The Unforgetable ""POCKET ROCKET" RICHARD - MONTREAL Captain

Growing up in the 1970's I was a fan of the Montreal Canadiens - starting with Guy Lefluer, Ken Dryden and Larry Robinson were just beginning their Hall of Fame careers. So I collected them pretty actively up until the 1980's.

 

But looking back now, there were only 12 and then 14 clubs until expansion in 1974. Many of the great Canadian stars were sent to the new teams in the USA. But some remained with the "royal two - Montreal and Toronto. Two in particular were Jaqcues Plante and Frank Mahovolich (from Canadien to Maple Leaf and vise versa).

 

But one guy stayed with the same club and collected 11 Stanley Cups - more than any other player. Although he was the younger brother of Maurice "Rocket" Richard, he was 15 years his junior and 3 inches smaller. Thus he was dubbed "Pocket".

1973-74 Topps Henri Richard

 

However, Henri, beside the record Cup rings, also amassed over 1000 NHL points - something his iconic brother did not. I picked up this graded card for a steal. It depicts a gray-haired Richard wearing the Captain's "C" and looking like royalty sitting for a portrait.

 

Henri Richard also appeared on another card in the set as he lifted the Stanley Cup trophy (which I already had). I still need a few key cards from my 1970's Montreal Canadiens run. Most of these are the squad players in the O-Pee-Chee card sets.

 

If anyone has some 1970's Montreal players to trade in the above condition or better, let me know.  

CANADIEN GOODNESS - Toronto and Montreal Hockey Legends

As much as I love hockey, I came to realize this week that I am a casual collector. When hockey is in season and when the jet stream blows cool air to Florida - my hockey senses highten.

 

More to the point, prior to this week I did not own one original Parkhurst hockey card !

 

1959-60 Parkhurst Boom Boom Geoffrion

 

Then I saw this card (above) of Hall of Famer "Boom Boom" Geoffrion. The price was right - $5.00

As a week passed and the auction concluded I had purchased other hockey cards (to be featured in a future blog). The seller of this other card filed a non-payment alert after TWO DAYS !

 

Not a big surprise from ebay. While I duely paid for the second card (I had been away), an email came from the seller of the Geoffrion card. The gentleman apologized for not sending out the card as he and his wife were also away. I wrote back thanking him for the note and told him its ok, that I now know the card is on its way.

 

Now, I do not have it on any authority, but I think this gentleman was a Canadien. Most of the retires that own vintage hockey in Florida are from North of the border.

 

So when the paackage arrived today, one envelope was labeled - two cards. One being Boom Boom and the other an odd ball card of BABE RUTH. Its marked 1992 Delphi - and believe it was issued to promote or compliment a limited edition collector's plate.

 

 

Although I already have this card it was a kind gesture. The other envelope was marked - coin. I have to say, I love sports coins. So, it was to my delight and surprise to pull this -

1961-62 Shirriff hockey coin of Eddie Shack.

 

A SALADA FOODS Shirriff hockey coin. It was of a Toronto Maple Leafs player Eddie Shack. Again, it was a first for my hockey collection.

Eddie won the Stanley Cup 4 times with the Maple Leafs and played over 1000 NHL games. But here is a factoid from Wikipedia -

 

During the 1966 season Shack broke out, scoring a career high 26 goals on a line with Ron Ellis and Bob Pulford, and his popularity was such that a novelty song called Clear The Track, Here Comes Shack written in his honour and played by "Douglas Rankine with the Secrets".^[6] It reached #1 on the Canadian pop charts and charted for nearly three months.

 

Speaking of facts, poor Boom Boom was outed on the back of his card - "a deep growing pain in his groin area slowed him down" and caused him to miss another NHL scoring title.

 

 

Growing up near the Canadian border I got my first hockey cards in 1971 (still my favorite set). However, my collection only grew newer from that point. Now, I am enjoying going backwards to vintage. I especially like Canadien food issues.

 

If anyone has any Canadien food issues you will trade for other sports cards, let me know.

 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLLECTABLE HOCKEY ISSUE ?

Montreal Celebrates 100 - PART 6 (1950-1960)

No era in hockey reflects the term "Dynasty" like the decade between 1950 and 1960. The teams that Montreal put on the ice exhibited everything from toughness to skill, and from determination to innovation.

No one probably carried this better than the one referred to as "Le Gros Bill" - or "The Big Ticket" in English. Jean Beliveau inherited the mantle of great leadership from Toe Blake and "Rocket" Richard. More significantly, no one accumulated more Championships than Beliveau - 10 as a player and 7 additional ones as a staff member.

The "Rockets' durability on ice was passed on to Bernie "Boom Boom Geoffrion - the innovator of the slap shot - and aptly nicknamed. He was to be immortalized in beer commercials after retirement.

With all the star power gathered in Montreal, it is a wonder there was room for others to excel. But Dickie Moore did just that. He did not compare with the flamboyant line of Beliveau or Geoffrion, but he did win two Art Ross trophies as leading scorer in the NHL.

When it comes to Montreal's line of great net minders, someone special had to come along to maintain the quality. That man was Jacques Plante. Best known as one of the first goalies to regularly wear a mask, he helped design and publicize their use. He was also a pioneer in organizing his defense and countering the offensive attack. In addition, he hauled in 5 Vezina trophies during his career.

After winning the Stanley Cup in '52-53, Montreal lost it to the Detroit Red Wings the following season. The series went to a full seven games. What followed from 1955 to 1960 was five consecutive NHL Championships. Unbeatable, unstoppable and incomparable in every position, The Canadiens were hockey's best franchise. And there home became the fortress.

The Montreal Forum, which had been in use since 1926, already hosted NHL Champions - Montreal Maroons. When that club met its demise, Les Habitants became the sole occupants in the house they once shared.

The Forum became hollowed ground - hosting various Rock legends - Canada's own RUSH and filmed in the QUEEN live album performing "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS. Nothing could be more fitting.

Montreal Celebrates 100 - PART 5 (1940-1949)

The Second World War disrupted the chance for any of the original six to establish a dynasty. But the birth of one was brewing in Montreal as the Habs secured two Stanley Cups in 1943-44 and 19-45-46.

Veteran "Toe" Blake led the team along with 1940's newcomer - Elmer Lach.
But the real surprise was a player who had every promise but was injured in two of his first three seasons. Maurice Richard earned a place as one of many other players went off to serve in the army.

The "PUNCH LINE" - of Blake, Lach and Richard was to become the mainstay of the upcoming Montreal dynasty.

Maurice Richard was dubbed "The Rocket" by teammates even though he broke his ankle and arm in consecutive seasons at the beginning of his career.

Montreal's goalkeeping woes were answered by a smart thinking, ambidextrous net minder (who wore two catching gloves) named Bill Durnan. He went on to win 6 Vezina trophies. He was ably assisted by two stalwart defensemen - Emile "Butch" Bouchard and ...

a youngster named Doug Harvey. Harvey would change the way NHL defenders played until a player named Bobby Orr came along.

Since there were no major cards produced during the war years, many of these players rookie cards debuted in the 1951-52 Parkhurst set.

Boom, Boom out goes the LITE beer ...

One of the great things for this generation who wants to look back at the past - is YouTube clips. As an avid Montreal Canadiens collector it was sheer pleasure when this arrived in the mail:
Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion was one the "Habs" great scoring forwards. Had it now been or because of the legendary "Rocket" Richard, Boom Boom could have been even greater. I never saw Geoffrion play. When i first heard about Bernie it was in a beer commercial. Here is another LITE beer commercial with baseball player "Boog" Powell.
The wonderful thing about getting autographs from old timers is that they take the time to make their signature readable. Geoffrion got his nickname from his thundering slap shot - which was known to incapacitate a few goalies in his playing days. He put the lights out on a few ...

Recently, a message board poster sent me some swag in the form of a pair of vintage soccer cards. The 1922 DC Thomson was a massive set of over 1000 cards - and makes baseball's T206 tobacco series seem like a box set.

Burnley F.C. player - James Anderson is featured on this sepia miniature photo card wearing a classic tie-front jersey.

The other inclusion was a traditional tobacco cards from the 1935 Carreras cigarettes Famous Footballers series. This adds to my collection of Glasgow Celtics players that stretch over 100 years - pictured is Peter McGonagle. The illustrated card shows a multi-hooped, thin hooped green jersey rather than the thick hoops which became famous later on.

Montreal Celebrates 100 - PART 3 (1920-1929)

The 1920's were hard times yet not unimportant to the CANADIENS hockey club. The club won the Stanley Cup in the 1923-24 season. It would be the last time the trophy was competed for by three different leagues. (pictured are 4 cards from the 1923 V145 Patterson card series)

The Pacific Coast was represented by the PCHA Champions - Vancouver Maroons, while the Calgary Tigers of Western Canada won the WCHL. Montreal had to play them both in a series to win the Cup.

Captained by Sylvio Mantha, and backstopped by the league's top goalie - Vezina, the scoring was handled by Billy Boucher (2nd in NHL) and Aurel Joliat (3rd in NHL).

A rookie by the name of Howie Morenz placed 8th in the league scoring charts and led all scorers in the play-offs.

Unfortunately, George Vezina would die in 1926. His legacy is kept in the trophy named after him which the club donated the following season. However, his legacy did not stop there.

Dr. Brian Price would purchase Vezina's goalie pads for his company - In The Game (ITG). He would make the controversial decision to cut up the artifact to include pieces of it in his 2000-2001 Be A Player Memorabilia series of hockey cards.

He sold the packs for an unheard of $99 each - and sold out all his stock. These were also the very first card products to be sold encased in protective plastic. The hobby has since changed as never before as more and more companies follow this formula of numbering and limiting special edition trading cards with memorabilia.

George Vezina stick memorabilia card.

Montreal Celebrates 100 - PART 2 (1909-1919)

The Montreal Candiens were one of the original clubs to start the National Hockey Association (NHA) - the fore-runner of the NHL. The Renfrew Creamery Kings - a.k.a. the "Millionaires" were a bust after two seasons and from their ashes Didier Pitre (pictured on this C56 from 1910) was the very first player to be signed by the Montreal Canadiens.
It took about half of a decade but the Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup in 1915-16 season.

In addition to Pitre, the club boasted 3 other future Hall of Famers - Jack Laviolette and Newsy Lelonde - who alternated as Captains, and the immortalized goalie - George Vezina. The team's only goalie from 1910 to 1926 - Vezina died prematurely from tuberculosis. The club donated the now heralded trophy the following year to goalies who are the best each season.

While the Stanley Cup was only won once by the Canadiens during this period, the club could have added a second if not for the influenza epidemic of 1919 which claimed the life of more than a few players. They did finish with the best record in the NHL on several occasions with their stars topping the scoring charts regularly.

Contesting the Les Canadiens in the new league's inaugural season were - Cobalt Silver Kings, Haileybery Comets, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs and Renfrew Creamery Kings. (pictured are the players from the C55 Imperial Tobacco set from 1911-12)

NHA ceased to exist and the NHL began play in 1917. League stability and World War I (1914-1918) were great factors that pressured survival of this franchise in its first decade. But the best was yet to come.

Montreal Celebrates 100 - PART 1

There are now a handful of sports clubs in North America that have lasted 100 years. You may add to that list the MONTREAL CANADIENS or as my friend Pascal say - LES CANADIENS DE MONTREAL.

Montreal has a rich tradition of sports - including hosting the 1976 Summer Olympics and Expo 67 - the World's Fair. But their baseball history is rich and lengthy as well. With play in the International League beginning in 1897 and continued professional class baseball from 1928, Montreal was an intricate part of the diamond's circuit until recently.

Standout player James "Doc" Casey (T206 card above) was the Montreal Royales' 9th managers at the time the Montreal hockey club began in 1910.

The Royales were most famous for being the minor league affiliate to the Brooklyn Dodgers (1939-1960) and the last stop for Jackie Robinson before the big leagues. Montreal Royales were also the home team for Duke Snider and Roberto Clemente prior to their Senior promotions.
In 1969 the National League welcomed the company of the first club outside the United States with the MONTREAL EXPOS (Les Expos de Montréal) - so named after the 1967 World's Fair.
The roster of star players from the EXPOS is prominent with names like Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Tony Perez and Randy Johnson. Milestones like Pete Rose's 4,000th hit occured outside of the United States - in Canada. Montreal hosted the 1982 All-Star Game.

In October 2005, the MONTREAL CANADIENS honored the departing Expos (to be Washington Nationals) by raising their banner at the home ice rink at the BELL CENTRE.

And so ended less than 40 years of Major League Baseball in Montreal. Meanwhile the century old Canadiens, who are the only NHL club to win the STANLEY CUP in every decade of their existance (1910 -2009) , must win the trophy this year to keep that record in tact.

Over the coming month or months I hope to high-light some of the interesting history of the 100 year old hockey club. For those less familiar with the sport of hockey I'll introduce you to the invention that help make the ice -that makes the game possible - the ZAMBONI. Those of you who are Montreal regulars - just sing along or enjoy this VERSION instead.