Bill Fairbairn's hockey career began with his hometown's
Brandon Wheat Kings, then of the
Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), where he picked up he nickname "Bulldog" for his tenacious play. Fairbairn scored 315 points over the next 3 seasons in Brandon, including 142 (with 60 goals) in
1966-67 playing alongside
Juha Widing and
Erv Zeimer, earning
all-star honours in the process. Fairbairn earned a 3-game appearance with Rangers affiliate the
Omaha Knights of the
Central Professional Hockey League (CHL) in 1967. That Spring, Fairbairn was loaned to the
Port Arthur Marrs of the
Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League to play for them in the
1967 Memorial Cup. Fairbairn went on to play 8 seasons in New York. Linemate Balon was traded to Vancouver in
1971-72, temporarily placing the Bulldog line on hiatus; the name was resurrected the following season when rookie
Steve Vickers joined the team. Ranger legend
Rod Gilbert said of Fairbairn and teammate Walt Tkaczuk, "In Tkaczuk and Fairbairn we have the best penalty-killers in hockey." ==Career statistics==