(Paul Chiasson, Canadian Press via AP). According to the Montreal Gazette, the ovation Richard received from his fans "shook the rafters" of the Montreal Forum. The Yankees win. It was always a great thrill.". He was the seventh of 10 consecutive Hall of Fame captains in Montreal — Toe Blake, Bill Durnan, Butch Bouchard, the Rocket, Doug Harvey and Béliveau preceded him; Cournoyer, Serge Savard and Bob Gainey followed him. Richard spent his entire 20-year career with the Canadiens and played in 10 All-Star Games. [92] Richard had reported to Montreal's training camp that autumn, but Selke compelled Richard to end his playing career, fearing he was risking serious injury. [1] His younger brother Henri also played his entire career with the Canadiens, the two as teammates for Maurice's last five years. Teammate and coach Toe Blake said the moniker was fitting because "when he would take off, nothing got in his way that could stop him".

“I had my head between my legs the whole time.”, To say Henri Richard said little early in his career is to vastly understate the truth. © 2020 Montreal Gazette, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. There were controversies: so passionate and competitive that his blood quickly boiled, he once physically mixed it up with teammate Savard and famously, briefly benched during the 1971 Stanley Cup final against Chicago, he called rookie Canadiens coach Al MacNeil “the worst coach I’ve ever played for.”. 16 in 1975 and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979.

[10] He enrolled in a technical school, intent on earning a trade certificate. “Henri began to move out of his brother’s shadow when he showed the way he could control a game and dictate play,” Béliveau said. Until almost his last breath in 2015, Lach loved to tell that story. "All I ever had in my mind was playing with the Montreal Canadiens and thinking about playing with my brother Maurice," Henri told the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003. [13][41] In 1950–51, Richard scored 42 goals,[13] including his 271st career goal, making him Montreal's all-time goal leader. When teammate Ray Getliffe remarked that Richard "went in like a rocket" as he approached the opposition goal, Richard was dubbed "The Rocket" by a local sportswriter; both Baz O'Meara from the Montreal Star and Dink Carroll of the Montreal Gazette have been credited for the appellation.

Nothing else. All rights reserved. © 2020 TIME USA, LLC. [8] One of his teammates remarked that "Maurice wouldn't even pass you the salt". MONTREAL -- Henri Richard, the speedy and durable center who won a record 11 Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens, died Friday. All NHL team jerseys customized with NHL players' names and numbers are officially licensed by the NHL and the NHLPA. His father worked as a machinist for the Canadian Pacific Railway, specifically at the Angus Yards.

By using NHL websites or other online services, you consent to the practices described in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, including our Cookie Policy. “Bert would give me (hell) if I didn’t do like he told me,” he recalled. He continued to use his name as a promotional vehicle for over 30 years after his retirement. Hall of Fame center Henri Richard, whose 11 Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens are the most won by any NHL player, has died at age 84. "I'm not saying it's right because it's important to respect the coach, but I just wanted to play hockey.". [71] He took to the radio the next day asking for calm: "Do no more harm. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © NHL 2019. [73] Montreal reached the 1955 Stanley Cup Finals without Richard, and lost the championship series four games to three. Richard was involved in a vicious on-ice incident late in the 1954–55 season during which he struck a linesman. [26], Remaining healthy throughout the season, Richard appeared in 46 of Montreal's 50 games. It never seemed to bother him and he never once lost his patience because of it.”. [9], At 16, Richard dropped out of school to work with his father as a machinist. Over 115,000 people paid their respects by viewing his lying in state at the Molson Centre. Where the Rocket often skated with opponents on his back, Henri had to battle for every inch of ice he took, pounded heavily but never failing to get back up with a snarl and a willingness to drop his gloves with men who clearly were out of his weight class. "A legend on and off the ice, in Montreal and beyond, Henri Richard was one of the fiercest competitors in hockey history.

Laurendeau suggested the riot "betrayed what lay behind the apparent indifference and long-held passiveness of French Canadians". [33] Richard went eight games without scoring and began Montreal's final regular season game, March 18, on the road against the Boston Bruins with 49 goals. He was 84. [39] Richard finished second in the voting for the Hart Trophy as league MVP behind Lach. Henri was a fine junior bound for greatness when he was given his famous nickname by a Toronto newspaper editor, who told readers that hockey fans could see the Canadiens’ Rocket on Saturday night and the Junior Habs’ Pocket Rocket on the same rink the following afternoon.