Scuba diver finds HOF ring of former AHL star Dick Gamble
PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) Former American Hockey League star Dick Gamble ordered a replacement for his Hall of Fame ring when it disappeared a few years ago. Soon, he'll have one for each ring finger.
A scuba-diving treasure hunter found Gamble's lost ring in Canandaigua (pronounced kan-un-DAY'-gwuh) Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York, while searching with his metal detector on Fourth of July weekend.
''I was coming back to the boat and get a signal in my headphones and there it was, a ring, looks like a pretty good ring,'' Gary Gavurnik told Rochester's WHEC-TV . ''I bring it up to the surface with my buddy and show it to him and we say: `Holy cow! This is more than just a ring, this is sentimental to somebody who lost it. It's a Hall of Fame ring.'''
The Canadian-born Gamble, now 88, did not answer several calls to his residence in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford.
Gavurnik plans to return the ring.
Gamble, who starred for the AHL's Rochester Americans, retired early in the 1969-70 season. He was inducted as an original member of the Amerks Hall of Fame in 1986 and was enshrined in the AHL Hall of Fame in 2007.
Officials at the American Hockey League said Thursday that Gamble's son, Craig, ordered the replacement ring. Gamble's name is inscribed on both.
In parts of eight NHL seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Chicago Blackhawks, Gamble had 41 goals and 41 assists in 195 games. The 6-foot, 180-pound left wing also appeared in an NHL All-Star Game and was a member of the Canadiens' Stanley Cup championship team in 1953.
Gamble made his AHL debut the following season with the Buffalo Bisons and scored 38 goals in 45 games to lead the team. But it was with the Americans, whom he joined in 1961, that Gamble etched his name in league lore. He helped Rochester win three Calder Cups in a four-year span and was named AHL most valuable player in 1965-66 after leading the league in scoring with a personal-best 98 points (47 goals, 51 assists).
Gamble finished his career as the Amerks' all-time leader in every major scoring category, totals since eclipsed by Jody Gage. In his AHL career, Gamble notched 468 goals, fourth all-time, and added 424 assists in 898 games.
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