| | Associated Press
MONTREAL -- Maurice "Rocket" Richard, whose explosive
speed and scoring heroics made him the cornerstone of the Montreal
Canadiens' dynasty that won five straight Stanley Cups, died
Saturday. He was 78.
|  | | Maurice Richard was the first player to score 50 goals in a season. |
Richard, who slipped into a deep coma overnight, died of
respiratory failure after a long battle with abdominal cancer.
He was hospitalized with a recurrence of the cancer that was
first diagnosed more than two years ago. The hockey great also had
Parkinson's disease, and doctors suspected the onset of
Alzheimer's.
Richard, No. 62 on The Associated Press list of the top 100
athletes of the 20th century, helped the Canadiens win eight
Stanley Cups during his 18-year career.
"What truly set him apart -- what made him a special hero to the
fans -- was his extraordinary intensity," Prime Minister Jean
Chretien said in a statement.
"He played with great emotion and flair and possessed an
unmatched will to win. His dazzling combination of skill and drive
not only made him one of the greatest hockey players ever, it also
made him a symbol to all of what it takes to be a true champion."
Richard finished his career with a then-record 544 goals. He was
the first player to score 500 goals and the first to score 50 goals
in a season when he did it in 50 games in 1944-45. His six overtime
goals remains a playoff record.
"As soon as he would touch the puck, you could feel the
electricity in the crowd," said former linemate Bernie "Boom
Boom" Geoffrion. "It was amazing to see how people would react -- not only in Montreal, but everywhere he played. There's never been
another like him."
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Richard biography
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Born: Aug. 4, 1921 in Montreal.
Full name: Joseph-Henri-Maurice Richard.
Height: 5 feet 10.
Weight: 170 pounds.
NHL career: 544 goals and 421 assists in 978 games over 18
seasons; added 82 goals and 44 assists in 133 playoff games while
playing on eight Stanley Cup-winning teams.
Nickname: Dubbed "the Rocket" by writer Baz O'Meara because of his
blazing speed.
Family: Survived by brothers Henri, Claude, Rene and Jacques,
sisters Rollande, Marguerite and Georgette, sons Maurice Jr.,
Normand, Andre, Paul and Jean, and daughters Huguette and Suzanne.
Wife Lucille died in 1994.
Of note: Richard was one of the most popular figures in Quebec
when, in a fit of temper, he punched a linesman twice during a
March 13, 1955 brawl with Boston defensemen Hal Laycoe. NHL
president Clarence Campbell suspended Richard for the rest of the
season and the playoffs. Four days later, with Campbell in Montreal
for a Canadiens-Red Wings game, fans rioted through the city's
streets causing $500,000 damage.
Quotable: "The Rocket did everything by instinct and with brute
strength. He was the greatest opportunist the game has ever
known." -- the late Frank Selke Sr., Montreal's general manager
during Richard's record-breaking years.
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"Rocket had that mean look on, every game we played," Hall of
Famer Gordie Howe said. "He was 100 percent hockey. He could hate
with the best of them.
"He could rile up the Montreal fans in a hurry. God, sometimes
I felt sorry for the man. He must have got a standing ovation when
he went shopping."
A number of Montreal radio and television stations switched to
all-Richard programming upon learning of his death.
"We're ready to share our grief with the public," Maurice
Richard Jr. said outside Hotel Dieu Hospital. "We know what our
father meant."
Andre Robidoux, a doctor who treated Richard, said the former
player was on medication and did not suffer in his final days.
"He died of respiratory failure, which was caused by several
factors," Robidoux said. "We did all we could to save him over
the week and throughout his illness."
Richard was ambidextrous, a right wing who shot left-handed. He
often switched from backhand to forehand as he swooped in on
goalies. In the days before curved blades and slap shots, the
Rocket possessed a hard, accurate shot and was one of hockey's
most dangerous scorers.
"He loved hockey, the Canadiens and the fans," said Jean
Beliveau, the former Montreal captain who disclosed last week that
he has a malignant tumor in his neck.
"He was a great leader. He didn't talk much. He preferred to
express himself on the ice. I would tell younger players to watch
the fire emanating from his eyes."
It was Hall of Fame goalie Glenn Hall who probably described
Richard's magnetism best. "What I remember most about the Rocket
were his eyes," Hall once said. "When he came flying toward you
with the puck on his stick, his eyes were all lit up, flashing and
gleaming like a pinball machine. It was terrifying."
Richard had great strength and shrugged off checks. He sometimes
carried defensemen with him as he zoomed in on goalies.
"With his pride, his passion, his drive, and his determination,
Maurice Richard embodied all the qualities that make hockey
great," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. "He will live on
through his legend and his legacy of excellence."
Born in Montreal on Aug. 4, 1921, Richard grew up in a rough
part of the city, next to a jail. He played hockey in the city's
park league but his early career was often interrupted by injuries.
There was a broken ankle, then a broken wrist. When he was promoted
to the Canadiens in 1942, Richard broke his ankle again and the
team's general manager, Tommy Gorman, said "It looks like we have
a brittle-boned player on our hands." Gorman even considered
releasing Richard.
But as he matured, Richard shook off that image and became one
of the most compelling figures in the six-team league through the
1940s and '50s.
He often drew double coverage on the ice but he skated right
through it, bowling defenders over and then staring them down with
his dark, menacing eyes. The Rocket's Red Glare could dissect
defenders.
Richard led the league in goals five times and was part of the
most devastating power play in hockey history, one which forced a
change in the rules. Before the Richard-led Canadiens mastered the
manpower advantage, penalized teams were forced to play shorthanded
for the full term of the penalty. But the Canadiens became so
proficient with the extra skater that they often scored two and
three times, causing the rule to be changed and limiting power
plays to a single goal.
"There were games when I felt everything I shot would go in,"
Richard said. "On some nights, if I touched the puck, I knew I
would score.
"We were supposed to win all the time. When we did not win, it
was a tragedy to many fans. All they knew was win, win, win."
In Montreal, Richard and the Canadiens were followed with
religious zeal. Once, the combination of Richard's fiery temper and
the dedication of the fans to their hero and his team led to a
riot.
On March 13, 1955, Richard got into a brawl with Boston's Hal
Laycoe, swinging his stick at the defenseman three times and then
taking a punch at linesman Cliff Thompson who tried to get between
them.
NHL president Clarence Campbell suspended Richard for the final
three games of the regular season and the entire playoffs. Then,
four days after handing down his ruling, Campbell appeared at the
Montreal Forum for a crucial game between Montreal and Detroit. He
was greeted by boos and a shower of peanuts and programs. Then a
fan approached Campbell as if to shake his hand and slugged him
instead. A tear gas bomb exploded on the ice and the game was
forfeited to the Red Wings.
When the fans spilled out of the Forum on to Ste. Catherine
Street, in the middle of downtown Montreal, stores were looted and
the ugly crowd started a full scale riot.
The next day, Richard went on the radio to plead for calm. "I
will take my punishment," he said, "and come back next year to
help the club and the younger players to win the Stanley Cup."
And that's exactly what he did.
The next year, with Richard back, the Canadiens began an
unmatched run of five straight championships. Nine months after he
retired in 1960, Richard was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame,
which waived its usual five-year waiting period to honor him.
Richard and wife Lucille, who died in 1994, had seven children
and 14 grandchildren. Richard's brother, Henri, also played for the
Canadiens. | |
ALSO SEE
Fans mourn loss of 'Rocket' Richard in Quebec
ESPN SportsCentury: The Rocket lit up hockey
What they're saying
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