Krekor Ohanian, Jr., was from California. His parents were Armenian, with his father an attorney who represented many from the home country who had little money and barely spoke English.

Krekor became an avid basketball fan. He was a good player in high school. Teammates called him “Touch,” because he always liked to touch the ball. Upon graduation, Krekor enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Following the war, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles on the G.I. Bill and a basketball scholarship. He played for legendary coach John Wooden.

Though he had decided to attend law school and follow his farther into the profession, a basketball game caused him to change direction. Eventually, he landed in the Hollywood spotlight. Following one of UCLA’s games, Krekor was introduced to William A. Wellman. The film director liked the young man’s voice and his expressive face as he played the game. He encouraged Krekor to consider an acting career.

Placing law school on the bench for at least a while, Krekor explored the suggestion and found himself taking various roles in films and television programs. Eventually, he would star in a television series of his own, relying on his athletic ability to perform his own stunts despite breaking a wrist and dislocating a shoulder in the pilot episode. His character, “Joe,” was depicted as an Armenian-American. Krekor occasionally spoke Armenian in several episodes and sometimes he quoted Armenian proverbs.

By this time, he wasn’t Krekor Ohanian, Jr., the basketball player or future lawyer. Hollywood fans now knew him as Mike Connors, the star of the television program “Mannix.”

We might not see Anthony Greco in a New York Rangers uniform again, but he already has achieved one of his life goals. He pulled on the red, white and blue jersey a few weeks ago in San Jose for his first game with the team he rooted for as a child. He inherited his passion for the Rangers from parents Paul and Mary Jane.

Anthony’s mom and an aunt watched the game from Mary Jane’s Massapequa Park home. Everyone said that Paul watched from above. A firefighter for the Fire Department of New York, he died during May 2020 from illnesses caused by breathing toxic air at Ground Zero following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Mary Jane was overwhelmed to watch her son fulfill his childhood dream after enduring such hardship. But she never expected to feel her late husband’s presence as much as she did. After the first 20 minutes of the game, Anthony had logged 3:43 of ice time. On September 11, 2001, 343 firefighters died at the World Trade Center.

Anthony signed with the Rangers as a free agent during October 2020. His father knew all about it before he succumbed to his illnesses. As with most hockey parents, Paul and Mary Jane had invested significantly in their son’s hockey career. Paul drove Anthony to games and practices at all hours, and then he moved the family to Minnesota for a while to allow Anthony to attend a prominent school with a hockey tradition. Paul still was an active firefighter at the time, driving back and forth for hours between Minnesota and New York for his assigned shifts with the FDNY.

Except for the one game against San Jose, Anthony has spent his Rangers days with the team’s AHL affiliate. His time in the Rangers spotlight was created by roster fluctuations to address the National Hockey League’s coronavirus protocol. Anthony is the first Queens native to play for the Rangers.

Anthony’s future is unknown with the Rangers and in the NHL. However, he always will have and cherish January 13, 2022, the night played for his beloved Rangers with many members of his family and the FDNY family rooting for him. Plus one more fan—a special husband and father from above.