Legendary minor league hockey enforcer Connie Madigan, who turned pro in Spokane, dies at 89

Connie Madigan, a legendary minor league hockey tough guy who turned pro in Spokane in 1958-59, died last week in his longtime home of Portland. He was 89.

Madigan was 38 when he became the oldest rookie in National Hockey League history with the 1972-73 St. Louis Blues. A few years later, he gained fame in another manner by giving opposing fans a one-finger salute when he made a cameo appearance as fight-happy player Ross “Mad Dog” Madison in the minor league hockey movie “Slap Shot.”

Except for 20 games in his lone partial season with St. Louis, Madigan spent his entire 17-year pro career in the minor leagues, primarily with the Portland Buckaroos in the original, pro Western Hockey League. Madigan blossomed into a WHL all-star with Portland, but it was mostly his fighting ability and physical play that made him a fan favorite in the Rose City.

“There were some wild characters who came out of that Western League and he was one of them,” former Blues forward Gary Sabourin once told the Hockey News. “Connie was his own man, just a strange dude.”

Madigan reportedly ranked second in career penalty minutes in the minor leagues when he wrapped up his pro career with Portland in 1974-75. He led the 1961-62 Spokane Comets – arguably the greatest hockey team in Spokane history – with 171 penalty minutes in 63 games. The Comets pushed Edmonton to the final game of the WHL playoffs before dropping Game 7.

Former NHL coach and broadcaster Don Cherry, who played defense with Madigan in Spokane in 1962-63, told the Hockey News that Madigan’s rugged play was a major asset to his teammates.

“We got a lot of room out there because of his reputation,” Cherry said. “You had a lot of time to move the puck. He was a good skater, and there was nobody tougher. I liked playing with him.”

Playing against Madigan was another story, Cherry recalled.

“Years later, he was playing for Portland and I was playing for Vancouver,” Cherry said. “I came down the ice with the puck and Connie swung his stick and broke it over my arm. I dropped the puck back to the teammate behind me, and he was so afraid of Connie that he didn’t touch the puck.”

Tommy McVie, a Trail, British Columbia, native who played with and against Madigan in the WHL (and later coached in the NHL), was quick to vouch for Madigan’s toughness.

“There were other tough guys around, but I don’t know if there was anyone tougher than he was,” McVie told the Hockey News. “Playing against him wasn’t much fun. When I used to go in front of the net against Madigan, it was like backing into an airplane propeller.”