Miscellaneous Sports Quiz: 1) Name the ten foreign-born
players to win on the PGA Tour in 2002. 2) Which Canadian
team was the last to win the Stanley Cup and when? 3) Who was
the Stanley Cup MVP for the Toronto Maple Leafs when they
won it in 1967? [Yes, this last one was for my Canadian hockey
junkies.] Answers below.
Francis Castellucio recently turned 65. Who is he better known
as? Answer below.
Maurice Richard
[I have been criticized by one of my loyal Canadian readers for
not having enough hockey in Bar Chat. But, I pleaded, I can’t
afford to lose all of my American fans! Alas, Harry K. is right,
so herewith is a piece I did two years ago on “The Rocket.”]
Maurice Richard died May 2000 at the age of 78. Quite simply,
he was the greatest player on the best franchise in NHL history,
the Montreal Canadiens. Even if you don’t like hockey, read on.
There’s quite a story here.
But, first off, briefly here are some of Richard’s career
highlights.
–Played for the Canadiens from 1942-1960.
–No. 62 on the AP list of the Top 100 athletes of the 20th
century.
–Still Montreal’s all-time goal scorer with 544.
–First NHL player to score 50, 1944-45 season, and he did it in
just 50 games. No one else scored 50 until 1960-61…Boom
Boom Geoffrion. [For perspective, you need to understand that
throughout Richard’s career, the seasons were only 50 games,
then 60, then 70 when he retired…today they are 82.]
–14 consecutive seasons of 20 or more goals.
–Remained the NHL’s all-time goal scorer from 1952 until his
retirement, and then beyond, when in 1963 he was surpassed by
Gordie Howe.
–Played on 8 Stanley Cup champions during his 18-year career,
including 5 in a row between 1955-56 and 1959-60.
–Scored 82 playoff goals in 133 games, including a record 6 in
overtime.
Born in Montreal on August 4, 1921, Maurice Richard was one
of 8 children. His father was a former semipro hockey player
who worked at Canadian Pacific. Maurice played junior hockey
before entering the Canadiens’ minor league system. After two
years he was called up to the big time in 1942, whereupon
Richard quickly became a huge favorite in Montreal, particularly
among the French-speaking people.
In his second season, some sportswriters were observing Richard
during practice as he skated with blazing speed. One of them,
Baz O’Meara, gave him the moniker “rocket” and it stuck.
There was no more intense player in the history of the NHL then
Rocket Richard. Former linemate Geoffrion added, “As soon as
he would touch the puck, you could feel the electricity in the
crowd. It was amazing to see how people would react – not only
in Montreal, but everywhere he played. There’s never been
another like him.”
Frank Selke, the Canadiens’ GM at the time commented, “When
Maurice is worked up, his eyes gleam like headlights…Goalies
have said he’s like a car coming at you at night. He is
terrifying.”
Sports Illustrated’s Michael Farber has written of the adulation
he engendered during his career. It wasn’t just those in the
stands but, throughout Canada, taverns would be packed to listen
to Canadien games on the radio (before television took over).
“The Rocket’s triumphs were the people’s triumphs. His rare
defeats were their defeats.”
Richard used to say, “I’m afraid to let the French people down.”
Rocket (5’10” and 170 lbs.) was continually harassed by the
opposing teams’ goons, who were assigned to shadow him. He
quickly learned to retaliate with his fists and stick, engaging in
memorable brawls.
In 1951 he was fined $500 for grabbing referee Hugh McLean
around the neck in the lobby of a Manhattan hotel, having been
angered by a misconduct penalty McLean had given him the
night before.
But it was March 13, 1955 that will long be remembered
throughout the nation of Canada, especially fans of Les
Canadiens, for it was on that day, in a game with the Boston
Bruins, that Richard got into a fight with one of his chief
nemeses, Bruins defenseman Hal Lycoe. After being checked
hard by Lycoe and cut by his stick, Richard went after him.
When linesman Cliff Thompson intervened, Richard then
punched Thompson twice.
Now you have to picture that Montreal trailed first-place Detroit
by only one point with three games to play in the regular season.
For his part, Richard was also leading the league in scoring at the
time, a feat he had never achieved in his illustrious career. So
imagine the fans dismay when NHL President Clarence
Campbell suspended Rocket, not just for the three regular season
games, but also for the entire playoffs.
Four days later, on March 17, Montreal was playing host to
Detroit. Campbell, whose headquarters were in Montreal, was
going to attend the game and sit in his accustomed private box.
Montreal’s Mayor Jean Drapeau and the police chief urged
Campbell not to go. It seems that Campbell had been receiving
a ton of threats in the mail since suspending Richard and many
of the letter writers accused him of ethnic bias against French-
Canadians. Campbell nonetheless ignored the warnings and went
to the game.
The Rocket was also in the stands that day and the crowd turned
surly, not only because of the presence of Campbell, but also
because the Canadiens quickly trailed the Red Wings 4-1 by the
end of the first period.
As described by writer Farber, during the intermission between
periods, “a fan marched up the steps (to Campbell’s box) and
extended his hand for what Campbell assumed would be a
handshake. Campbell stuck out his hand. He got a slap in the
face.”
Farber adds, “Retired Red Wings tough guy Jimmy Orlando had
spotted the fan heading toward Campbell and bounded from his
seat in pursuit. An instant after the slap, Orlando spun the fan
around and socked him in the jaw, scattering teeth like jujubes.”
The fans then started pelting Campbell with vegetables and fruit
(they deserve credit for at least being health conscious), and
someone set off a teargas bomb. A scene of total chaos.
Officials ruled a forfeit and thousands streamed onto Ste.-
Catherine Street outside the Forum. A full-fledged riot ensued
with windows smashed, stores looted, cars overturned, and
newsstands set afire. 137 were arrested and the “Richard Riot”
(as it came to be known afterwards) caused $500,000 in damage,
a huge sum for those days.
Richard went on the radio the next day to urge calm, but it was
too late for the Rocketless Canadiens’ title quest, as they lost in
the Cup Finals to Detroit. Richard also lost the scoring title by a
single point (he never did capture one in his career).
One of the other casualties for Montreal after the ’55 season was
Coach Dick Irvin. He was fired after the campaign because it
was felt that he couldn’t control Richard’s temper. Irvin was
replaced by Toe Blake and the Canadiens went on to win the Cup
the next 5 seasons.
The Richard Riot was seen as a catalyst for the rise of
“francophone nationalism” in Quebec. The Globe and Mail had
a recent (2000) comment on this topic.
“(Quebec) in the 1950s was stifled at being for so long a
paternalistic, deeply religious society, a province where the
majority of the French-speaking population toiled for English-
speaking bosses…The Campbell decision struck a raw nerve
among Richard’s French-speaking fans who saw it as one of their
own heroes being unjustly humiliated by a condescending
anglophone boss.”
On March 11, 1996, the fabled Montreal Forum shut its doors.
Richard was on hand and received a huge ovation. Said
superstar Guy Lafleur, “He deserved it. He’s the guy who started
the history of the Montreal Canadiens.”
Bits and Pieces
–This past weekend’s PGA Tour stop at Colonial offered us fans
a few special things. Nick Price, at age 45, capturing his first
tourney since 1998; Tom Watson, at age 52, finishing in the Top
Ten (and if he made some easy putts early in Sunday’s round,
who knows), a spectacular achievement; and my new man,
Esteban Toledo, the 40-year-old former boxer from Mexico who
managed a Top Ten as well. Toledo’s story, while often told, is
still a good one, as he rose up from incredible poverty in Mexico.
While he probably won’t win on the regular tour, here’s hoping
his game is in fine form for the Senior Tour in ten years.
–Senior Tour player Dana Quigley has now appeared in 180
consecutive events for which he qualified.
–“Friends”: Well, I mentioned last time that I thought the show
wasn’t appropriate for the 8:00 PM time slot and certainly the
season finale did nothing to dispel that. Why was it necessary to
use “SOB” and “sick bastard” as much as they did? That’s just
for starters, if you watched it, and from the ratings it appears that
probably half of you did. It also wasn’t that funny…but I’ll be
watching next year!
–War Emblem: Triple Crown horse races are awesome, and
Saturday’s Preakness was no exception. Here’s hoping War
Emblem takes the Crown, but, yes, I am more than a bit
perturbed with its ownership, if you know what I’m saying. The
Prince appears to be a first class a-hole.
–We aren’t big Barry Bonds fans around these parts, but you do
have to take note of his incredible .615 on-base percentage this
season. Bonds, who set the all-time single season record for
walks with 177 last year, already has 55 in 43 games in 2002.
–Top 3 for tornadoes: #1 Texas #2 Oklahoma #3 Kansas.
–Great news! The federal government has authorized New
Jersey residents and corporations to kill 11,000 Canada geese
this year, 10 Xs the number granted just two years ago. Finally,
people are wising up. Separately, I live near the Great Swamp
Wildlife Refuge in Jersey and I saw in the local paper how a lone
hiker there severely broke his leg the other day when he was
attacked by a goose and took a bad spill in attempting to run
away. Luckily, he wasn’t pecked to death.
–Speaking of local news, I love to see which one of my friends
has made the local crime blotter (just kidding), and this week I
noticed this little tidbit.
Police charged a Newark man with obstructing justice, as well as
discovering a few outstanding warrants issued for him.
“At about 10:30 AM, the officer observed a white Honda Accord
with ‘several motor vehicle violations’ traveling north on
Diamond Hill Road. The vehicle was stopped, the officer said,
and the driver said he had ‘left his license at home in his wallet.’
The driver identified himself as Shurell Sirmons, with a birth
date of March 28, 1983.
“ ‘However,’ police noted in their report, ‘when asked his age,
the driver replied that he was 22 years old.’” D’oh!! And now
for today’s sirmon, err, sermon.
–We note the passing of Joe Black, the N.L. rookie of the year in
1952 when he was toiling for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Black was
a relief ace, going 15-4 with 15 saves and a 2.15 ERA (allowing
only 102 hits in 142 innings, an outstanding ratio) that season.
But Black, who had started only two games all year as the
Dodgers won the National League pennant, was tapped by
manager Chuck Dressen to start Game One of the World Series
against the Yankees. Black won, 4-2, becoming the first
African-American to win a Series game. [He also pitched
effectively in Games 4 and 7, but lost both, 2-0 and 4-2.] Black
was also born in Plainfield, NJ, the same place your editor was.
–New Jersey Fishing Records: Boy, if you’re an angler, you’ll
appreciate this stuff. Within one week, two big state records fell.
Greg Young caught a 32-lb. 8-oz. lake trout (took him an hour to
bag it…Round Valley Reservoir for you locals), 6 ½ lbs. heavier
than the previous record. And John Christian caught a 51-lb.
striped bass in Great Egg Harbor River (14 ½ lbs. greater than
the record). The lake trout was estimated to be 17 years old. I
didn’t know they could live that long. [Source: Mark McGarrity
/ Star-Ledger]
–Lawrence Hall is a columnist for the Star-Ledger and he had a
piece the other day concerning the research of a Radcliffe
College professor, Lenore Morose, who has decided in her
infinite wisdom that Patsy Cline’s records contribute to
depression, violent behavior and suicide. In fact, as Hall reports,
“the aptly named” Morose found that 92% of Cline’s songs have
negative themes and should carry a warning label. Morose
concludes that the great country star’s work “fails to celebrate
the strength and power of women and subjugates all females to
male domination.” Goodness, gracious.
–Japanese murder plot: The following is more than a bit harsh,
which makes it perfect for this spot. According to a report in the
Associated Press, four nurses have been arrested for a series of
crimes, including the death of the husband of one, killed for the
insurance money.
“The evening started, police say, with a pot of curry laced with
crushed sleeping pills, fed to the husband of one of the four
friends. Then, after making sure he was out cold, they shoved
rubber tubes up his nostrils, pumped him with a quart of whiskey
and injected his veins with water.” Lovely.
Top 3 songs for the week of 5/22/71: #1 “Joy To The World”
(Three Dog Night) #2 “Never Can Say Goodbye” (The Jackson
5) #3 “Brown Sugar” (The Rolling Stones)
*Francis Castellucio is better known as Frankie Valli.
Sports Quiz Answers:
1) PGA Tour foreign-born winners (and the tournament) in
2002: Nick Price / Colonial, Shigeki Maruyama / Byron Nelson,
K.J. Choi / New Orleans, Retief Goosen / Atlanta, Vijay Singh /
Houston, Craig Perks / The Players Championship, Ernie Els /
Doral, Ian Leggatt / Tucson, Jose Maria Olazabal / Torrey Pines,
Sergio Garcia / Kapalua.
2) Montreal was the last Canadian team to win the Cup…1993.
’94 – NY Rangers
’95 – NJ Devils
’96 – Colorado Avalanche
’97 – Detroit Red Wings
’98 – Detroit Red Wings
’99 – Dallas Stars
’00 – NJ Devils
’01 – Colorado Avalanche
3) MVP for the Toronto Maple Leafs the last time they won the
Cup in 1967 was Dave Keon.
*Golfer Tom Weiskopf, who by his own admission has struggled
with alcohol in the past, nonetheless gives his hangover cure in
the current issue of Golf Digest.
“Nothing cures a hangover like a milkshake followed by a
cheeseburger…First you drink the milkshake; it coats your
stomach, and the sugar does you good. Then you eat the
cheeseburger, slowly. The grease helps replace oxygen in your
blood, the bread soaks up whatever’s left of the alcohol, and the
whole thing sits well in your stomach.” Now I’m hungry.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday…best beers in America!
