Maurice Richard

Joseph Henri Maurice Richard
(Rocket)

• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.

• Born August 4, 1921 in Montreal, QC Canada
• Died May 27, 2000 in Montreal, QC Canada

Biographical Information

Maurice Richard was one of the greatest hockey players of all time, a National Hockey League Hall of Famer, a 13-time All-Star who led the league in goals scored five times, scored 544 career goals and had 965 points. Among his feats are being the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games and winning 8 Stanley Cups. His younger brother Henri Richard, known as "the Pocket Rocket" for his small size, played with him on many of the cup-winning teams and is also a Hall of Famer. Richard was nicknamed "The Rocket" by writer Dink Carroll, because of his great speed and ability to tear through opposing defenses like a missile.

Richard also played professional baseball briefly, for the Drummondville Cubs of the then-outlaw Provincial League in 1947. He once dove into the stands trying to catch a ball and broke his nose. The Montreal Canadiens, his hockey team, forbade him from playing any more baseball due to the associated risks.

Maurice Richard was known as "L'idole d'un peuple" (a nation's idol) as the greatest sportsman to come out of French Canada in his lifetime. When he was suspended by NHL Commissioner Clarence Campbell in 1955 for hitting a linesman, it caused a riot in the streets of Montreal that is considered as one of the turning points of Quebec's modern history. His life has been the subject of a number of biographies, as well as a feature film, Maurice Richard (The Rocket in its English-language release), in 2005.

When Richard died in 2000, the Montreal Expos wore a 9 on their jerseys to honor the hockey legend - a very rare instance of an athlete from another sport being recognized in this way.

Source: CBC

Related Sites

• Hockey-Reference page
• Maurice Richard at the Internet Hockey Database