Maurice Richard Biography - Native Son Of Montreal, First Of Eight Stanley Cup Victories In 1944, Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments
canadian hockey nation player
1921-2000
Canadian hockey player
When Maurice Richard—universally known by his nickname, "The Rocket"—died in Montreal on May 27, 2000, the entire nation of Canada went into mourning. One of the greatest players in the history of hockey, Richard's legendary exploits on the ice helped the Montreal Canadiens win eight Stanley Cup championships during his eighteen years with the team. The leading goal scorer in the National Hockey League (NHL) five times, Richard was also the first player to score fifty goals in one season. Yet Richard's true importance to his fans lay not in his impressive statistics and career longevity, but rather in what he symbolized. To many people in the province of Quebec, Richard was the epitome of French-Canadian pride. Indeed, Richard's professional career from 1942 to 1960 paralleled the growth in Quebecois consciousness that culminated in
Maurice Richard
the so-called Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, when the province's social, political, and economic landscapes transformed the Canadian nation.
Additional Topics
Joseph Henry Maurice Richard was born on August 4, 1921 in Montreal, Quebec. The oldest child of Onesime, a carpenter for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and Alice Richard, Maurice grew up in a rough neighborhood in Montreal's north end, where the Richard family house sat next to a city jail. Richard began playing hockey in his neighborhood when he was about four years old and played in the c…
For the 1943-44 season, Richard began wearing the number-nine jersey in honor of his first child, daughter Huguette, who had been born to his wife, Lucille, weighing in at nine pounds. The couple eventually had seven children and remained married up to the time of Lucille Richard's death in 1994. In addition to picking up a new number for the 1943-44 season, Richard also earned a new nickna…
After losing to Detroit in the 1954 championship by one game, the Canadiens were determined to turn the tables the following year. Richard was especially pleased to welcome his younger brother, Henri, to the lineup of the Canadiens for the 1954-55 season, which promised to be one of the Rocket's finest. Yet Richard's season ended in one of the most controversial episodes in sports hi…
The infamous conclusion of the 1954-55 season fueled Richard's desire for another Stanley Cup victory. The Canadiens indeed won the 1956 championship over the Red Wings in a four-to-one game series. Thus began one of the greatest hockey dynasties in the sport's history, as the team went on to win five consecutive championships. In all Richard contributed to eight Stanley Cup victorie…
Of course, he was much more than "just a hockey player." It wasn't just that he was a winner during his eighteen seasons with the Canadiens, it was the way he won. He could lift a team, a province, and at times even a country into a frenzy of winning. He pushed himself to the brink, and when he and the team won, "his people" imagined themselves winners as well&#x…
Richard's last major public appearance occurred at the closing of the old Montreal Forum on March 11, 1996, where he was given an extended standing ovation by the audience. Suffering from abdominal cancer and Parkinson's disease, Maurice Richard died on May 27, 2000. An estimated 50,000 people waited in line to pay their respects at a public showing held in the Molson Centre hockey a…
Fisher, Red. Hockey, Heroes, and Me. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1994. McFarlane, Brian. The Habs. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, 1996. Bird, Heather. "Adieu, M. Richard." Toronto Sun (June 1, 2000). Bird, Heather. "A Family Member Lost." Toronto Sun (May 31, 2000). McRae, Earl. "'He Was Everything to Us.'" Ottawa Sun (June 1, 2000). Flat…
Citing this material
Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.
Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.
User Comments
about 2 years ago
dumb
over 5 years ago
good information