Page 6 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, March 20, 2020 Rocket Man By Th e Old Sachem L ast week’s column was about the little brother, Henri Richard. This week we study the big brother, Maurice Richard. JosephHenri-Maurice “Rocket” Richard was born in Montréal, Quebec, on August 4, 1921, and passed away on May 27, 2000, in Montréal at the age of 78. His playing size was 5 foot 10 and 180 pounds. He was a right wing who shot left, and his playing career with the Montréal Canadiens was from 1942 to 1960. He played alongside his younger brother for fi ve seasons with “The Habs.” He was the oldest of eight children, growing up in poverty during the Great Depression – father Onésime Richard and mother Alice Laramée. Maurice began skating at the age of four on local rivers and a small backyard ice surface provided by his father. As a Lawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lein * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 Lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net SABATINO INSURANCE AGENCY Call for a Quote 617-387-7466 Or email Rocco@sabatino-ins.com We cover: * Auto * Home * Boat * Renter * Condo * Life * Multi-Policy Discounts * Commercial 10% Discounts * Registry Service Also Available Everett's Newest Real Estate Office Commercial Sales and Leasing Residential Home Sales Real Estate Consulting Apartment Rentals http://www.sabatino-ins.com SABATINO 564 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 617-387-7466 Hours of Operation are: Mondays - Fridays 9am to 5pm Saturdays by appointment only 560 Broadway, Everett, MA 02149 | 617-512-5712 | sam@broadwayRE.com ADRIANA RESNICK DOMENICA RIGGIO SAM RESNICK Real Estate Auctions Business Brokerage Personal Property Appraisals Mass Licensed Auctioneer Bill Stewart The Old Sachem youngster hockey, baseball and boxing were his favorite pastimes, but eventually hockey prevailed. He started playing on organized teams at 14 and played for many diff erent teams under pseudonyms because local rules required that players only compete for one team in a season. In one league he led his team to three consecutive championships and scored 133 of his team’s 144 goals in the 1938-39 season. He left school at 16 to work with his father as a machinist, enrolling in a technical school to earn a trade certifi cate. When Maurice was 18, he was taken by the Verdun Juniors, scoring four goals in 10 regular season games and six goals in four playoff games as Verdun won the Provisional Championship. The Canadiens latched onto the rising star for their team in the Quebec Senior Hockey League in 1940. He did not get to play many games for the team; he suff ered a broken ankle in his fi rst game and was out for the season. He tried to enlist in the military in 1941 but was classifi ed as unfi t because of his ankle and other hockey injuries. At 17 years old, he met his future bride, Lucille Norchet, a younger sister of a teammate. Richard advanced to the NHL Montréal Canadiens for the 194243 season. Remember, from early times until just after this time the Canadiens had fi rst choice of any lad from the Province of Quebec. His fi rst season he had fi ve goals and six assists in 16 games. The next year he became a regular and scored 32 goals and added 22 assists. Maurice became the fi rst NHL player to score fi fty goals in a season, his third, 1944-45, then again in the following season. Understand, too, that these seasons were played by oldsters past their prime and youngsters who had not developed the skills expected by NHL teams. Canada entered the war earlier than the United States, supporting the United Kingdom as a Commonwealth member, starting in 1939. That doesn’t necessarily diminish Richard’s accomplishments over this period. In the 1944-45 season he scored 50, the first player to reach this mark. In the following seasons he scored 27, 45, 28, 20, 43, 42, 27, 28, 37, 38, 38, 33, 15, 17 and 19 in his fi nal season, 1959-1960. Overall, Richard scored 544 goals and 422 assists in 978 games, an average of better than a goal every other game. During his career he scored 82 goals and 44 assists in 133 playoff games. During his time the Canadiens won eight Stanley Cups. He played in 13 All-Star games and was selected to 14 NHL AllStar teams, eight as a fi rst teamer. Richard, Elmer Lach and Toe Blake were known as the “Punch Line,” the highest scoring line of the 1940s. Maurice led the Canadians to fi ve straight Stanley Cups starting in 1956. Richard was also known as a feisty player and often struck back after opposition players tried to take him out of the game by physical intimidation. He was fined numerous times by NHL President Clarence Campbell for on-ice incidents and one time was forced to post a one thousand dollar “good behavior bond.” His long dispute with the league led to an incident in a game on March 13, 1955, against the Boston Bruins. Hal Laycoe of the Bruins hit Richard on the head with his stick. Richard retaliated by slashing viciously at Laycoe’s head then punched the linesman, Cliff Thompson, when the linesman tried to intervene. Boston police attempted to arrest Richard after the incident only to be thwarted by Bruins offi cials, who told the police that the league would take appropriate action. Campbell suspended Richard for the rest of the season and the playoff s for his behavior. The French fans of Quebec viewed the suspension as an unfair punishment given to a Francophone hero by the Anglophone establishment. Campbell received death threats and fans pelted him with eggs and debris when he attended the next Canadiens’ home game. He was also attacked by a tear gas bomb in the arena, which resulted in suspension of the game and a forfeiture by the Canadiens. A mob of over 20,000 people resulted in a riot in Montréal, and by the following morning 70 had been arrested for various assaults and smashed windows. Among the awards given to Richard were fi rst team All-Star eight times, second team AllStar six times, Stanley Cup Champions eight times, the Hart Trophy as the MVP in 1947, Canadian Press male athlete of the year in 1952, 1957 and 1958, and the Canadian athlete of the year, the Lou Marsh Trophy, in 1957. The NHL Hall of Fame waived the fi veyear waiting period and inducted Richard in 1961. He was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1975 and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history. There was not a player of this caliber until Bobby Orr came along. Maurice was one of the greatest.
7 Publizr Home