The Effect Of Maurice Richard “When he came flying towards you with the puck on his stick, his eyes were all lit up, flashing and gleaming like a pinball machine. It was terrifying.” Rakesh Arjun 11/28/2012 Rakesh Arjun November-28-12 Maurice Richard affected the lives of hockey players and what the NHL means to the French Canadian hockey society. In 1952, Maurice was secretly meeting with an unknown writer of the “Samedi - Dimanche” telling all of the stories of unknown events happening during the games that no one catches. Certain events were positive but also some were dangerous and cruel. He told about players doing degenerate things to one another trying to purposely injure a certain player. Maurice pursued stating the referees were making calls that were turbulent to the game and he continued saying how the fans were one of the biggest factors supporting the Canadiens. In the midst of the season in 1954, Maurice had some strong words to lecture about how he felt about Clarence Campbell who was the commissioner of the league at the time.1 He pointed out the bitter actions of hockey players by attempting to hurt each other in an enraged fashion. Maurice thought to himself that this is not the way hockey is presumed to be played. He indicated the penalties that are rendered to each player were different.2 He said the consequences are supposed to be identical for each player, not situated on who the hockey player is. 1 B. Melancon. The Rocket: A Cultural History of Maurice Richard. (Vancouver: D+M Publishers, 2009). 2 M. Vigneault. Maurice Richard. (Toronto: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 2000). Rakesh Arjun November-28-12 Maurice Richard was just like every youngster that had a dream to play a professional sport. He was born on August 1, 1921 in Montreal, Quebec. His parents Onesime and Alice Richard had eight children and Maurice was the oldest of them all. His dad constructed a backyard hockey rink and Maurice started to play at the age of four years old. He would play twice a day and sometimes even had four games every weekend. He could not get enough of playing hockey so instead of playing on one hockey team, he played on two. Maurice made a new alias and was known as Maurice Rochon. Richard had a signature style of playing. At his time, he wanted to prove that he was going to be the most outstanding player at that time. He was so quick that if you were a defender and you blinked, you would miss him and he would be at the net getting ready to score.3 Maurice had the complete package for a hockey player. His quickness was the reason for his nickname, “The Rocket.” In the 1944-1945 seasons, Richard was the first to score fifty goals in one season and first to score over five hundred goals in his career. He finished his career with five hundred and forty-four goals and eighty-two playoff goals which six of those were overtime game-winners. He led the league in goals scored for five years. He also gathered four hundred and twenty-one assists for an astounding nine hundred and sixty-five points in nine hundred and seventy-eight games.4 He retired from the NHL as the league’s all-time leading scorer. In his honour, the three year wait after retiring to be brought in the hall of fame was passed. While Maurice was with Montreal, he won the Stanley Cup eight times. In 1965, his name was engraved in the Stanley cup. He played with the Canadiens for eighteen seasons. 3 M. Vigneault. Maurice Richard. (Toronto: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 2000). 4 J. Pelletier. Rocket Richard. (Terrace: Joe Pelletiers Greatest Hockey Legends, 2006). Rakesh Arjun November-28-12 Maurice was playing hockey at a superstar level. In every sport, the other players tend to attack the superstars in order to injure them severely or ruin their career in some manipulative way. Maurice was fed up of getting hit and getting targeted so he secretly had meetings with a writer of a newspaper from Montreal. Richard expressed his fury towards the calls being made by the referees. He says the referees are not making calls on the slashes and hacks being performed on him during the game. He knows the referees distinguish these penalties yet they don’t make a strong intention to make the appropriate call. The amount of calls being made against him was remarkable. Maurice would not put in his two bits in order to maybe change the mind of the referee because he would listen and accept the consequences. They just leave the game how it is and cease on calling stuff that never ends up happening. When Maurice played, he kept his anger controlled throughout the game and would not get displeased.5 Players on other teams would attempt to get a hit on him even if he did not have the puck. He would have two to three guys covering him and trying to rough him up as he would skate up and down the rink. Any name that was derogative was being yelled at towards Maurice and he would just pretend that there was no pressure being put on him. Players would holler all these names but they would not nudge the mind of Maurice. The fans of Montreal were explosive towards the style of Maurice’s presence on the ice and they would be on his back through whatever happens. The true fans of the NHL resided in Montreal.6 As soon as Maurice would enter an ice rink in a distinctive city other than Montreal, the fans would try and break Maurice’s stable concentration by throwing stuff at him and calling him names. Maurice knew what was happening. He knew everyone was taking advantage of him. 5 M. Vigneault. Maurice Richard. (Toronto: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 2000). 6 B. Melancon. The Rocket: A Cultural History of Maurice Richard. (Vancouver: D+M Publishers, 2009). Rakesh Arjun November-28-12 In the 1955 season, Maurice gave up and expressed his deep emotions towards the commissioner of the league. Maurice comes out with it and says to the newspaper writer, “What did Campbell do, when Jean Beliveau was deliberately injured twice by Billy Mosienko of Chicago and Jack Evans of Rangers? No penalty, no fine, no suspension. Did he suspend Gordie Howe of Detroit when he almost knocked out Dollard St. Laurent's eye? No! It is strange that only Dick Irvin and I have the courage to risk our livelihood by defending our rights against such a dictator.” Maurice blows his top after playing for so long and putting up with the nonsense that one day he directly accuses the commissioner of the negative consequences being given directly to him. Maurice also says, “It is not surprising that Howe, Lindsay and Abel are among the top point-scorers in the league, although I admit Howe and Lindsay are good players.7 Let Campbell get busy with the other little goings-on known about players of the National Hockey League and not try to create publicity for himself at the expense of a good fellow like 'Boom Boom' Geoffrion just because he is a French Canadian. That is my frank opinion and if I am to be punished for it, well that's that. I will leave hockey and I have an idea that several other Canadien players who share my opinion will do the same.” The next column that Maurice had written in the newspaper he said, “Freedom of speech has been taken away from me. I have to obey my employers. I am not judging them but will leave this matter in the hands of my friends.” Maurice was not just a hockey player.8 He was a sign of hope for the French Canadians. His fans rose in a body to protest what they saw as an unjust and discriminatory 7 B. Melancon. The Rocket: A Cultural History of Maurice Richard. (Vancouver: D+M Publishers, 2009). 8 J. Pelletier. Rocket Richard. (Terrace: Joe Pelletiers Greatest Hockey Legends, 2006). Rakesh Arjun November-28-12 decision by the NHL. On March 17, during the first game of the Canadiens-Red Wings series, a riot broke out. Campbell, who was in the stands, was booed, windows were smashed, stores looted and cars overturned. 5 years later, Maurice announces his retirement from the NHL. Some people may say Maurice Richard was just a regular hockey player in the NHL. Other people would argue that and say this player was a hero, maybe even a legend. One man plays a game and he changes the face of it and even becomes a protector for the French Canadian people. The built up vengeance of Maurice was special because he did not hesitate once on speaking his mind and directly plunge into an implication with Clarence Campbell. Probably one of the most proficient Canadiens player, Richard thought of the fans first before addressing anything else in the league. Every year of saluting the Montreal congregation, he became one with the French Canadian hockey society. Rakesh Arjun November-28-12 Bibliography Melancon, Benoit. The Rocket: A Cultural History of Maurice Richard. Vancouver: D+M publishers, 2009. Pelletier, Joe. “Rocket Richard.” Joe Pelletiers Greatest Hockey Legends.com http://www.habslegends.blogspot.ca/2006/05/rocket-richard.html (accessed October 21, 2012 Vigneault, Michael. “Maurice Richard.” Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. <http://www.biographic.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?id_nbr=7992> (accessed October 18, 2012) Rakesh Arjun November-28-12 i 1 B.