The in-between era
Aug 20, 2005 9:15:56 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Aug 20, 2005 9:15:56 GMT -5
Living Habs fans generally recognize two great eras in the club's history: the 1950s when les Glorieux won 5 straight Cups and featured the greatest Hab of all—Maurice Richard; and the 1970s Scotty Bowman coached teams that featured the player who's club scoring records are not likely to be broken in the foreseeable future—Guy Lafleur.
Justified as the claim to memory these two eras have, there is another era that has been to a great degree forgotten, and most undeservedly so—the 1960s.
Let's do some catching up.
*
"I really don't understand why everybody is so anxious to compare the Montreal Canadiens of the 1950s with the team of the late '70s. There was a team in the middle that might have been as good." - Montreal GM Sam Pollock.
- www.hhof.com/html/t6gt05.shtml
*
Historical standings 1960-69
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THE MONTREAL CANADIENS boasted a formidable hockey team in the '60s--winning four Stanley Cups in a five-year span from 1964 to '69. The contributions of Hall-of-Famers Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Yvan Cournoyer, and Jacques Laperriere are well documented. But there were unheralded kingpins on those great Montreal squads, namely Ted Harris and Terry Harper. Their efforts didn't often show up in the boxscore but the Canadiens would not have enjoyed prosperity without them.
- www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCM/is_7_30/ai_84394818
*
Long before he became a coaching legend, left wing Hector "Toe" Blake was a talented scorer and NHL star. He totaled 235 career goals, including six 20-goal seasons and became known as "the Old Lamplighter" in honor of his skill for putting the puck in the net. During the 1940s he formed one of the league's most dangerous lines, the Punch Line, with Maurice Richard and Elmer Lach.
- tinyurl.com/dn39q
*
Claude Provost - In his 15-year career with Montreal, the stocky right-winger played five complete seasons and missed only 46 games overall. Provost appeared in 11 All-Star Games and scored a career-high 33 goals in '61-'62. Despite his offensive talents, Provost was often called upon to shadow the opposition's top snipers. His battles with Chicago's Bobby Hull are legendary.
- www.hhof.com/html/t6gp08.shtml
*
(April 6, 2004) -- "I was born May 14, 1929," begins the story of 'Gump' as told by Lorne John Worsley. "My parents were living in a three bedroom flat on Congregation Street in Point St. Charles, which is a suburb of Montreal. It was the Depression, so there wasn't a lot of money floating around."
Worsley was a small boy, but enjoyed playing hockey in his neighbourhood. "I played for a guy named Phil Walton. He owned a grocery store in our neighbourhood. I was playing forward but was getting knocked around a lot because I was so small. Walton said, 'You intend to play hockey for a living?' I said, 'I hope so,' so he said, 'You better get in the net.' That's why I ended up in the goal."
Although growing up in Montreal, Worsley didn't cheer for the locals. "I hated the Canadiens," admits Worsley. "My favourite player was Dave Kerr with the Rangers." Davey Kerr started his netminding career in 1930-31 with the Montreal Maroons, the favoured team of Gump's father. Kerr later spent seven years with the New York Rangers, won the Vezina and was named to the NHL's First All-Star Team in 1940.
- www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep198003.htm
*
Nicknamed "the Roadrunner," Yvan Cournoyer won 10 Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens and was made the team captain. By the time he retired, he was among the all-time leaders in scoring for the storied franchise and he and his team had proven many doubters wrong about his adaptability and perseverance.
By the time he was an 18-year-old star with the Montreal Junior Canadiens, Cournoyer's legs were so muscular that his pants had to be specially tailored to fit his legs. He constantly practised his shot using a lead puck that weighed more than four pounds and was soon known for his quick and heavy wrist shot. He totaled 111 points, leading the league with 63 goals in his final year with the Junior Canadiens. He made his debut with the big-time Canadiens during the 1963-64 season and earned a full-time spot on the roster the next season after only seven games with the Quebec Aces in the American Hockey League.
- tinyurl.com/alu58
Justified as the claim to memory these two eras have, there is another era that has been to a great degree forgotten, and most undeservedly so—the 1960s.
Let's do some catching up.
*
"I really don't understand why everybody is so anxious to compare the Montreal Canadiens of the 1950s with the team of the late '70s. There was a team in the middle that might have been as good." - Montreal GM Sam Pollock.
- www.hhof.com/html/t6gt05.shtml
*
Historical standings 1960-69
*
THE MONTREAL CANADIENS boasted a formidable hockey team in the '60s--winning four Stanley Cups in a five-year span from 1964 to '69. The contributions of Hall-of-Famers Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Yvan Cournoyer, and Jacques Laperriere are well documented. But there were unheralded kingpins on those great Montreal squads, namely Ted Harris and Terry Harper. Their efforts didn't often show up in the boxscore but the Canadiens would not have enjoyed prosperity without them.
- www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCM/is_7_30/ai_84394818
*
Long before he became a coaching legend, left wing Hector "Toe" Blake was a talented scorer and NHL star. He totaled 235 career goals, including six 20-goal seasons and became known as "the Old Lamplighter" in honor of his skill for putting the puck in the net. During the 1940s he formed one of the league's most dangerous lines, the Punch Line, with Maurice Richard and Elmer Lach.
- tinyurl.com/dn39q
*
Claude Provost - In his 15-year career with Montreal, the stocky right-winger played five complete seasons and missed only 46 games overall. Provost appeared in 11 All-Star Games and scored a career-high 33 goals in '61-'62. Despite his offensive talents, Provost was often called upon to shadow the opposition's top snipers. His battles with Chicago's Bobby Hull are legendary.
- www.hhof.com/html/t6gp08.shtml
*
(April 6, 2004) -- "I was born May 14, 1929," begins the story of 'Gump' as told by Lorne John Worsley. "My parents were living in a three bedroom flat on Congregation Street in Point St. Charles, which is a suburb of Montreal. It was the Depression, so there wasn't a lot of money floating around."
Worsley was a small boy, but enjoyed playing hockey in his neighbourhood. "I played for a guy named Phil Walton. He owned a grocery store in our neighbourhood. I was playing forward but was getting knocked around a lot because I was so small. Walton said, 'You intend to play hockey for a living?' I said, 'I hope so,' so he said, 'You better get in the net.' That's why I ended up in the goal."
Although growing up in Montreal, Worsley didn't cheer for the locals. "I hated the Canadiens," admits Worsley. "My favourite player was Dave Kerr with the Rangers." Davey Kerr started his netminding career in 1930-31 with the Montreal Maroons, the favoured team of Gump's father. Kerr later spent seven years with the New York Rangers, won the Vezina and was named to the NHL's First All-Star Team in 1940.
- www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep198003.htm
*
Nicknamed "the Roadrunner," Yvan Cournoyer won 10 Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens and was made the team captain. By the time he retired, he was among the all-time leaders in scoring for the storied franchise and he and his team had proven many doubters wrong about his adaptability and perseverance.
By the time he was an 18-year-old star with the Montreal Junior Canadiens, Cournoyer's legs were so muscular that his pants had to be specially tailored to fit his legs. He constantly practised his shot using a lead puck that weighed more than four pounds and was soon known for his quick and heavy wrist shot. He totaled 111 points, leading the league with 63 goals in his final year with the Junior Canadiens. He made his debut with the big-time Canadiens during the 1963-64 season and earned a full-time spot on the roster the next season after only seven games with the Quebec Aces in the American Hockey League.
- tinyurl.com/alu58