Ron Duguay, Pop Culture Trailblazer, Set The Stage For How We Got Here…

We are used to the barrage of athletes and celebrities as creators today, and the value they bring to brands, delivered as much as we can see on every screen possible. But there was a time…wayyy back in the last century…when athletes largely were athletes, and while endorsements did flow in for some it wasn’t always the focus.

Outliers like Yogi Berra, who understood early on his everyman qualities and parlayed that into a host of opportunities, and then Joe Namath, whose persona changed the literal game of endorsements, got things rolling, but it wasn’t until the later 1980’s that we really saw the humanity, the humor, and the dollars start flowing with athlete as celebrity.

One window in time, which we were reminded of this past week, was worth noting, and it involved the New York Rangers, whose loyal fanbase in the 1970’s and ‘80’s was rewarded with one Stanley Cup finals appearance, but who had a growing number of players whose personalities were bigger than hockey, and a confluence of New York largesse and marketing opportunity led to a fun and unique series of events.

The reminder came with the passing of one of those players, Ron Duguay, who may be a bit of a footnote to hockey history, but to fans, and a larger consumer audience in that period of 1977-83, was a trend setter and an early “influencer” well beyond the ice.

Duguay, in the disco era  stood out or being on the forefront of physical fitness during an era where the expectations that players face today were not the same. Known for being someone who enjoyed a bon vivant lifestyle in New York, Duguay enjoyed all the perks of what the city had to offer, especially to a young, good-looking player with the Rangers during a time of success. Coming out of the 1978-79 season was perhaps the height of the Rangers popularity during that era, a season in which they fell just short of the Stanley Cup, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the Cup Final.

Dave Maloney, Duguay, future Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito, current Buffalo Sabres senior adviser John Davidson and Pat Hickey, recorded a song, called the “The Hockey Sock Rock,” to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Though it wasn’t a top-10 hit, another pop culture moment that Maloney and Duguay shared is still talked about. That would be the TV commercial for Sasson designer jeans that also featured Esposito and Anders Hedberg.

In the ad, the four skate around in Rangers jerseys and their jeans singing, the “Oo, la la Sasson” jingle. Watch the short spot here.

The ad perfectly illustrated who Duguay was at his core, someone who loved life and who was loved by those who had him a part of their lives.

The Sasson jeans commercial – in which Duguay and his Rangers teammates Phil Esposito, Anders Hedberg and Dave Maloney modeled the brand and memorably jingled “ooh la la” – is a notable intersection of sports and pop culture. Duguay’s Hollywood look, Studio-54 lifestyle and fervor for life opened doors no other NHL player had walked through at the time.

It didn’t stop for Duguay there.

In 1980, Rod Gilbert introduced Duguay to famous artist Andy Warhol, who went on to put No. 10 on the cover of his magazine, “Interview“, and featured his portrait in his “Athletes” series alongside the likes of Muhammad Ali, Mets great Tom Seaver, NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and more.

The introduction to Warhol led to a meeting with filmmaking royalty Steven Spielberg, who considered Duguay for the lead role in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” He didn’t get the part, but actress and model Farrah Fawcett reportedly came over to introduce herself at another event some time after and kept Duguay, regardless of how he did on the ice, in the pop culture and gossip columns for years to come.

Now today, maybe he is just one of dozens of athletes who fit the role…or at least tried to fit. But then? Man, was it special. Eeven better, most of it was not planned, he played into the part, accepted the challenge, and had the courage enough to give it a go, and go he did.

RIP Doogie, you were ahead of your time, and helped usher in a window that got bigger, and keeps getting bigger, every day.

on Jeans