Profile of Derek Sanderson on Famous Like Me

Derek Sanderson (born June 16, 1946), is a former Canadian ice hockey center who is now a bank executive.

Born Derek Michael Sanderson in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, he played junior hockey in his hometown. After helping the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association to a Memorial Cup championship and then winning the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the junior league's leading scorer, in 1967 Sanderson appeared in two games as a center with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). The following season he became a Bruin regular and was voted the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's 1968 Rookie of the Year.

For the next five years he was an integral part of the Bruins team that won Stanley Cup championships in 1970 and 1972. Although he had been a leading scorer in junior hockey, his role on the high-scoring Bruins was to center their defensive line with wingers, Eddie Westfall and Don Marcotte. They became one of the best defensive lines in the league and Sanderson played a pivotal role as one of the most highly regarded penalty killers and faceoff men in hockey. It was in the finals of the 1970 championship that Sanderson laid the perfect pass on the stick of Bobby Orr that resulted in the goal that not only won the Bruins their first Stanley Cup in twenty-nine years, but became the most widely published photo in hockey history.

Nicknamed "Turk," Sanderson was a fan favorite who received much publicity for his flamboyant "mod" lifestyle. He drove a silver Rolls Royce, flashed diamond rings, and wore a mink coat. Named by Cosmopolitan Magazine as one of the sexiest men in America, he was the subject of the gossip columns, a frequent guest on television talk shows, and regularly photographed in the company of numerous beautiful woman. He is famously quoted as having told a reporter who asked about his dining habits that his pre-game meal was a steak and a blonde.

After the 1972 season, Derek Sanderson signed a contract with the Philadelphia Blazers of the newly-formed World Hockey Association. His $2.6 million salary surpassed that of Brazilian soccer star, Pelé, making him the highest-paid athlete in the world at the time. Unfortunately, his play did not live up to the expectations of his salary -- nor, realistically, could it have -- and between an early-season injury, intemperate remarks to the press, and Blazer financial troubles, Sanderson was bought out before season's end.

He promptly returned to the Bruins but was traded to the New York Rangers after the following season. Meanwhile, in a distraction from his hockey career, along with former Boston Red Sox baseball star Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson and the New York Jets star football quarterback Joe Namath, Sanderson opened "Bachelors III", a trendy nightclub on New York City’s Upper East Side. Negative publicity over some of the clubs less than reputable patrons led to problems and eventually Sanderson had to get out of what went from a "goldmine" to a money-losing venture.

The lifestyle arising from money and fame, combined with abuse of alcohol and drugs, resulted in Sanderson's health deteriorating, and his career began to go downhill. While he still played effectively when healthy, he began to be dealt from team to team and even spent some stints in the minor leagues: to the St. Louis Blues early in the 1975-1976 season, to the Vancouver Canucks on waivers midway through the 1976-1977 season. He signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins for the stretch run in 1978, after which -- hobbled by repeated knee injuries -- he retired.

He lost millions of dollars in bad investments and with the substance abuse problems, he wound up penniless, in poor health, and crippled to the point he had to get around on crutches. Forced to accept the charity of friends who gave him a place to live, several years after his retirement, publicity about his situation brought a second chance from the goodwill of people in the city of Boston, a place that Bobby Orr said the fans and citizens were the most loyal and decent in the world. Sanderson beat his addictions and took a job as a professional sports broadcaster. He worked for ten years in broadcasting then helped organize State Street Global Advisors, where he was Director of the Sports Investment Group that provided professional financial advice to athletes to ensure they did not wind up impoverished as he had.

Derek Sanderson is currently Vice President and Senior Investment Professional with Boston Private Bank & Trust Company. He is involved with a variety of charitable organizations and makes a number of guest appearances at charitable events to help raise awareness and funding for their cause.

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