Columnist remembers Glenn Merkosky’s special night

Saratoga Springs outlaws carrying firearm while your ability is impaired

By Ken Tingley

After taking over as sports editor of the Glens Falls newspaper in 1988, I was finally able to devote some time to what I loved most - writing columns.

It took a couple years, but I eventually got there.

I remember aspiring to be like the great sports columnists of the time - Mitch Albom, Rick Reilly and Leigh Montville.  They provided an enjoyment factor beyond the news coverage of the day. They added, not only context, but an enjoyment of the sports they covered by taking us behind the scenes.

Right before Christmas in 1993, I tried to do that.

The Adirondack Red Wings were retiring Glenn Merkosky’s number and having a special night at the Civic Center.

Merkosky was the quiet and unassuming mainstay of many of the great Adirondack hockey teams in the late 1980s, but he never quite stuck in the NHL. He held all the Adirondack lifetime scoring records, partly because he didn’t make it in the NHL.

When I heard about the special night for “Mark,” I asked him if I could tag along with him and his family and write about it. Glenn Merkosky agreed. He never hesitated.

I rode over to the arena in the car with him and his family, walked through the Civic Center as fans swarmed him and then was backstage with him before he was introduced. It gave further insight into Merkosky and why he was so beloved in Glens Falls.

“An evening with `Merk’” leads off the Sports section in my second book of columns “The Last American Editor, Vol. 2.” I think it still holds up all these years later. It’s another part of Glens Falls history.

There are 90 more columns in the new book and I hope you will preorder it today.

John Valenti, a sportswriter at Newsday on Long Island, said this about the columns in the new book:

“Ken Tingley doesn’t just tell stories of small-town America, but stories that are the heart-and-soul, the backbone, of all America: the joyous, the heartfelt, the redemptive and the soul-searching.”

I’d like to think my night with Glenn Merkosky is an example of that.

I think you will enjoy even more the second time around.

Glenn Merkosky’s (far left) number was retired by the Adirondack Red Wings in December 1993. It is still in the rafters today.

An evening with `Merk’

December 23, 1993

Glenn Merkosky and his wife Cheryl loaded their three boys into the rental car for the two-block ride to the Civic Center.

“I don’t see anywhere to park out front,” said Glenn.

“Maybe we can park in the back,” Cheryl offered.

“Only the players are supposed to park there,” said Glenn, who played more games as an Adirondack Red Wing than anyone in history.

He wheeled the rental into the players’ parking lot behind the Civic Center and double parked it next to another car.

“I’ll check inside to see if this is OK,” Merkosky said.

At the door, the security man in the red jacket gave Cheryl a big hug, then shook Glenn’s hand vigorously.

Glenn pointed to the double parked car.

“Are you kidding, you can’t park there, this is your spot right here,” the security guard said laughing as he pointed to the parking spot right next to the back door. This is your night.”

That’s Glenn Merkosky in a nutshell.

He is still quiet and unassuming as he was when he played for the Red Wings. Even with the Civic Center sign out front flashing “Glenn Merkosky Night” for all of Glens Falls to see, “Merk” was in the back making sure no would tow his rental.

No matter how hard you try.

No matter how much of an argument you make.

No matter how long you persist, you cannot get Glenn Merkosksy to admit his career was anything special.

“I was just a good player surrounded by a lot of great players,” Merkosky said. “I was the one that didn’t make it to the NHL.”

If Glenn Merkosky learned anything Wednesday night, it’s that his career, his time in Glens Falls with the Red Wings meant so much more than he has ever imagined. He has left a legacy.

Just walking from one end of the Civic Center to the other - one hour before game time - proved an exercise in futility.

Few would let him pass without a handshake, an autograph or a hug. His playing career has been over for two and a half seasons after setting all the career scoring records. He has coached in juniors  in Sudbury, Ontario for the past year and a half. But they still remembered him Wednesday night.

All our best memories are here,” Cheryl said as her husband signed another autograph.

Cheryl said her husband didn’t seem nervous about his night.

But by 7 p.m., Glenn was beginning to pace. In the elevator ride to the basement of the Civic Center, he was quiet.

“Is this like before a big game,” he was asked.

“Heck no,” he answered. “Games were fun, this isn’t.”

Vintage Merkosky.

Shooting while intoxicated

The city council in Saratoga Springs passed a law that prohibits possessing a firearm while impaired by drugs or alcohol.

First, it’s hard to be believe that isn’t already against the law.

And second, the measure passed by a narrow 3-2 margin.

The new law comes on the heels of a wild shootout downtown last fall.