1973-74 St. Louis Blues Lou Angotti Jersey

Lou Angotti began his hockey career with the Toronot St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League in 1955, playing three seasons for the Majors. He then starred for the Michigan Tech Huskies of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association where he was named WCHA Rookie of the Year in 1960 and a First Team All-American in 1962 after scoring 28 goals and 51 points in a 31 game season and leading the Huskies to the 1962 WCHA and NCAA National Championship.

Following his collegiate career, Angotti played for the Kitchener-Waterloo Rangers in the OHA Senior League in 1962-63 prior to joining the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League later that same season. Following another season in Rochester, Angotti made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers in the 1964-65 season at age 26.

The 1965-66 season had Angotti starting the season with the Rangers, but was dealt to the Chicago Black Hawks who assigned him to the St. Louis Braves of the Central Hockey League prior to his joining the parent club in Chicago in time to play 30 regular season games as well as six playoff contests.

A full season with the Black Hawks followed in 1966-67 before he was claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1967 Expansion Draft. The Flyers made Angotti their first ever team captain and he responded with the best offensive season of his NHL career, scoring 49 points in the 1967-68 season.

On this day in 1968, Angotti was traded to the St. Louis Blues, who then dealt him to the Pittsburgh Penguins later the same day! He would play for the Penguins for just one season, scoring 37 points in 1968-69.

On June 6, 1969, Angotti was once again traded to the St. Louis Blues during the 1969 Amateur Draft, only to be claimed by the Chicago Black Hawks five days later during the Intra-League Draft - exactly one year to the date that he was traded twice on the same day.

He was able to find some stability for the first time in his career, as he remained a regular member of the Chicago lineup for the next four seasons, including his second highest offensive output of 38 points in 1969-70 and two trips to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1971 and 1973.

Once more however, Angotti became property of the St. Louis Blues, for the third time, when they claimed him from Chicago during the Intra-League Draft in 1973, four years and a day after being claimed by Chicago. He finally made his debut in a Blues uniform in 1973-74, playing in 51 games before becoming the Blues head coach for the remainder of the season.

After 32 games, spread over two seasons, Angotti was fired as coach of the Blues and resumed his playing career with the Chicago Cougars of the World Hockey Association for the final 26 games of his playing career.

His final NHL totals show 653 games played, 103 goals and 186 assists for 289 points.

In 2001, Angotti was named one of the Top 50 players in WCHA history.

Today's featured jersey is a 1973-74 St. Louis Blues Lou Angotti jersey. This was the first season for this particular variation of the Blues jersey, as the year before the waist stripes were the reverse colors. They would wear this jersey until adding shoulder stripes which mirrored the home jersey in 1979, but would not undergo a major overhaul until 1984.

The 1979 version of this jersey would be revived for select games as part of the NHL's vintage uniform program in the 2003-04 season.

Here is today's featured jersey in action, as the Blues and Bruins litter the ice with gloves and sticks as they go at it. Angotti can be seen in the video wearing #14, as the players did not yet have names on the backs of their jerseys.