Maurice Richard: hero d'un peuple

By David Newman

He was called the Idol of a people, the idol of Quebec having been the role model of the French Canadians who, as he did, tried getting out of their second class status to be something. To get past the grip of English Canada. But he denied this all, he said he was just a hockey player. Two months ago, this man died of cancer. His name: Maurice Richard, the greatest hockey player to ever wear the Sainte Flanelle, the uniform of Le Canadien de Montreal. They prepared a Provincial Funeral for the Hero, official flags flying at half mast everywhere in Quebec.

Joseph Henri Maurice Richard was born in Montreal, Quebec on Agust 4th, 1921. He was the second of six children, including Henri Richard, another future hockey player. His parents had left rural Quebec and moved to Montreal. They were poor and during the depression his father lost his job for many years. They were so poor that Maurice Richard never saw a live NHL hockey game (even at a time when tickets were affordable). When Maurice was young he like Baseball over hockey but thanks to Canadian Winters, he ended up developing hockey skills. He listened to "Hockey Night in Canada" on the radio and dreamed of wearing the Habs' sweater. In his teenage hood he loved hockey so much he joined four or five junior teams, changing his name to be able to do so. He was noticed for his scoring ability, and in 1938-39, he scored 133 of his team, Le Paquette's 144 goals.

When the war broke out, Maurice wanted to join the army but because of an injury to his leg, they refused to let him. This let him join the Canadien. In 1942 he married Lucille Norchet. From their marriage, they had seven children.

October 31st 1942, Maurice plays his fist hockey game with the Montreal Canadien. A week later he scored his first goal. Maurice wore his famous… Number 15? Yes, it is not until the birth of his daughter, who weighed 9 pounds that he wore his famous 9. After 16 games, he was injured again and missed the rest of the season. He was thought too injury prone to play in the NHL. But he was invited to the next training camp.

The next season he scored more than 50 points. He wasn't the best all around player but his territory was, "the blue line in". He played with such passion such will to win and score. In 1943-44 he joined Elmer Lach and Hector Blake to form the Punch line. In 4.5 years, the line scored over 700 points. That season he also scored all five goals in a game versus the Toronto maple leafs and was named the third, second and first star of the game. He also scored 8 points (5-3-8) in a game versus Detroit. A record that stands for the Canadiens. He had the fire in his eyes, they said, and it terrified the goalies. Someone rushing at you staring at you with those eyes. It became part of the legend, part of the mystic side of Richard. That year, they won the Stanley Cup.

The next year Maurice scored the 50 goal mark, in just fifty games. A new goal record, beating the 1917 Joe Malone 44 goal mark. His nickname became used; he was now Rocket Richard to the press and teammates. Only Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull and Mario Lemieux have done the 50 goals in 50 games. In 1946, he only scored 27 goals but led in the playoffs to win his second Stanley Cup.

In 1952, he became the all time leader in goals with 325. He led in goals during his whole career. Richard wanted one thing more than anything short of another cup, the Art Ross Trophy. He never did. His closest call was in 1955 when it was almost certain he would win the trophy for most points. But then it happened, the fight that resulted into a suspension for the rest of the season and playoffs. (Read Hockey: Game or Religion). This then resulted into a riot which was also a battle between the French and the English of Canada. It was Maurice Richard against Clarence Campbell (president of the league)

In 1956, he became the Captain of the team and as captain he led the team to five consecutive Stanley Cups before hanging up his skates after the season of 1960. He ended his magnificent career with 5 Stanley Cups, one Hart Trophy and 544 regular season goals, and 27 NHL records. He still holds 4 of them: Most playoff winning goals (18), Most playoff hat tricks (7 games), most overtime playoff games in one playoff (3 in 1951), most points in one period in a playoff series (3-1-4 in third)

When he died, he was still a hero for all Canadians. Looked up by people who never saw him play. He was cheered on for 10 minutes at the closing ceremonies of the Montreal Forum. On may 27th, the cheers turned to tears.

About the Author:

I was born April 12, 1984 in the small city of Toronto. Toronto is a city settled between Etobicoke and Scarborough and south of North York, East York and City of York. Okay they aren't cities anymore but we all agree that Amalgamation sucks. I'm interested in History, Geography and Culture. I share two different origins. On my father's side, i'm part of a first Canadian-born Generation, on my mother's side, its more like 13 or 14th generation (since 1644, too lazy to calculate). I Love Canada, all of It. and Quebec is unique just like everybody else. I will die 16th of July 2063 (according to some death test).There's not much interesting things about my life.

David may be contacted by email at  kelvinandhabbes@hotmail.com.