According to some sources, Arnie Brown is among the top 100 New York Rangers players of all-time. The small but tough defenseman spent the prime of his National Hockey League career with the Rangers.
Unfortunately, timing was all off and he appeared in just 22 Stanley Cup playoff games between 1961-62 and 1973-74, despite appearing on team’s that were more often than not successful in the NHL post season.
Junior and Minor Pro
NHL and WHA Career
Hockey Card Collection
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Arnie Brown – Junior and Minor Pro
Arnie Brown played three years of major junior hockey in the OHA Junior A (Ontario Hockey League) from 1959-60 to 1961-62. His first two years were with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors and his final season of junior was with the Toronto Marlboros.
In 1960-61, Brown helped the Majors defeat the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters to capture the OHL title. The team then took out the Moncton Beavers for the Richardson Cup championship, earning a berth in the Memorial Cup finals. All games were played in Edmonton with Toronto beating the host Edmonton Oil Kings in six games for the national title.
1961-62 brought a mixed bag of hockey for Arnie. He played 19 games of junior hockey with the Marlboros but also got a taste of pro action. He appeared in two NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and three games in the American Hockey League with the Rochester Americans.
His first full season of pro hockey came in 1962-63, playing exclusively for the Amerks in the AHL. He finished sixth in the American Hockey League with 143 penalty minutes.
The following season was another mixed bag. Brown played 47 games for the Americans and eleven more with the AHL’s Baltimore Clippers. He also played in four games with the Maple Leafs, his last with the club. It would also be the last time he would play in the minors. Arnie tied for sixth in the AHL with 127 PIM.
Arnie Brown – NHL and WHA
Between 1961-62 and 1973-74, Arnie Brown played 681 regular season games in the National Hockey League. He appeared with the Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames. Over that time, he scored 44 goals and assisted on 141 for 185 points.
Arnie Brown Collection
Although he was with the Maple Leafs organization during their three consecutive Stanley Cup championships from 1961-62 to 1963-64, Arnie never appeared during the post season. He was traded from the New York Rangers just as they were heading into some playoff success in the early 1970’s. Playing for the Red Wings, Islanders and Flames in the early 1970’s meant playing for some dismal teams. As a result, Brown played in just 22 playoff games during his NHL career.
Rarely scoring more than two or three goals in a single season, Arnie exploded in 1969-70 with 15 goals for the Rangers. Even his bad boy image from his early days softened and he was among the NHL’s top ten for penalties in just 1964-65 when he finished eighth with 145 PIM.
Often traded, he was involved in none bigger than his first. On February 22, 1964, Arnie was traded to the Rangers from Toronto with Bob Nevin, Dick Duff, Bill Collins and Rod Seiling. Going to the Maple Leafs were Don McKenney and Andy Bathgate.
On February 1, 1971, the Rangers shipped Brown to the Red Wings with Tom Miller and Mike Robitaille, in exchange for Larry Brown and Bruce MacGregor. Detroit then shipped Arnie to the expansion New York Islanders on October 4, 1972 with Gerry Gray for Denis DeJordy and Don McLaughlin. Later that season, he was sent from New York to the Altanta Flames for Ernie Hicke.
Brown ended his playing career in the World Hockey Association, playing just the 1974-75 season in the rebel league. He played ten games with the Vancouver Blazers and 50 with the Michigan Stags / Baltimore Blades.
Arnie Brown – Rookie Card
The Arnie Brown rookie card appears as number 34 in the 1964-65 Topps ‘Tall Boys’ NHL hockey card set. He is shown with the Rangers. His final card is included in the 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee NHL set, shown as a member of the Atlanta Flames but wearing a Detroit Red Wings jersey. Brown was never included in a WHA set. There is some controversy as to his place of birth. Some of his cards state his birth place as Apsley, Ontario while others refer to it as Oshawa.
His 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee card was a bit of a mess. On the front, OPC was able to picture Brown with the New York Islanders, while his Topps card showed him still with the Detroit Red Wings. Considering the October 4 trade date, this was pretty good for O-Pee-Chee. However, on the back of the card, it states that Arnie is a member of the Red Wings.
Arnie Brown Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1959-60 | Toronto St. Michael’s | OHA | 48 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 112 |
| 1960-61 | Toronto St. Michael’s | OHA | 47 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 110 |
| 1961-62 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 19 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 70 |
| 1961-62 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-62 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 1962-63 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 71 | 4 | 24 | 28 | 143 |
| 1963-64 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 47 | 4 | 23 | 27 | 119 |
| 1963-64 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 1963-64 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 1964-65 | New York Rangers | NHL | 58 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 145 |
| 1965-66 | New York Rangers | NHL | 64 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 106 |
| 1966-67 | New York Rangers | NHL | 69 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 61 |
| 1967-68 | New York Rangers | NHL | 74 | 1 | 25 | 26 | 83 |
| 1968-69 | New York Rangers | NHL | 74 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 48 |
| 1969-70 | New York Rangers | NHL | 73 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 78 |
| 1970-71 | New York Rangers | NHL | 48 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 24 |
| 1970-71 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 27 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 30 |
| 1971-72 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 77 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 84 |
| 1972-73 | New York Islanders | NHL | 48 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 27 |
| 1972-73 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| 1973-74 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 48 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 29 |
| 1974-75 | Vancouver Blazers | WHA | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| 1974-75 | Michigan Stags | WHA | 50 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 27 |
| NHL Totals | 681 | 44 | 141 | 185 | 738 | ||
| WHA Totals | 60 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 40 |