63 Facts About Rocket Richard

Joseph Henri Maurice "Rocket" Richard was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens.

Rocket Richard retired in 1960 as the league's all-time leader in goals with 544.

Rocket Richard won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 1947, played in 13 All-Star Games and was named to 14 post-season NHL All-Star teams, eight on the first team.

In 2017, Rocket Richard was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.

Rocket Richard was a member of eight Stanley Cup championship teams, including a league record five straight between 1956 and 1960; he was the team's captain for the last four.

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Oldest of eight children, Rocket Richard emerged from a poverty-stricken family during the Great Depression and was initially viewed as a fragile player.

Rocket Richard was a cultural icon among Quebec's francophone population; his legend is a primary motif in Roch Carrier's short story The Hockey Sweater, an emblematic work of Canadian culture.

In 1998, Rocket Richard was diagnosed with abdominal cancer and died from the disease two years later.

Rocket Richard was the first non-politician to be honored by the province of Quebec with a state funeral.

Rocket Richard received his first pair of ice skates when he was four, and grew up skating on local rivers and a small backyard ice surface his father created.

At 16, Rocket Richard dropped out of school to work with his father as a machinist.

Rocket Richard enrolled in a technical school, intent on earning a trade certificate.

At 18, Rocket Richard joined the Verdun Juniors, though as a rookie he saw little ice time in the regular season.

Rocket Richard scored four goals in ten regular season games, and added six goals in four playoff games as Verdun won the provincial championship.

Rocket Richard met his future wife Lucille Norchet when he was seventeen, when she was nearly fourteen.

Rocket Richard's was the younger sister of one of his teammates at Bordeaux, and her bright, outgoing personality complemented Richard's reserved nature.

Rocket Richard suffered a broken wrist after becoming entangled with a defenceman and crashed into the net.

Rocket Richard made a second attempt to enlist with the military but was again turned down after x-rays revealed that his bones had not healed properly; Richard's ankle was left permanently deformed, forcing him to alter his skating style.

Rocket Richard led the Canadiens with 32 goals and tallied 54 points, third-best in his team.

Rocket Richard led the league with 12 playoff goals, including a five-goal effort against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a semi-final game.

Rocket Richard was named a second team All-Star following the season.

Rocket Richard achieved the feat despite arriving for the game exhausted from moving into his new home that afternoon.

Rocket Richard continued scoring at an unprecedented rate, and by February 1945 was approaching Joe Malone's 27-year-old NHL record, set in 1918, of 44 goals in one season.

Rocket Richard finished the season with 73 points, seven behind Lach and six ahead of Blake, as the Punch line finished first, second and third in league scoring.

Rocket Richard finished second in the voting for the Hart Trophy as league MVP behind Lach.

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Rocket Richard finished second or third in the Hart Trophy voting a further five times in his career.

One such incident occurred in the 1947 Stanley Cup Finals when Rocket Richard received a match penalty for striking Toronto's Bill Ezinicki over the head with his stick in a game two loss.

Rocket Richard was suspended for the third game of the series, which the Maple Leafs won.

Rocket Richard's season ended early as he missed the final games of the season due to a knee injury.

Rocket Richard finished second in team scoring with 53 points in 53 games, but Montreal missed the playoffs.

Rocket Richard failed to score in his following three games as frenzied fans followed each contest in anticipation of the record-breaking marker.

Rocket Richard was among many in Quebec who believed that Campbell treated French Canadian players more harshly than their English counterparts.

Rocket Richard retaliated by slashing viciously at Laycoe's head, then punched linesman Cliff Thompson when the official attempted to intervene.

Rocket Richard's supporters reacted angrily to Campbell: he received several death threats and, upon taking his customary seat at the next Canadiens game, unruly fans pelted him with vegetables, eggs and other debris.

Rocket Richard had attended the game, but left immediately following the forfeit.

Frank Selke attempted to persuade him to return to try to disperse the crowd, but Rocket Richard refused, fearing that he would instead further inflame the passions of the mob.

Rocket Richard never won the point title, finishing second five times in his career.

Rocket Richard finished the season with 38 goals and 71 points, second on the team in both respects to Jean Beliveau's 47 goals and 88 points.

Rocket Richard added 14 points in 10 playoff games as Montreal defeated Detroit to claim the Stanley Cup.

Rocket Richard played only 28 regular season games that season, scoring 34 points, as he missed three months due to a severed Achilles tendon.

Rocket Richard scored the overtime-winning goal in the fifth game of the finals against Boston.

Rocket Richard scored 38 points in 42 games, but missed six weeks due to a broken ankle.

Rocket Richard scored no points in four games in the 1959 Stanley Cup Finals, but recorded a goal and three assists in 1960.

Rocket Richard had reported to Montreal's training camp that autumn, but Selke compelled Rocket Richard to end his playing career, fearing he was risking serious injury.

Rocket Richard certainly has been one of the greatest players in the game and we will miss him.

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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.

Prime of Rocket Richard's career was the era immediately following the Second World War, where battle-hardened players returned to the NHL and implemented a "gladiatorial" style that featured rugged, physical and often violent play.

Pure goal-scorer, Rocket Richard did not play with finesse, nor was he known for his passing.

Rocket Richard led the NHL in goals five times, but never in points.

Rocket Richard was best known for dashing toward the net from the blue line and was equally adept at scoring from his forehand or backhand.

Rocket Richard's exploits revived a Montreal Canadiens franchise that had struggled to draw fans in the 1930s.

Rocket Richard was still an active player when Gordie Howe overtook his career record for points.

Rocket Richard became disgruntled with a role he felt was powerless and only honorary, and resigned one year later.

Rocket Richard grew estranged from the organization as his desire to be involved in the team's operations was ignored, and the split deepened when the Canadiens forced Frank Selke to retire in 1965.

Rocket Richard eventually refused to allow his name to be associated with the team.

Rocket Richard continued to use his name as a promotional vehicle for over 30 years after his retirement.

Rocket Richard briefly returned to hockey in 1972 as head coach for the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association.

Rocket Richard lasted only two games, a win and a loss, before finding himself unable to handle the strain of coaching.

Rocket Richard reconciled with the Canadiens in 1981 and resumed his team ambassador role.

Rocket Richard was appointed to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada in 1992.

Author Roch Carrier explained the passion Rocket Richard elicited from the fans in his 1979 Canadian-classic short story The Hockey Sweater.

Rocket Richard's popularity persisted late into his life: when introduced as part of the ceremonies following the final hockey game at the Montreal Forum, Rocket Richard was brought to tears by Canadiens' fans, who acknowledged him with an 11-minute standing ovation.

Rocket Richard Riot has achieved a mythical place in Canadian folklore.