Posted on 03/06/2020 8:11:38 AM PST by OttawaFreeper
Henri Richard, who had a long and storied career in the National Hockey League as a player with the Montreal Canadiens, passed away on Friday.
Richard was 84 years old.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsnet.ca ...
Great player. Used to hate his guts ... obviously not on my team.
Nice pic of him being backchecked by Bobby Orr.
Great Picture of ‘ back in the day” when there were no helmets, no face masks and no teeth.
RIP, “Pocket Rocket”
That’s more like it. Bobby Clarke taking it to town.
RIP “Pocket Rocket”. I saw him play a few times in the Montreal Forum. What a great player.
For the life of me I still can’t understand why it took so long before goalies started wearing helmets with masks
Helmets were brought in with safety issues in mind (awkward falls, errant sticks and pucks, etc) in order to prevent injuries. However, they still did detract from the game in terms of fans being able to identify the players as shown in the photo.
You would have to go back to the 1930s or 40s to when NFL players did not wear helmets, but it is interesting to note that many NHL players continued to play helmetless well into the modern TV era (1960s to ‘80s era) and that helped, IMHO, the NHL become popular as a result.
Because that was when men were men and the sheep knew it. They still seem to know it in some arab countries. Or maybe because they didn’t have the technology?
R.I.P. Henri... One of the best skaters in Ice Hockey. Love to see him at Madison Square Garden.
In the early 1970s, the maskless goaltenders ranks included Gump Worsley in Minnesota, Joe Daley in Buffalo, Detroit, and then Winnipeg in the World Hockey Association, Bob Perreault for one game for the WHA's Los Angeles Sharks in 1972-73 (he finished his career in the minors the following season), and Andy Brown for Detroit and Pittsburgh (in above photo). In 1973-74, both Worsley and Daley donned masks (as that was also Gump's last season) and that left Brown as the last of the barefaced netminders. His last game in the NHL was broadcast on Sunday afternoon on NBC on April 7 1974 at the Omni in Atlanta (a 6-3 loss for the Penguins). Brown then jumped to the Indianapolis Racers of the WHA and stayed barefaced (wore a mask in practices, but claimed that it obscured his vision) until his retirement in 1976-77.
Back when Hockey was Hockey, not like today’s whimpers.
The collective bargaining agreement allowed players who were playing in the NHL at the time had the option of not wearing a helmet. Players not already in the league were required to wear helmets.
Like this?
Great player and awesome name.
Yes, players who signed professional contracts before June 1, 1979 were not legally required to wear helmets and simply had to sign a waiver to continue going bareheaded, whereas any new players afterward were required to keep them on. The last helmetless player was, of course, Craig MacTavish in St. Louis in 1996-97.
11 Stanley Cups - incredible!!
As I understand, until the 1970s- the Habs somehow had first rights on any French Canadian player (?)
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