It's a living: from an airline pilot to a surgeon, former NHL players have traded in their skates for a variety of jobs - National Hockey League

Hockey Digest, Summer, 2002 by Chuck O'Donnell

Player: Jim Bartlett

Position: Left wing

Teams: Canadiens, Rangers, and Bruins

Years: 1954-61

Unlike a large majority of the work force, Jim Bartlett gets along with his boss, even if he happens to be working for "The Boss." Bartlett, a chauffeur for George Steinbrenner, says the New York Yankees owner isn't as bad as people think

"I don't have any problems with him," Bartlett says. "He's a little gruff with people who work for him. He can be a little harsh with them, but with me, it's no problem. I just say it the way it is and that's it.

"Sometimes he'll get in the car and he'll tell me, `I'm not in the mood for talking.' I'll say, `Well, I'm going to tell you my story anyway.' When I'm done, he wants to talk and he's asking me questions about what I told him."

Bartlett is one Steinbrenner's on-standby chauffeurs in Tampa. He may be called on to drive the Boss or one of his four children or their children. Or he may be dispatched to pick up one of Steinbrenner's friends, such as Whitey Ford, Don Mattingly, or Yogi Berra

Bartlett got the job about 15 years ago when he heard there was an opening. "When he found out I used to be a hockey player," Bartlett says, "that's when one thing led to another."

It's a good thing he knows his hockey, because when. Steinbrenner's Yankees-Net company bought the New Jersey Devils, the Boss called upon Bartlett to explain the game. "He'd take me up to the box with him," Bartlett says. "I had to show him everything. Why did the whistle blow when the puck went across the red line. That's a two-line pass. What about when the whistle blew when it was touched up. That's icing. When he has other people in his box, he'll say to them, `Anything you want to know about the game, just ask Jimmy.

"He said to me once, `How do you know so much about hockey?' I said, `I played the game, what the hell do you think.'"

On the road, Steinbrenner isn't usually a backseat driver. He's usually conducting business on his cell phone. "Sometimes he'll see a car pass us and he'll say, `Why aren't you in that lane?'" Bartlett says. "He hates to wait in traffic."

Once, however, when they were returning from a spring training game in Kissimmee, Fla., there was an accident snarling traffic for miles. Bartlett spotted an ambulance coming through and jumped behind it. Soon, he had raced past all the traffic and was free and clear. "I said to myself, `Self, that's a pretty good job of driving,'" Bartlett says. "Mr. Steinbrenner said, `What the hell are you doing?' I said, `No one ever compliments me on my driving. I think I just made a pretty good move back there.'"

Apparently Steinbrenner thinks Bartlett is doing a good job. When Bartlett had a stroke a few years ago, Steinbrenner paid all the bills. "Just the pictures (MRIs) alone were $10,000," Bartlett says, "He's good like that. He paid all the bills and kept me on the payroll until I got better and could return to work."

Player: Bobby MacMillan

Position: Right wing

Teams: Minnesota (WHA), Rangers, Blues, Flames, Devils, and Blackhawks