Just found this. As a 15 year old high school goalie, “helping” out with a kids hockey camp, Nick was one of the Pros that was working with Steve Rooney and Cleon Daskalaskis. Steve Rooney wouldn’t fully unload on me as I foolishly asked, but Nick did. Good Christ what a fucking shot. Took my leg out from under me, he skated by laughing and shrugged. The summer of 1983, I’ll never forget it.
Well okay Staten Island isn't quite the Mean streets of NYC but to the average guys who played in the NHL back then grew up in small towns across Canada which is nothing like Staten Island or NYC and didn't have to keep a hatchet in their Hockey bag and ride the Subway at 5:00am to get to the rink just to get to practice.
This one will never get old. 2 of the toughest guys to lace em up with a classic squareoff. Fotiu fought smart and tied up Wilson's deadly right hand and blocked a lot of his attempts while getting in a good flurry. Wilson gave up trying to throw rights and tried the lefts which left him open for that big right hand. All credit to Wilson for taking that punch and not going down. Most players would have been dropped from a shot that solid. Nicky with the win on a top 3 all-time scrapper. Schultz & Brown were tough, but Wilson was the toughest Flyer
Perfect analysis here, the reason Nicky won this fight big was he was the RARE guy that could tie up Wilson's right hand and render it useless while landing a 4 punch flurry of his own with his right hand and then the BIG SHOT the spun Wilson around at the end. Wilson avoided Fotiu like the plague rest of his career, twice backing down from direct in your face challenges from Nicky. Here is one of them: czcams.com/video/s_Q7sw2HO14/video.html Watch how Wilson skates backward in to the boards, cowering from Nicky's challenge. Nick was definitely in Wilson'd head after this 1979 beating.
A few of Wilson's uppercut landed and he ate a big right hand but he wasn't done Fotiu won on points but Wilson was game too bad they never fought again!
Nicky landed 2 more punches than Behn . Maybe 3 . That last one shook Behn. Win for Fotiu. Coming from a Flyers Fan and a big Behn Wilson Fan. Looks like Nicky landed about 6 while Behn about 4. About that for both combatants.
@@alexanderkuczyk7391 Props to you Alexander for admitting Behn lost this one. Most Flyer fans will never admit to losing a fight to a Ranger player. I know you see it as close but I see it as a decisive win for Fotiu based on the 4 punch barrage that softened Behn up, definitely hurt him. Behn then got in close and threw a couple of lefts and rights that didn't seem to have any impact and you can then see Fotiu cock that right hand bomb and it landed perfectly clean to the side of Behn's face and really shook him, turned him completely around. Behn didn't lose many, but however many he lost this one was the most one sided.
Nicky could go....once caught a puck he threw up into the Blue seats after the pre-game warm ups. He was a classic typical New Yorker. Needless to say a big fan favorite at MSG. Still is....
Nick Fotiu was probably one of the toughest players in the history of the game. He wasn't afraid of anyone but they were afraid of him. When Nick let go it was like getting hit with a pair of iron fists. Most of the enforcers of the day avoided fighting Nick. This guy was not just tough he was actually scary tough.
Bobby Nystrom beat his ass, Lane beat him , Mcilhargey beat him twice, Joe paterson beat the shit out of him and Holmgren got him once yeah greatest yeah ok, Too bad him and Wilson never fought again I think Wilson would have got him!
I grew up in Staten Island where Fotiu is from- Nick was before my time but the older Rangers fans would say how Nick would box in the Police Athletic league and was a serious boxer. You can see it in the video at the start of the fight
@@tedfio1tedfio1 Nystrom pounded him! Fotiu did beat Holmgren but also lost to him and Paterson beat his ass back of the head or not he pounded him and Mcilhargey beat him twice! And I believe Wells beat him also! So quit holding his balls and that's not bullshit!
Fotiu was one of the best fighters of that era, tough as nails. I don't think I've ever seen him lose a fight and he never took unfair advantage of an opponent that he squared off with. Great fighter and a great guy.
@@michaeld.4521 100% correct, Rasputin has A soft spot for Brown , that's why he always brings up the imaginary Miller(with Boston) losing to Brown fights.
@Willie Gordon Fotiu was in the box and Wilson started chirping at him that he was going to have to fight him. Than when they were on the ice together Wilson was being a bullie to a few of the Rangers and Nick threw down and it was game on. After that beating Behn never wanted any part of Nicky again
@@atiboyful Idk if I'd call it a loss. Obviously Fotiu got and great shot in, but Wilson would usually outlast. He wasn't done there. But.... Refs gotta do there jobs.
@@williamhaynes2836 obviously a flyers fan. Wilson being a rookie is irrelevant. Fotiu picked him apart and Wilson barely laid a fist on him. Wilson was one of the toughest of all time but in this fight he was out matched. Had the stripes not stepped in after Fotiu waffled him, it would have been lights out...
Terrific hands along with great balance, Nick Fotiu is a legendary fighter and a pretty darn good hockey player too. The story of his improbable rise to the NHL is an inspiring one!
@@ironhorse127 Nicky Fotiu was born in the USA. ( Nikolaos Evlampios Fotiu ) is a second generation greek american !! As i am a second generation greek canadian !!
I wish there were more vids of Fotiu with the Rangers and in the WHA but the thing that impresses me about him is his strength. He is usually able to control any tie ups and get hard shots out of the clinch. Tough dude for sure.
@@vancemorris6914 The fights between the Tasmanian devil and Wilson are classics. O’Reilly had great fights with Clarke Gillies and was one of just a few guys that put fear into Dave Schultz that Schultz would have nightmares before every game he had to play against him.
@@manny474 That’s because O’Reilly kicked his ass every time they fought. He also feared Fotiu, and made sure never to get into a fight with him, and he learned his lesson after his second fight with Gillies.
Big bad Behn in his rookie year. Destroyed at least three times, Wensink, Tiger Williams and here by my boy Nicky. To all those Philly homers who said he never lost
Wilson picked the wrong dude to tangle with when he went at Fotiu. That was his first and last fight Nicky. He wanted nothing to do with Nicky after that.
On a different video I had a guy tell me that Nick never fought anybody of any stature well I just watched him beat up Shounfeld now Ben Wilson and a few other guys. Nick was fearless and a beast. nobody wanted to fight him I don't care who you were. I grew up born and raised watching the Islanders rangers devils my whole life nicky was a nasty nasty competitor. Totally unpredictable
Draw??? Don't make me laugh, this is a clear win for Fotiu. Besides Fotiu accumulating more quality facial-punches than Wilson, Fotiu then stings Wilson with a bomb towards the end which sends Wilson backwards. Wilson waved the white flag after that.
Barely stand up...seriously?! That punch didn't come close to putting him down and if the fight continued Wilson would've won for sure. Wilson was by far the better fighter than the highly overrated Fotiu!
Yeah good hook by Fotiu when he didn't come close to landing a punch! Comical! Fotiu wasn't close to the fighter Wilson was and if this fight continued would have had his overrated ass handed to him! When all you have is Fotiu you don't have much! Ha!
And on what basis to you come to the conclusion that Wilson would have had Fotiu's ass handed to him? Whether you want to admit or not, Wilson was stunned after the right hand, and there was absolutely no indication during this fight that he could have taken it over. Fotiu landed punches as they came back off the boards, and I think the first left hook landed as well. The only punches Wilson landed were the two or three uppercuts near the end.
@@richd3044 on the basis that Wilson was by far the better fighter! Up to the point where Fotiu landed his uppercut the fight was a draw. I'd give Fotiu the edge only because of the final blow he landed. I believe if the fight continued Wilson would have imposed his will on Fotiu and won the fight. It's obviously hypothetical but it's how i feel based on seeing just about every Wilson and Fotiu fight.
Nick was so strong. He was able to hold Wilson off (no easy feat), maintained his balance and landed some good right hands, knocking Wilson's helmet off.
Fotiu busted Wilson in the chops with a hard right. Wilson could always take great shots from the best. That right from Fotiu about sent him into orbit!
scott rand I will grant you that Nystrom was one SOB but he got lucky against a Golden Glove boxer in Fotiu. Mind you, I was a huge Islander fan in the 70's and 80's
scott rand that fight was nothing against Nystrom, it was a hug fest. They were very good friends, it was clear Nicky didn't want to fight. Nystrom a great fighter.
it is very amazing how Nicki made it into the NHL being from Staten Island,, because he started so late skating but nobody ever thought that he was going to make it, let alone play for the world's most known team the New York Rangers!
talk about perserverance, go watch the bio on Nick Fotiu, it was on MSG....he would travel from Staten Island all the way out to Long Island, usually late at night, to get ice time....he did this all the time...he was so determined to make it to th NHL
It is a GREAT shame that NYC did not have high school varsity hockey like they have in Upstate NY. If it did, the USA Olympic team would have far more talent in it.
I loved Fotiu as a player, but if you think that the Rangers are more well-known around the world than the Canadiens, you're delusional. And I hate the fucking Habs with a passion.
the worlds most known hockey team is the Montreal Canadians....you are clueless ...they might be world known but its for having exactly 1 cup in almost 80 years..so yes they are world known for being the losingest organisation in NHL history
They don't make hockey players like Nick Fotiu anymore. Wilson was one of the toughest in that era but Nick was the toughest. Fotiu was also an amateur boxer and fought in the Golden Gloves. He knew how to use his hands which gave him the advantage over most players
Last year Chris Nilan had Fotiu on his podcast and the first thing he said was Nicky Boy thank you for kicking Behn Wilson's ass. Last year Fotiu was on Tom Laidlaw's podcast and was asked about the Wilson fight. He said what happened was he had kicked Holmgren's ass in Philly and as he sat in the box Wilson skated by and said now you'll go with me and Fotiu said lets go. That was in December of 1978. This fight was right before the playoffs in early April of 1979. In the 6-0 game at the Garden in the playoffs, Fotiu in the 3rd period went out zooming around banging like 6 Flyers with massive bodychecks. As he was zooming back to the bench on a line change with the crowd going nuts, he spotted Wilson in front of the Flyers bench and hit the brakes and made a U-Turn back to the Flyers bench confronting Wilson right in his grill and Wilson did shit and took it. Fotiu skated to the Rangers bench and the crowd went wild.
@@vancemorris6914 Worse twice in the 1979 and 1982 playoffs Wilson allowed Fotiu to get right in his face nose to nose and stood there and took it. In the 6-0 game at the Garden in the 3rd period, Fotiu came out for one of his typical shifts at the Garden where he zoomed around nailing guys with vicious checks and on this shift he nailed like 5-6 Flyers in around 30 seconds and then after the whistle stopped play was zooming back to the bench as the crowd went nuts and spotted Wilson near his bench. Fotiu put on the brakes and skated right into Wilson's face in front of the Flyers bench and pussy Behn took it and did squat. Then during game 3 of the 1982 playoffs in Philly, Wilson went into the corner to the left of the Flyers net looking to goon it up with 2 pound Robbie McClanahan. Fotiu had been tied up by Frank Bathe and saw Wilson's bullshit and shrugged off Bathe with Tommy Laidlaw watching and went right into Wilson's face as Wilson backed into the boards. Wilson took it and did shit. The Rangers had fallen behind 3-0 and roared back to win 4-3 on a Cam Connor goal in the 3rd period. Wilson is a bully. Fotiu as a Ranger went 3-0 in playoff series against the Flyers and won 10 games and lost 1 game as the Rangers outscored the Flyers 63-29 and yet we saw no Flyer brawls and attacks like the Flyers against the Leafs in 1976 as an example! Fotiu owned the Flyers!
I liked Fotiu because not only was he tough as hell, as this and many other examples show, but he wasn't a bully or punk. He never looked for a fight, and was a straight up New York guy who wasn't afraid of anyone.
Nick...was a one man wrecking crew...too bad the Rangers never had any backups for him....However he was as tough as they come.The old school hockey was great especially with yr team having a heavyweight and u knew yr guy was gonna eventually square up against their guy...a different game then very exciting.👍🏻
His fighting style, no neck, his size, and the helmet, made it extremely difficult for guy's to land punches, also when the guy keeps throwing punches like A robot that doesn't help either. Wilson hit hard like Brown, but they didn't have the fastest hands, that was something that could be exploited, but then you just had to overcome all the other stuff.
Nick Fotiu was a tough man never pick his spots took on whoever came for him, not like Schultz who would go after guys like Dale Rolfe, Rick Middleton, Rod Gilbert guys who never fought he even went. After Jean Ratelle once I know the idea was to get the other teams best players off the ice but Schultz always kept his distance from Ron Harris, Steve Vickers or Nick.
Schultz was all hype. He never beat or even fought tough guys. He got destroyed by Clark Gillies, Terry O'Reilly, Larry Robinson, etc., etc. Although late in his career, Schultz beat Behn Wilson when was on Pens and over the hill.
As a lifelong NY hockey fan, I take great pride in watching my Rangers & Islanders beat the shit out of the Flyers-especially during those vintage years. During these times, the so called broad street bullies had the advantage-since they built their lines according to bullying and intimidation. But on occasion, they got their asses beat up too. THIS is most certainly one of them!
Tougher then all of the Flyers...really? Thats why anyone who knows anything about hockey (fighting) ranks Behn Wilson #2 and Dave Brown. #3 all time on the list of best NHL enforcers! You New york fans are comical!
@@davidryan9428 I don't give a rat's ass about your ranking... my only source of enjoyment is seeing any fucking Flyer (past or present) getting whipped-including of course those two goons-Wilson & Brown. After all, no matter what ranking your states, everyone loses fights-including your two girlfriends.
@khav11 .... thye were trading punches pretty even up until the 40 second mark of the fight fotui really started giving it to wilson and knocked wilson's helmet off and then at the 53 second mark fotiu caught wilson with a big right that buckled wilson made him turn and skate away, it really hurt him then the linesman jumped in before fotiu could do anymore damage to big gentle ben the opera singer..
@Willie Gordon Gene Hart was going on how Fotiu was a golden gloves boxing champ making excuses. It was actually the PAL if I remember but Hart was basically saying the fight was unfair because of Fotiu's boxing backgrownd. In 1978/79 after the Johnstone goonery by Dave Hoyda when Nick was injured in his suit at the end of 1977/78 beat Jim Cunningham three times breaking his nose in NY in the preseason and then in Philly he destroyed Holmgren and Wilson. Not bad and against the Flyers in the playoffs Fotiu won 10 of 12 games and the Rangers outscored the Flyers 65 to 32. With Nick Fotiu on the scene in three playoffs against the Flyers, the Rangers kicked ass.
Most of the guys knew that Nick Fotiu was an accomplished boxer. Those that didn't, maybe like Behn here, found out the hard way! And afa his NHL career, I think it's fantastic what Nick accomplished!
Nope. But I did see a vid on YT where big Clark Gillies stated that the guy he seemed to be most afraid of fighting was Behn Wilson. But I don't know about that one. Gillies seemed to hold his own against about anybody.
islanders were good at hockey no doubt cups prove it but tough? probert and brown owned gillies. brown was too much for bobby nystrom he had to wave his stick in front of him,check the vid.isles were wusses
I wish Nick would have destroyed Wilson after he got his helmet off. I hated all the tough guys in this era wearing the helmets against the tough guys who didn't. BIG handicap.
Wilson at the end of the fight 'let me get him' as he holds the ref for dear life out front of him as protection while Nicky is held back by 2 of the refs
Fotiu was arguably the best pure fighter ever. He wasn't the strongest or biggest but he knew how to throw them. Also kudos to WIlson for taking some big shots in this fight.
Two legendary bad boys of the NHL good ole days having a go at it. A bygone great era of hockey!!💪👊
Just found this. As a 15 year old high school goalie, “helping” out with a kids hockey camp, Nick was one of the Pros that was working with Steve Rooney and Cleon Daskalaskis. Steve Rooney wouldn’t fully unload on me as I foolishly asked, but Nick did. Good Christ what a fucking shot. Took my leg out from under me, he skated by laughing and shrugged. The summer of 1983, I’ll never forget it.
Fotiu was one of the only NHL guys that boxed in his youth and grew up on the mean streets of New York City...
Well okay Staten Island isn't quite the Mean streets of NYC but to the average guys who played in the NHL back then grew up in small towns across Canada which is nothing like Staten Island or NYC and didn't have to keep a hatchet in their Hockey bag and ride the Subway at 5:00am to get to the rink just to get to practice.
Joseph McCabe The guy above me is 100% right, pal!
Staten Island IS NYC fukkhead.
@@2743joemac Ya but try riding the NYC subways at 5 am... not necessarily a pretty site either.
@@gogooshttrflshr6335 But it didn't have "mean streets".
This one will never get old. 2 of the toughest guys to lace em up with a classic squareoff. Fotiu fought smart and tied up Wilson's deadly right hand and blocked a lot of his attempts while getting in a good flurry. Wilson gave up trying to throw rights and tried the lefts which left him open for that big right hand. All credit to Wilson for taking that punch and not going down. Most players would have been dropped from a shot that solid. Nicky with the win on a top 3 all-time scrapper. Schultz & Brown were tough, but Wilson was the toughest Flyer
Perfect analysis here, the reason Nicky won this fight big was he was the RARE guy that could tie up Wilson's right hand and render it useless while landing a 4 punch flurry of his own with his right hand and then the BIG SHOT the spun Wilson around at the end. Wilson avoided Fotiu like the plague rest of his career, twice backing down from direct in your face challenges from Nicky. Here is one of them:
czcams.com/video/s_Q7sw2HO14/video.html
Watch how Wilson skates backward in to the boards, cowering from Nicky's challenge. Nick was definitely in Wilson'd head after this 1979 beating.
ya, well said by both of you.
A few of Wilson's uppercut landed and he ate a big right hand but he wasn't done Fotiu won on points but Wilson was game too bad they never fought again!
@@williamhaynes2836 he may have continued but I can't imagine after having his bell rung like that that he'd have faired too well
@@williamhaynes2836 You're nuts, Fotiu sent Wilson dancing on ice.
Fotiu with the win. That final punch turned Wilson 180 degrees.
And you might add... it earned Fotiu respect from Wilson and other Flyers... whether they want to admit it or not!
@@TheAssasin2525 Wilson looked like Daffy Duck with his beak upside down after that last punch.
Nicky landed 2 more punches than Behn . Maybe 3 . That last one shook Behn. Win for Fotiu. Coming from a Flyers Fan and a big Behn Wilson Fan. Looks like Nicky landed about 6 while Behn about 4. About that for both combatants.
@@alexanderkuczyk7391 Props to you Alexander for admitting Behn lost this one. Most Flyer fans will never admit to losing a fight to a Ranger player. I know you see it as close but I see it as a decisive win for Fotiu based on the 4 punch barrage that softened Behn up, definitely hurt him. Behn then got in close and threw a couple of lefts and rights that didn't seem to have any impact and you can then see Fotiu cock that right hand bomb and it landed perfectly clean to the side of Behn's face and really shook him, turned him completely around. Behn didn't lose many, but however many he lost this one was the most one sided.
Nicky could go....once caught a puck he threw up into the Blue seats after the pre-game warm ups. He was a classic typical New Yorker. Needless to say a big fan favorite at MSG. Still is....
Nicky said he threw the puck into the blue seats because that's where sat when he was a kid growing up in Staten Island!
I caught a puck he threw once 2 used to go 20 games a year in the old blue seats when they were 8 bucks a pop remember the cheif
Nick Fotiu was probably one of the toughest players in the history of the game. He wasn't afraid of anyone but they were afraid of him. When Nick let go it was like getting hit with a pair of iron fists. Most of the enforcers of the day avoided fighting Nick. This guy was not just tough he was actually scary tough.
Bobby Nystrom beat his ass, Lane beat him , Mcilhargey beat him twice, Joe paterson beat the shit out of him and Holmgren got him once yeah greatest yeah ok, Too bad him and Wilson never fought again I think Wilson would have got him!
I grew up in Staten Island where Fotiu is from- Nick was before my time but the older Rangers fans would say how Nick would box in the Police Athletic league and was a serious boxer. You can see it in the video at the start of the fight
@@tedfio1tedfio1 Nystrom pounded him! Fotiu did beat Holmgren but also lost to him and Paterson beat his ass back of the head or not he pounded him and Mcilhargey beat him twice! And I believe Wells beat him also! So quit holding his balls and that's not bullshit!
And, he was also a boxer.. The kindest man but, don't mess with him or his teammates...
@@tedfio1tedfio1 LOL!!!!! Yep.
Fotiu was one of the best fighters of that era, tough as nails. I don't think I've ever seen him lose a fight and he never took unfair advantage of an opponent that he squared off with. Great fighter and a great guy.
Neutral Bruins fan here: Fotiu landed at least twice as many punches as Wilson,, and damn near knocked him down. Fotiu wins - and it wasn't close.
about as close as brown beating on miller for 10+ fights right HAHAHAHAH
@@khav11 Ur a dope.
The last punch from Fotiu rattled Wilson. Case closed!
You got that right!!!!!!!!!!
@@michaeld.4521 100% correct, Rasputin has A soft spot for Brown , that's why he always brings up the imaginary Miller(with Boston) losing to Brown fights.
I think that Wilson was the "new kid on the block," who wanted to show everyone how tough he was, so he went at it with Fotiu. Big mistake.
@Willie Gordon Fotiu was in the box and Wilson started chirping at him that he was going to have to fight him. Than when they were on the ice together Wilson was being a bullie to a few of the Rangers and Nick threw down and it was game on. After that beating Behn never wanted any part of Nicky again
Nick's the man! Old time hockey, sticks were made of wood and men were made of steel. I miss the old days!
Behn Wilson got schooled, LOL !!
@@MrManfly Wilson picked the wrong dude to mess with. Never messed with Nicky again.
One of the very few times Wilson actually lost.Nick Futio was a very tough man.
Can you help me convince David Ryan finally? He is one tough Philly fan!
@@atiboyful Idk if I'd call it a loss. Obviously Fotiu got and great shot in, but Wilson would usually outlast. He wasn't done there. But.... Refs gotta do there jobs.
@@bobblaszczak7972 Point Taken but I would say that Behn thought twice about engaging Nikki after that fight???
@@atiboyful Agreed. Although hockey fighters are a different breed. A little "touched."
@@bobblaszczak7972 It appeared Wilson reeled from the last punch by Fotiu. It didn't appear as if Wilson want to jump back at Fotiu.
Gotta give this to Nicky. Ding-Ding!
It's pretty rare you ever saw Behn Wilson get fed lunch. Fotiu was one of the toughest ever.
Fotiu is seldom on the radar of tough guys, especially as time goes on, but clearly we see him dismantling one of the toughest...
He beat Wilson but he did not dismantle him wtf are you talking about and Wilson was a rookie and he was in there right until the end wtf!
@@williamhaynes2836 obviously a flyers fan. Wilson being a rookie is irrelevant. Fotiu picked him apart and Wilson barely laid a fist on him. Wilson was one of the toughest of all time but in this fight he was out matched. Had the stripes not stepped in after Fotiu waffled him, it would have been lights out...
Agreed
@@williamhaynes2836 what are you babbling about , worst beating Wilson ever took? Go whine somewhere else.
Fotiu was a Golden Gloves boxer.
Terrific hands along with great balance, Nick Fotiu is a legendary fighter and a pretty darn good hockey player too. The story of his improbable rise to the NHL is an inspiring one!
I loved Fotiu, but pretty good hockey player? Compared to me ... yes...compared to Jim Lorentz or other NHLers....no.
@@BillMorganChannel nick could skate and had a pretty good wrist shot
@@jamessollazzo4860 Again, I loved how he trashed evil players, but he was no Steve Vickers …..
Loved Nicky , but he wasn’t a good player . He was there for one reason and one reason only.
Good hook by Fotiu, Good hook by Fotiu
The great Jim Gordon !!
Ohh it's a Donnybrook Don't try this @ Home 😄
Take it from a LONG time NHL fight fan...Nicky was tough. And this is coming from a LEAF fan.
He was also a boxer !! Tough greek boy !!
@@erickouniakis5722 Staten Island boy I believe. Homegrown NY Ranger
@@ironhorse127 Nicky Fotiu was born in the USA. ( Nikolaos Evlampios Fotiu ) is a second generation greek american !! As i am a second generation greek canadian !!
Great call from the ringside announcrrs.
I wish there were more vids of Fotiu with the Rangers and in the WHA but the thing that impresses me about him is his strength. He is usually able to control any tie ups and get hard shots out of the clinch. Tough dude for sure.
That was a legendary fight and the commentator did a great job calling the action.
The late, great Jim Gordan.
@@Zane_Zaminsky It's like Madison Square Garden at ringside. The iconic Jim Gordon.
Great right by Fotiu at the end to Wilsons temple caused Wilson's knees to buckle and that was all she wrote.
As usual, Fotiu thrashes another Flyer!
You ever think that Wilson's "body of work" was larger than Fotiu's because more people were either willing to fight Behn or unwilling to fight Nick?
Most players were unwilling to fight Nicky. He rarely if ever lost. Wilson wanted nothing to do with Nicky after their only fight.
Oh please guy... it wasn't as if Fotiu was a seasoned veteran himself. Give Nick his props-he sure earned them here!
You have to love how quiet those derelict Philly fans were when Fotiu pummeled their hero Behn Wilson.
O'Reilly did a number on Wilson as well.
@@vancemorris6914 The fights between the Tasmanian devil and Wilson are classics. O’Reilly had great fights with Clarke Gillies and was one of just a few guys that put fear into Dave Schultz that Schultz would have nightmares before every game he had to play against him.
Schultz hated to play against Taz.
@@manny474 That’s because O’Reilly kicked his ass every time they fought. He also feared Fotiu, and made sure never to get into a fight with him, and he learned his lesson after his second fight with Gillies.
Big bad Behn in his rookie year. Destroyed at least three times, Wensink, Tiger Williams and here by my boy Nicky. To all those Philly homers who said he never lost
Wilson picked the wrong dude to tangle with when he went at Fotiu. That was his first and last fight Nicky. He wanted nothing to do with Nicky after that.
lol destroyed? You think Fotiu destroyed him in this fight? LOL
On a different video I had a guy tell me that Nick never fought anybody of any stature well I just watched him beat up Shounfeld now Ben Wilson and a few other guys. Nick was fearless and a beast. nobody wanted to fight him I don't care who you were. I grew up born and raised watching the Islanders rangers devils my whole life nicky was a nasty nasty competitor. Totally unpredictable
Tough as nails! Miss those guys...
Grew up watching Fotiu Loved this guy He was one tough son of a gun
They sure don't let them go like this anymore.
Nicky was a golden gloves on the Island pre hockey days. What a thrill he is to watch on video. Only wish I'd been around to see him play live.
GREAT fight. No clutching, grabbing, one handed punching. Guys like these knew how to throw.
Nicky won this round.
Wilson wanted no part of Nicky after that fight. It was their only fight.
This fight was not close. Fotiu just stands there at the end and looks pretty interested in dishing out more.
Draw??? Don't make me laugh, this is a clear win for Fotiu. Besides Fotiu accumulating more quality facial-punches than Wilson, Fotiu then stings Wilson with a bomb towards the end which sends Wilson backwards. Wilson waved the white flag after that.
Nicky for the win!
Barely stand up...seriously?! That punch didn't come close to putting him down and if the fight continued Wilson would've won for sure. Wilson was by far the better fighter than the highly overrated Fotiu!
Yeah good hook by Fotiu when he didn't come close to landing a punch! Comical! Fotiu wasn't close to the fighter Wilson was and if this fight continued would have had his overrated ass handed to him! When all you have is Fotiu you don't have much! Ha!
And on what basis to you come to the conclusion that Wilson would have had Fotiu's ass handed to him? Whether you want to admit or not, Wilson was stunned after the right hand, and there was absolutely no indication during this fight that he could have taken it over. Fotiu landed punches as they came back off the boards, and I think the first left hook landed as well. The only punches Wilson landed were the two or three uppercuts near the end.
@@richd3044 on the basis that Wilson was by far the better fighter! Up to the point where Fotiu landed his uppercut the fight was a draw. I'd give Fotiu the edge only because of the final blow he landed. I believe if the fight continued Wilson would have imposed his will on Fotiu and won the fight. It's obviously hypothetical but it's how i feel based on seeing just about every Wilson and Fotiu fight.
Fotiu...the real deal back in the day
Fotiu damn near knocked Wilson out!
Nick was so strong. He was able to hold Wilson off (no easy feat), maintained his balance and landed some good right hands, knocking Wilson's helmet off.
Fotiu,The Flyer terminator. He almost took Wilson's head off with that last punch.
Fotiu busted Wilson in the chops with a hard right. Wilson could always take great shots from the best. That right from Fotiu about sent him into orbit!
That’s why Wilson never tangled with Nicky again.
Nicky was not only a golden gloves boxer but he was strong as hell. He had no equal in the NHL! I watched him in person and he never lost a fight!
Actually I saw Bobby Nystrom beat Fotiu pretty good when Fotiu was with Hartford.
scott rand I will grant you that Nystrom was one SOB but he got lucky against a Golden Glove boxer in Fotiu. Mind you, I was a huge Islander fan in the 70's and 80's
scott rand that fight was nothing against Nystrom, it was a hug fest. They were very good friends, it was clear Nicky didn't want to fight. Nystrom a great fighter.
Nicky is my favorite Ranger of all time, but he wasn't a Golden Gloves boxer, he was a Police Athletic League boxer.
Joshua Byron -I stand corrected but my dad took me to see Ranger games in the late 70's and Fotiu was one SOB!
Nice right by Nicky there at the end.
it is very amazing how Nicki made it into the NHL being from Staten Island,, because he started so late skating but nobody ever thought that he was going to make it, let alone play for the world's most known team the New York Rangers!
talk about perserverance, go watch the bio on Nick Fotiu, it was on MSG....he would travel from Staten Island all the way out to Long Island, usually late at night, to get ice time....he did this all the time...he was so determined to make it to th NHL
It is a GREAT shame that NYC did not have high school varsity hockey like they have in Upstate NY. If it did, the USA Olympic team would have far more talent in it.
I loved Fotiu as a player, but if you think that the Rangers are more well-known around the world than the Canadiens, you're delusional. And I hate the fucking Habs with a passion.
the worlds most known hockey team is the Montreal Canadians....you are clueless ...they might be world known but its for having exactly 1 cup in almost 80 years..so yes they are world known for being the losingest organisation in NHL history
me too but you ae 100% correct
They don't make hockey players like Nick Fotiu anymore. Wilson was one of the toughest in that era but Nick was the toughest. Fotiu was also an amateur boxer and fought in the Golden Gloves. He knew how to use his hands which gave him the advantage over most players
Wilson acted like he wanted to keep going, but Nick's last shot took his heart out of it
Isles fan here....love Fotiu! I think :52 ends any discussion.
Nick Fotiu was such a smart fighter ! One he removes Wilson's helmet - then he opens the floodgates and nearly knocks the fuker out ! Well done !
Last year Chris Nilan had Fotiu on his podcast and the first thing he said was Nicky Boy thank you for kicking Behn Wilson's ass. Last year Fotiu was on Tom Laidlaw's podcast and was asked about the Wilson fight. He said what happened was he had kicked Holmgren's ass in Philly and as he sat in the box Wilson skated by and said now you'll go with me and Fotiu said lets go. That was in December of 1978.
This fight was right before the playoffs in early April of 1979. In the 6-0 game at the Garden in the playoffs, Fotiu in the 3rd period went out zooming around banging like 6 Flyers with massive bodychecks. As he was zooming back to the bench on a line change with the crowd going nuts, he spotted Wilson in front of the Flyers bench and hit the brakes and made a U-Turn back to the Flyers bench confronting Wilson right in his grill and Wilson did shit and took it. Fotiu skated to the Rangers bench and the crowd went wild.
Big Bad Behn never went near Big Bad Nicky again after that fight.
@@vancemorris6914 Worse twice in the 1979 and 1982 playoffs Wilson allowed Fotiu to get right in his face nose to nose and stood there and took it. In the 6-0 game at the Garden in the 3rd period, Fotiu came out for one of his typical shifts at the Garden where he zoomed around nailing guys with vicious checks and on this shift he nailed like 5-6 Flyers in around 30 seconds and then after the whistle stopped play was zooming back to the bench as the crowd went nuts and spotted Wilson near his bench. Fotiu put on the brakes and skated right into Wilson's face in front of the Flyers bench and pussy Behn took it and did squat.
Then during game 3 of the 1982 playoffs in Philly, Wilson went into the corner to the left of the Flyers net looking to goon it up with 2 pound Robbie McClanahan. Fotiu had been tied up by Frank Bathe and saw Wilson's bullshit and shrugged off Bathe with Tommy Laidlaw watching and went right into Wilson's face as Wilson backed into the boards. Wilson took it and did shit.
The Rangers had fallen behind 3-0 and roared back to win 4-3 on a Cam Connor goal in the 3rd period.
Wilson is a bully.
Fotiu as a Ranger went 3-0 in playoff series against the Flyers and won 10 games and lost 1 game as the Rangers outscored the Flyers 63-29 and yet we saw no Flyer brawls and attacks like the Flyers against the Leafs in 1976 as an example!
Fotiu owned the Flyers!
@@jacksmith5692 I guess he did go back at Nicky but the result was the same!
@@jacksmith5692 Nicky was the man! He owned Wilson.
What a fantastic right hook by Nick !
Last shot wasn’t bad either.
I used to watch Fotiu late in his career for the AHL New Haven Nighthawks. Not one to be messed with for sure. Fotiu victory.
hilarious play by play,.
That's the great Jim Gordon on the call !!
Gotta love Fotiu's demeanor at the end. It was like - "I'm cool with it but, right here if you still want to go".
I liked Fotiu because not only was he tough as hell, as this and many other examples show, but he wasn't a bully or punk. He never looked for a fight, and was a straight up New York guy who wasn't afraid of anyone.
Nick...was a one man wrecking crew...too bad the Rangers never had any backups for him....However he was as tough as they come.The old school hockey was great especially with yr team having a heavyweight and u knew yr guy was gonna eventually square up against their guy...a different game then very exciting.👍🏻
Islander fan here
Way to go Nicky
mediterannean mad man!
fotiu- half greek, half italian
the nazi's owned those countries
Awesome combination!!
Better shots by Nick. classic battle. Helmet helped Wilson in A lot of his fights. He was a very tough guy.
His fighting style, no neck, his size, and the helmet, made it extremely difficult for guy's to land punches, also when the guy keeps throwing punches like A robot that doesn't help either. Wilson hit hard like Brown, but they didn't have the fastest hands, that was something that could be exploited, but then you just had to overcome all the other stuff.
Fortuitous was a Golden Gloves boxer. Served him well in the NHL
Nick Fotiu was a tough man never pick his spots took on whoever came for him, not like Schultz who would go after guys like Dale Rolfe, Rick Middleton, Rod Gilbert guys who never fought he even went. After Jean Ratelle once I know the idea was to get the other teams best players off the ice but Schultz always kept his distance from Ron Harris, Steve Vickers or Nick.
Schultz was all hype. He never beat or even fought tough guys. He got destroyed by Clark Gillies, Terry O'Reilly, Larry Robinson, etc., etc. Although late in his career, Schultz beat Behn Wilson when was on Pens and over the hill.
Clear win Fotiu, he almost dropped Wilson with the last punch and that ended the fight
Palooka Fotiu lover
Of course Palooka Fotiu lost to Nystrom , hard to beat a Canadian hockey players in fights Fotiu yankee doodle palooka
and Wilson was no pushover...Nick could fight...
Wilson the victor here by far. Fotiu backing away scared shitless of Wilson
I Played w/Nick Fotiu Summer League @ Racquet & Rink Farmingdale,NY 1975 ? What a Blast 🏒
That old Rangers announcer was great at calling fights
Fotiu was scary!!! Better be my friend than my foe!!
As a lifelong NY hockey fan, I take great pride in watching my Rangers & Islanders beat the shit out of the Flyers-especially during those vintage years. During these times, the so called broad street bullies had the advantage-since they built their lines according to bullying and intimidation. But on occasion, they got their asses beat up too. THIS is most certainly one of them!
Fotiu, Gillies, and Nystrom were tougher than any of the Flyers.
All true...I was there to see it...
Tougher then all of the Flyers...really? Thats why anyone who knows anything about hockey (fighting) ranks Behn Wilson #2 and Dave Brown. #3 all time on the list of best NHL enforcers! You New york fans are comical!
@@davidryan9428 I don't give a rat's ass about your ranking... my only source of enjoyment is seeing any fucking Flyer (past or present) getting whipped-including of course those two goons-Wilson & Brown. After all, no matter what ranking your states, everyone loses fights-including your two girlfriends.
@@Logan-jj7vx Gillies vs Hoyda, pull it up HAHAHHA. Hoyda was supposed to be the new Schultz. Jethro nearly beat him through the ice.
Fotiu boxing skills were quite obvious in that fight. Schultz admitted he was afraid to fight him. Quite understandable.
Fotiu gets a clear win here.
A shame Fotiu didnt fight more in his career he would be in the conversation for top all time a lot more.
@khav11 .... thye were trading punches pretty even up until the 40 second mark of the fight fotui really started giving it to wilson and knocked wilson's helmet off and then at the 53 second mark fotiu caught wilson with a big right that buckled wilson made him turn and skate away, it really hurt him then the linesman jumped in before fotiu could do anymore damage to big gentle ben the opera singer..
After Nicky's final shot you could see little birdies flying around Wilson's head.
Clear win for Nick.
Fotiu didn't want to hug anyone. He wanted to fight. Respect
BTW: I wish the Channel 29 video existed because Gene Hart sounded like he was going to cry after this bout.
+Jack smith Gene Hart always sounded that way. couldn't stand his voice, not sure how any flyers fan could.
THAT'S FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LMAO
lololololol
@Willie Gordon Gene Hart was going on how Fotiu was a golden gloves boxing champ making excuses. It was actually the PAL if I remember but Hart was basically saying the fight was unfair because of Fotiu's boxing backgrownd. In 1978/79 after the Johnstone goonery by Dave Hoyda when Nick was injured in his suit at the end of 1977/78 beat Jim Cunningham three times breaking his nose in NY in the preseason and then in Philly he destroyed Holmgren and Wilson. Not bad and against the Flyers in the playoffs Fotiu won 10 of 12 games and the Rangers outscored the Flyers 65 to 32. With Nick Fotiu on the scene in three playoffs against the Flyers, the Rangers kicked ass.
Most of the guys knew that Nick Fotiu was an accomplished boxer. Those that didn't, maybe like Behn here, found out the hard way! And afa his NHL career, I think it's fantastic what Nick accomplished!
there's a guy on hockeyfights.com that thinks Wilson was just the toughest fighter ever....LOL, he didn't look like it here did he?
Nope. But I did see a vid on YT where big Clark Gillies stated that the guy he seemed to be most afraid of fighting was Behn Wilson. But I don't know about that one. Gillies seemed to hold his own against about anybody.
Make no mistake...Wilson was the real deal...but Nicky got the best of him and Big Behn wanted no more.
islanders were good at hockey no doubt cups prove it but tough? probert and brown owned gillies. brown was too much for bobby nystrom he had to wave his stick in front of him,check the vid.isles were wusses
@@b3j8 that's because Wilson destroyed Gillies in their first fight!
I can't understand why Fotiu isn't on the top 10 best NHL fighters list!
Awesome, a nice old school fight. Some good boxing there at the start, not something you see anymore!
Gotta give Fotiu credit, very strong on his skates to do with to Wilson.
I really miss the Big Whistle.
Rangers announcers are not biased right now
All Time Hockey At Its Best.
Fotiu was the NHL's all-time heavy weight champ!!!
Fotiu had some hands
Nick gave the Rangers respectability along with Barry Beck . Nick Took care of Business and everybody on the Flyers !!!
what a good scrap!!
I wish Nick would have destroyed Wilson
after he got his helmet off. I hated all the tough guys in this era wearing the helmets against the tough guys who didn't. BIG handicap.
real hockey
Would have loved to see Fotiu vs Dave the hammer Schultz. Or Fotiu vs Probert.
That was a GREAT fight
Nicky was one of the best and showed it right there.
Nicky trained as a boxer just like his dad. You didn’t mess with Nick!
Fotiu was the purest fighter in NHL history. He did the smart thing by fighting on his terms.
Wensink and Jonathan belong those Top 10 lists - they BOTH beat Wilson.
Wilson at the end of the fight 'let me get him' as he holds the ref for dear life out front of him as protection while Nicky is held back by 2 of the refs
Wilson just turned 20 and held in there with a really tough and experienced Fotiu.
Did Wilson ever lose another fight where he was the only guy in the helmet?
Both of these guys had heads like cinder blocks.
How was Wilson still standing after that last punch?
Fotiu is so underrated
This is what happens to Nick Fotiu when he grapples. This from his fight with virtual no name Joe Paterson.
Fotiu was arguably the best pure fighter ever. He wasn't the strongest or biggest but he knew how to throw them. Also kudos to WIlson for taking some big shots in this fight.
very true
Who was bigger and stronger than Nick?
Fotiu's boxing background didn't hurt.
@@vancemorris6914 I watched a million games back then and in my observation, Fotiu was the biggest, strongest guy in the league and the best boxer.
@@BillMorganChannel Nick's boxing background helped.
I agree. Wilson wanted no more of Fotiu after that fight.
Classic. Unorthodox fight and unorthodox commentating.