Jiggs McDonald On Ron Waske - Islanders Dynasty Unsung Hero
Our thoughts are with Ron’s family, friends and loved ones.
ELMONT, NY — Being that I was born before the Islanders’ Dynasty was woven into the fabric of Long Island, I did not have eyes and ears on the organization like I do now.
Luckily, my editor, David Kolb, was an eyewitness to all four Cups, and when Ron Waske passed this weekend, Kolb knew to point me in the right direction and set me up for a chat with Isles’ longtime broadcaster, Jiggs McDonald.
Jiggs was both fond of and close with Waske and will miss him greatly.
Stefen Rosner: When did you meet Ron?
Jiggs McDonald: “It would be ’74 probably. I was in Atlanta, and he got the Islander job. I knew Jimmy Pickard. Jimmy was the equipment guy, and Jimmy had been in Oakland while I was in L.A. So the first time the Islanders and the Atlanta Flames met in ’74, I went down the hall to say hello to Pick, and he introduced me to Ron, and we just kind of connected, kind of were on the same wavelength with things…When I joined the team in the fall of ’80, we became blood brothers. The two families—we were together either at the Waskys’ or at our place for holiday meals or weekends, or just together. Our kids were a little older than the Waskys, but there was just a connection both at home and on the road. We were brothers.”
Stefen Rosner: You mentioned you guys were on the same wavelength. What about him made him such a unique individual, especially back then, when athletic trainers were just starting to innovate?
Jiggs McDonald: “He was a perfectionist. He was stubborn. He referred to himself as a left-handed Polack—‘I might be wrong, I might be left-handed, I might be foolish’—but he had these six P’s: Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.’He was so innovative. Really, the formation of PHATS, the Professional Hockey Athletic Trainers Society—every trainer in the league today owes Ron Waske. He brought the salaries up, he got PHATS rolling. By innovative, I mean he introduced new equipment to training. Stretching was a big thing with Ron, plus he had a series of tests—training camp, body fat, conditioning. He’d run them three times a season, and if you didn’t meet a certain level, he worked you. The Islanders were the best-conditioned team during the playoffs, and that was Ron. He was demanding, and he had the backing of Al and Bill to make it work.”
Stefen Rosner: So it’s safe to say he played a vital role in the Islanders being able to win four straight Stanley Cups?
Jiggs McDonald: “Absolutely, no question. He was not only instrumental—he should be in the team Hall of Fame. I can’t begin to say enough good things about Ron. He was part of the Islanders’ culture. Anybody coming in, draft picks—you went along, you bought into what Ron was selling.”
Stefen Rosner: You said he had the backing of Al Arbour. What about Ron did Al really like?
Jiggs McDonald: “If Al was trying to instill something in a player, Ron would reinforce it. Whether it was working on a guy, treating, massaging, getting him ready—Ron would echo Al’s message: keep your ears open, do what you’re told. And you look at today’s game with six or eight trainers around—back then, it was Ron and Jimmy Pickard. That was it. The Islanders’ dressing room in '74–7’75 was immaculate, like nothing I’d ever seen. Those two guys were a team, and what a team they were.”
Stefen Rosner: Any particular memories or stories that stand out about Ron?
Jiggs McDonald: “We just bonded—our families were so close. In retirement, after St. Lawrence, the Waske’s spent winters near us in Fort Myers. Ron became instrumental in our golf group—three or four foursomes. He’d set up different games every week, card games after golf. He was always innovative, even with that. Everybody loved him. He was unbelievable.”
