Maurice Richard

Extraordinary Canadians

by Charles Foran

Born in 1921 into a working-class family, Maurice Richard came of age as a French Canadian and athlete during an era when the majority population of Quebec slumbered. A proud, reticent man, Richard aspired only to score goals and win championships for the Montreal Canadiens. But he represented far more than a high-scoring forward who filled seats in NHL arenas. Beginning with his 50-goal, 50-game season in 1944-45 and through his battles with the league over bigotry toward French-Canadian players, Richard's on-ice ferocity and off-ice dignity echoed the change in Quebec. The March 1955 “Richard Riot,” in which fans went on a rampage to protest his suspension, contained the seeds of transformation. By the time Richard retired in 1960, Quebec had begun to reinvent itself as a modern, secular society. Author Charles Foran argues that the province's passionate identification with Richard's success and struggles emboldened its people and changed Canada irrevocably.

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada, Sports, Biography, History, Hockey

192 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

Charlie Foran was born and raised in Toronto. He holds degrees from the University of Toronto and the University College, Dublin, and has taught in China, Hong Kong, and Canada.

He has published eleven books, including five novels. His fiction, non-fiction, and journalism have all won awards.

Charlie has also made radio documentaries for the CBC program Ideas and co-wrote the TV documentary Mordecai Richler: The Last of the Wild Jews. A past president of PEN Canada, he is a senior fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto, and a member of the Order of Canada.

As of January, 2015, Charlie Foran is CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC). He lives in Toronto with his family.

Reviews

[Craig Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maurice Richard by Charles Foran is part of Penguin Canada's Extraordinary Canadians series. A short biography contained in a small book, this can easily be read in a day. I knew that "Rocket" Richard was a legendary Montreal Canadiens hockey hero but nothing more. Foran covered his subject from life to death and made it a can't-put-down read, a teaser for the reader to find a longer work. When Richard took to the ice as a professional in the early forties, hockey was already a brutal sport. I knew the game was more violent decades ago, but not to such a degree as this. The players were wholly unprotected by their hockey uniforms and protective clothing was nonexistent. Flying pucks regularly took out teeth and broke cheekbones, while roughhousing and body-slamming broke bones and ended players' careers. I expected someone would be taken off the ice on a stretcher in every game Richard played:

"'If you know nothing else about the time I played,' Richard would later say of this period, 'know how violent the game was.'"

NHL players from the forties and fifties did not earn anything comparable to what players make today. Richard often had to work during the off-season to make ends meet. As the father of seven children he couldn't afford to blow his small salary on luxuries, so he and his beloved wife Lucille lived humbly, always remaining in Montreal. This was one of many qualities that endeared Richard to the Québécois, and cemented his status as living legend.

Running throughout this short biography was the sense that Richard himself was unaware of his own magnitude as a symbol of the struggle of the Québécois living within Canada. Hugh MacLennan wrote:

"he has imperceptibly become the focus of the persecution anxieties latent in a minority people. Not even the fact that he is loved and admired almost equally by English-speaking Montrealers can modify the profound self-identification of loyal Canadiens with this singular man."

and:

Richard "has the status with some people in Quebec not that much below that of a tribal God, and I doubt if even he realizes how much of what he stands for in the public mind is only indirectly connected with the game he plays."

You will get teary-eyed as you read about the eight-minute standing ovation Richard received when he made an appearance on the ice prior to the final Canadiens game played at the Montreal Forum in March 1996. At the age of 74 he stood before the full house in his #9 Canadiens jersey and was overwhelmed by all the cheers and applause. He could only manage a slight smile and mouthed "thank-you" in English as the standing ovation would not let up. One can watch clips of this ovation on YouTube and what Foran and others wrote is accurate: by his reaction, Richard truly had no sense of his importance in hockey or what he represented to the Québécois in history. Such a humble man living his life among the people at the height of his stardom, he never let fame get to his head.

Richard was never political and did not enter the Quebec referendum debate. André Laurendeau, writer at Le Devoir, wrote:

"French-Canadian nationalism seems to have taken refuge in hockey."

This would apply in the sense of strengthening Québécois pride. At a time when the Québécois felt like second-class citizens within Canada, when their language rights were being trampled upon in Montreal, Richard, who spoke only French at first, was the hero the entire country envied. His city and province were reborn as superstar destinations while the man himself was unfazed by all the fame and adulation.

At only 166 pages, this biography was saturated with a wealth of information. Every page was loaded and it made for a truly exciting and fascinating read about one of the greatest hockey players of all time.

[Vinny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only is this a book about Maurice Richard, not only is it about the Monreal Canadiens, it's about the national pride in French Canada. It's always interesting reading books about people of their times. Maurice Richard was truly a man of the 50s and 60s to French Canada. Great short read, very poetic on the games from back then.

[Yvonne · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting but didn't wow me

[Tomas Wdski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to Montréal’s contemporary history and to Maurice’s legacy

[Bernie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the greatest athletes in any sport - ever. In many ways, he was one of the major impetuses in forcing Roman Catholic dominated Quebec and Franco Canadians to find a pride in themselves. He did not do it as an intended action, but rather by his personality and demenour. As time passes, people in Quebec, Canada and the world, have become aware as to how one person, inadvertently, became one of the most important figures in Canadian - and World history. His legacy is great - but it is still catching up to the true value he brought to Quebec, Canada and the World. And he was one of the best natural athletes, in a time, when they weren't paid much, played for the love of the game, and had to endure racist and prejudicial comments at every turn. When the Montreal Forum had its last Montreal Canadiens game played - an old Maurice Richard was brought out, as part of the long legacy of that team. The standing applause went on and on and on ... its available on YouTube and other formats .... watch it and cry. There was and is no one who contributed more, whether intentionally or inadvertently to the pride that is now Quebec and Quebecois - at least in my humble opinion.

[Stephen Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rocket, Maurice Richard, Monsieur Hockey himself, the Saint Maurice, his life and times, as narrated by Charles Foran, gives contemporary readers of Canadian sports history and of Canada-Quebec history in particular a sense of the prominence of the man in his sport, but also of the event that the man or brute was as un Canadien, un Québécois in the lives of those who looked to him for redemption and pride from the two solitudes of English and French Canada, or indeed from the English North America of the National Hockey League. The chapter narrating the eight-minute standing ovation helps to explain why, indeed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DS_x0...

[Jeffrey Sylvester · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book especially in relation to the last few I've read in the Extraordinary Canadian series. Foran's writing style was fluid and refreshing. I learned a lot about the Montreal Canadians (what is likely foundational to many) that helps explain the contemporary cultish fervour and following of the team. And above all, I learned a great deal about Maurice Richard. What distinguishes Maurice, in my opinion, was not his achievements in hockey but rather is quiet passion for the game and his family as well as his reluctance to support externally imposed partisan movements of which he was, admittedly, unfamiliar. I would recommend this book.

[MaryAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a hockey fan, I read this book to get a sense of the history of the Anglo/French issues in Canada. I had seen a Canadian (dubbed) movie about the Rocket which touched on some of the issues.

I felt the author did a good job at filling in the details for me, so that I understand it a little better.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I've also read Gordie Howe's book and both the game and the business of hockey was so different in their day.
This also provided some insight into the rise of the Quebecois national movement which I had never given much thought to as a southern Ontario native who was a child in the 70's and only remember hearing about the trouble the French Canadians caused.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I knew about the Rocket guess I was wrong really enjoyed it

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good insight into The Rocket's life--his significance to the sport of hockey, of course, but also to a province, culture and country. A tribute to a Canadian icon. Loved this book!