Happy 100th Birthday Ruth Elgar

Sitting in the lower bowl outside Club South tonight was a very special lady. One who at age 85, decided to become a Coyotes fan when they moved to the valley. One who was born weeks after Arizona went from a territory to a state. Ruth Elgar had her 100th birthday celebrated at Jobing.com tonight. At a Coyote game. With a huge sign for all to see.

When you think of what has happened since Ruth was born, it is a staggering list. The flag just got it’s 48th star. Archiduke Ferdinand was alive and World War I was 7 years away. Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic shortly after her 15th birthday. The Hindenburg disaster happened when she was 25. At the age of 29, she heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She rocked in her 50’s to the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. She born before women could vote and has seen 17 Presidents; Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama.

She saw the creation of the NHL and the original six. When Ruth was 34, she heard about Gordie Howe’s rookie year of 1946. She saw the expansion of 1967. Was there when Phil Esposito lit it up for the Bruins to become the second leading scorer in NHL history. Then this skinny kid from outside Toronto was drafted by Edmonton, and hockey changed with the Gretzky era. Ruth saw the Rangers win the Cup in 1940 and again in 1994, after the Messier promise. Being a wise woman, Ruth would agree it was no goal with Brett Hull in the crease of Dominik Hasek during the Stanley Cup series between  Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars of 1999.

Luckily, she has lived to 100 to see Shane get his first hat trick, Jeremy Roenick get into the Ring of Honor, Derek Morris play in his 1000th game, and Ray Whitney get to 1000 points for his career. Congratulations and Happy Birthday Ruth. I hope you get your Day With the Cup courtesy of Discover.