The New York Rangers have been dubbed "Broadway's Longest Running Hit" in recognition of 74-plus seasons without missing a performance.

Born of the Depression on a fairly lenient budget in 1926, the Rangers were actually New York's second hockey team, following - if only by a single season - their predecessors, the New York Americans.

Back in their early years, the Rangers were known far and wide as "the classiest team in hockey." The description was certainly an accurate one. In fact, few teams in any sport have come into existence with such a wave of success.

Under the astute managership and coaching of Lester Patrick, hockey's famed "Silver Fox," the Rangers were nearly unbeatable in their early years.

Right out of the box in their inaugural season of 1926-27, the Rangers finished atop the NHL's American Division. The next year, they shocked the hockey world and won the Stanley Cup.

Playing in such a demanding city as New York, the Rangers had no time for "growing pains." Patrick and his Madison Square Garden bosses, principally Tex Rickard, simply purchased the best players available at the time, most of them veterans from western Canada where the professional game was folding its tent. Buy New York Rangers Tickets.