Long-time New York Rangers national anthem singer John Amirante died Tuesday morning at the age of 83, the team announced.
“It is with great sadness our Rangers family shares the loss of legendary anthem singer John Amirante, who passed away this morning at 83,” the Rangers wrote on Twitter. “Our thoughts are with his wife Ann, his children and the entire Amirante family. We will forever remember and miss John at the Garden.”
Amirante, a Bronx native, sang the national anthem for 35 years prior to Rangers games, stopping in 2015. However, he would make rare appearances in some big games even after his retirement.
Most notably, he sang the anthem before Game 4 of the 2017 Eastern Conference semifinal against the Ottawa Senators, which the Rangers would go on to win 4-1 to tie the series at two games apiece before falling in six games.
But Amirante was a fixture at some of the most important games in Rangers history, including a powerful rendition prior to Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final against the Vancouver Canucks, a game New York would win while delivering the city its first Stanley Cup since 1940:
Ladies and gentlemen, we ask that you please rise and remove your hats for the National Anthem.
Here to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” the one and only, John Amirante. pic.twitter.com/N0qmCHAIKX
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 17, 2018
