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Maurice Richard

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Hockey Player

The Resume

    (August 4, 1921-May 28, 2000)
    Born and died in Montreal Quebec Canada
    Birth name is Joseph Henri Maurice Richard
    Right winger for the Montreal Canadiens (1942-1960)
    Nicknamed ‘the Rocket'
    Won eight Stanley Cups
    1947 Hart Memorial Trophy winner
    1961 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee
    Namesake for the NHL trophy awarded to the player who scored the largest number of goals in the regular season (1999- )

Why he might be annoying:

    He did not have a high school diploma, which hindered him from enlisting for military duty.
    Because it would take four years to complete his training as a machinist, he lost out on his chance to serve in the Second World War.
    Opposing teams rarely hesitated to exploit his hair-trigger temper - especially if it got him fined or suspended.
    On March 13, 1955, he got into a fist fight with a player who subjected him to a high-sticking attack. This lead to him assaulting an official on March 17th known as 'The Richard Riot.'
    Because fans considered his suspension for that incident to be beyond extreme, they responded by clobbering the NHL president and his fiancée with debris.
    The suspension - which also came from assaulting a linesman - led to a flooding of radio-station phone lines to the point where announcers begged others not to phone.
    Although it is customary for a player to be retired for at least three years, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame after one year.
    Although he was the first coach of the Quebec Nordiques, he resigned after one loss (top that, Sonique!).
    He was a Grecian Formula 16 pitchman.
    His uniform number (9) was retired almost immediately after he announced his retirement.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He never made more than $25,000 in a single season.
    He was the first player to score 50 goals in a single season (1944-45, a record that stood for 35 seasons) and 500 goals overall.
    After the Richard Riot, the Detroit Red Wings coach blamed the media for effectively making the Rocket out to be ‘an idol, a man whose suspension can turn hockey fans into shrieking idiots.'
    He managed to lead the National Hockey League in goals scored for five seasons, without ever having won a point-scoring title.
    He received three Canadian orders: the Office of the Order of Canada in 1967,the National Order of Quebec in 1985, and the Privy Council of Canada in 1992.
    He was married for 52 years, up until his wife died in 1994.
    Prior to the Montreal Forum's shutdown in March 1996, he received the longest standing ovation in the history of the city (more than 15 minutes).
    His funeral was the first for a Canadian athlete to be considered a national event.
    At the reopening of the Montreal Forum (renamed the Pepsi Forum), he received the first star on its Walk of Fame.

Credit: Cool It All Right?


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 73 Votes: 43.84% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 163 Votes: 50.31% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 17 Votes: 11.76% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 37 Votes: 48.65% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 61 Votes: 36.07% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 39 Votes: 38.46% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 99 Votes: 57.58% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 171 Votes: 49.71% Annoying