my leg," he said.

But when he made his next call to check his messages, the Rangers wanted him for his audition.

"I am not a religious person, but I looked up into the sky and said that there was really some great plan," he exclaimed.

That great plan led him to the minds and hearts of Ranger fans everywhere. Even though Galerstein says his first love is hockey broadcasting and enjoys his current position with ESPN, there will never be another season like the one ten years ago.

"1993-1994 was a heck of a year," he added. "It’s still surreal."

He’s not the only one that feels that way.

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