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The Richard Riot was a riot that had occurred on 17 March 1955 in Montreal, Quebec. Maurice Richard, the star ice hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens, was suspended for a violent attack on a linesman and it provoked a riot at the Montreal Forum that spilled out into the streets. Some commentators have linked the Richard Riot in the 1950's with the birth of Quebec nationalism and the Quiet Revolution. This section may stray from the articles topic into the topic of another article: List of notable riots. ...
March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in leap years). ...
1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
This article needs cleanup. ...
Joseph-Henri-Maurice Rocket Richard PC, CC, OQ (born August 4, 1921 in Laval, Quebec, Canada, died May 27, 2000 in Montreal, Quebec) was a professional ice hockey player, and played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1942 to 1960. ...
Ice hockey, known simply as hockey in areas where it is more common than field hockey, is a team sport played on ice. ...
The Montreal Canadiens are the oldest established National Hockey League (NHL) franchise. ...
The Montreal Forum was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Canada. ...
Quebec nationalism is the subject of many international studies together with the contemporary nationalism of Scotland, Catalonia and other non-sovereign regions of the world. ...
Jean Lesage, Daniel Johnson Sr. ...
The Incident
As Montreal's great star, it was common for Richard to be antagonized on the ice. Teams would reportedly send one or two players to do nothing more than annoy him, and throughout his career Richard was fined and suspended several times for retaliation assaults on players (and even officials). One such incident would spark one of the worst hockey-related incidents in history.
On March 13, 1955, Richard was given a match penalty for intentionally injuring Hal Laycoe, in a game against the Boston Bruins. Laycoe had highsticked Richard in the head during a Montreal power play. The referee signalled for a penalty to be called, but play was allowed to continue because the Canadiens had possession of the puck. Richard indicated to the referee that he'd been injured, and then skated up to Laycoe -- who had dropped his stick and gloves preparatory to a fight -- and struck Laycoe in the face and shoulders with his stick. The linesmen attempted to restrain Richard, who repeatedly broke away from to attack Laycoe, even to breaking his stick over his back. Moments passed and linesman Cliff Thompson restrained Richard by holding both his arms in a lock. Richard broke loose and punched Thomson twice in the face, knocking him unconscious. Richard later said at a league hearing that he thought Thompson was one of Boston's players. [1] March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ...
The classic NHL shield logo The 1954-55 season was the 38th National Hockey League (NHL) season. ...
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behaviour. ...
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. ...
Power play is a sporting term used in various games. ...
The Hearing Given that it was Richard's second assault on an official in that season alone, a formal inquiry took place on March 16 after which NHL president Clarence Campbell made the following statement: NHL can also be an abbreviation for National Historic Landmark or Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. ...
Clarence Campbell poses with the Stanley Cup in 1957. ...
I have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that the attack on Laycoe was not only deliberate but persisted in the face of all authority and that the referee acted with proper judgment in accordance with the rules in awarding a match penalty. I am also satisfied that Richard did not strike linesman Thompson as a result of a mistake or accident as suggested. There is singularly little conflict in the evidence as to important relevant facts. Assistance can also be obtained from an incident that occurred less than three months ago in which the pattern of conduct of Richard was almost identical, including his constant resort to the recovery of his stick to pursue his opponent, as well as flouting the authority of and striking officials. On the previous occasion he was fortunate that teammates and officials were more effective in preventing him from doing injury to anyone and the penalty was more lenient in consequence. At the time he was warned there must be no further incident. It was too bad that his teammates did not assist officials instead of interfering with them. The time for probationary lenience has passed, whether this type of conduct is the product of temperamental instability or willful defiance of the authority of the game does not matter. Richard will be suspended from all games both league and playoff for the balance of the current season.[1] The suspension was considered by many in Montreal to be unjust and severe. Detroit GM Jack Adams leapt to Campbell's defence, saying that Richard was becoming "too big for the league" and needed to be "put in his place."[1] The Detroit Red Wings are an NHL franchise located in Detroit, Michigan. ...
The term general manager is a title used by an executive in a business operation, although the duties of the position vary according to the context. ...
John James Jack Adams (also known as Jovial Jawn) (June 14, 1895 - May 1, 1968) was a ice hockey player, head coach and general manager in the National Hockey League. ...
The suspension came when the Rocket was leading the NHL in scoring and the Canadiens were battling for first place with Detroit. Richard's suspension also cost him the scoring title, the closest he ever came to winning it. When Richard's teammate Bernie Geoffrion passed him on the last day of the regular season, he was booed by the Canadiens' faithful. The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League player who leads the league in scoring at the end of the regular season. ...
Finlay Landon Drake (November 11, 1931 – March 11, 2006), nicknamed The Minute Man, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. ...
The Riot Public outrage from Montreal soon poured in. Local radio call-in shows became so inundated with calls that radio stations were begging people not to call in. For his part, Campbell did not budge, and announced that he would be attending the Habs' next home game against the Red Wings in four days. Security was increased at the game, which itself was uneventful. However, it saw many protesters with signs that read "A bas Campbell" or "Vive Richard", with much of the crowd noise directed at Campbell, and few paying attention to the game or to the fact that Richard himself had also taken a seat at the game. As Montreal coach Dick Irvin pointed out, "the people didn't care if we got licked 100-1 that night." James Dickinson Dick Irvin (July 19, 1892 - May, 1957) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League. ...
Midway through the first period, Campbell arrived with his fiancée. Outraged Habs fans immediately began pelting them with eggs, vegetables, and various debris, with more being thrown at him each time the Red Wings scored, who built up a 4-1 lead. The continuous pelting of various objects stopped when a tear gas bomb was set off inside the Forum, not far from where Campbell was sitting.
The Forum was ordered evacuated and Campbell ruled the game forfeited to the Red Wings. The victory would ultimately provide Detroit with the margin it needed to win first place overall and be guaranteed home ice throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Said Jack Adams after the game, "I blame [the media] for what's happened. You've turned Richard into an idol, a man whose suspension can turn hockey fans into shrieking idiots."
The tear gas bomb and forfeiture had also altered the mood of the incident, turning it destructive and violent. A riot ensued outside the Forum, causing $500,000 in damage to the neighborhood and the Forum itself. Hundreds of stores were looted and vandalized within a 15-block radius of the Forum. Twelve policemen and 25 civilians were injured. The riot continued well into the night, with police arresting people by the truckload.[2] Local radio stations, which carried live coverage of the riot for over seven hours, had to be forced off the air. The riot eventually ended at 3 am, and left Montreal's Rue Ste-Catherine in a big mess.
Reporters lined up to see both Campbell and Richard that day. Richard was reluctant to make a statement, fearing that it could start another riot, but eventually gave the following statement:
Because I always try so hard to win and had my troubles in Boston, I was suspended. At playoff time it hurts not be in the game with the boys. However, I want to do what is good for the people of Montreal and the team. So that no further harm will be done, I would like to ask everyone to get behind the team and to help the boys win from the New York Rangers and Detroit. I will take my punishment and come back next year to help the club and the younger players to win the Cup. The New York Rangers (NYR) are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City, New York, U.S.A.. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL). ...
His words would prove prophetic, as the Habs would lose the Cup final to Detroit in seven games, but would win the Cup in the year after - and the four years after that. Richard retired in 1960 after the Canadiens' fifth straight Stanley Cup, a record that still stands.
See also Maurice Richard (The Rocket: The Maurice Richard Story in English) is the French version of a feature film, starring Roy Dupuis in the title role and directed by Charles Binamé. Filmed in Québec for a budget of $8,000,000 Canadian by Alliance Atlantis and Odeon and first released...
Aftermath The Richard Riot has taken on a significance greater than a mere sports riot in the fifty years since it happened. The sight of French Quebeckers rioting in defense of a Quebecois cultural icon like Richard has led many commentators to believe that it was a significant factor in Quebec's Quiet Revolution of the 1960's. [3] Jean Lesage, Daniel Johnson Sr. ...
References - ^ a b c Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol III, Charles Coleman (1970), Progressive Publications, Sherbrooke, PQ, pp. 252-253
- ^ The 'Richard Riot'. CBC Archives (17 March 2005). Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
- ^ http://www.civilization.ca/media/docs/fsrck01e.html
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a Canadian crown corporation, is the country’s national public radio and television broadcaster. ...
(Redirected from 17 March) March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ...
2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
November 13 is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 48 days remaining. ...
External links - Short biography (Government of Canada affiliated website)
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