On This Date

On This Date: Rocket Richard Becomes the First NHL Player to Score 500 Goals (Oct. 19, 1957)

On Oct. 19, 1957, Maurice Richard one-timed a Jean Béliveau pass past Glenn Hall at the Forum for goal No. 500. No one else in the NHL had even scored 400.

Maurice Richard.

With a little more than four minutes left in the first period at the Montreal Forum, the Canadiens went on the power play against the Chicago Black Hawks. Doug Harvey and Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion held the points. Dickie Moore and Jean Béliveau worked the puck down low. Moore slid a pass to the left of Chicago goalie Glenn Hall, Béliveau sent it back out to the slot, and Maurice Richard one-timed it past Hall.

That was goal number 500. Nobody in the history of the National Hockey League had ever scored that many. Nobody else had even scored 400.

"Rocket Gets 500th Goal, Canadiens Defeat Hawks 3-1. Beats Hall at 15:52 of First Period; Fans, Players Roar Acclaim." (The Gazette, Montreal, Oct. 21, 1957, p. 29, via Newspapers.com)

The night

The date was Saturday, Oct. 19, 1957. The Gazette put the time at 15:52 of the first period. The Forum crowd stood and roared for minutes, long enough that the referee finally had to set up a faceoff at center ice to get the game going again. Montreal won, 3-1.

Richard was 36 years old and in his 16th NHL season. He had come into the year with 493 goals and went after the milestone like a man in a hurry: a goal in the opener against Chicago on Oct. 10, a hat trick against Detroit in his third game, two more against Toronto in his fifth. Number 500 came in his sixth game of the season, his seventh goal of the year.

To understand how far ahead of the league he was, look at the next man on the list. Gordie Howe, who would eventually pass him, had 354 goals that night.

The Canadiens against the Rangers at the Forum, early 1960s. (Photo: Louis Jaques, Weekend Magazine, Library and Archives Canada)

The Rocket

Maurice Richard was born in Montreal on Aug. 4, 1921. His early pro career was a string of broken bones, and there were people in the Canadiens organization who thought he was too brittle to last. Then came 1944-45, when he scored 50 goals in a 50-game season. No one had ever scored 50 in a season. It would be 36 years before anyone matched 50 in 50.

Richard in December 1945, the season after 50 in 50. (Photo: Conrad Poirier, BAnQ)

"Richard Gets 50th in Boston Game," March 18, 1945. (AP report, March 19, 1945, via Newspapers.com)

He was not a graceful skater. He was a force. Teammates and opponents alike described the same thing: the Rocket coming in on goal with his eyes lit up, and defensemen on his back, and the puck going in anyway. Dick Irvin, who coached him for most of his career, said it was his fury, his desire and his intensity that drove the Canadiens.

The eyes. Goalies talked about them for years.

The milestones piled up. Goal 100 came against Chicago's Mike Karakas in December 1945. Goal 200 came against Jim Henry in January 1949. In November 1952 he scored his 325th, against Al Rollins, to break Nels Stewart's career record and become the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer. Goal 400 came in December 1954, also against Rollins.

In March 1955 came the other thing he is remembered for. After Richard fought with Boston's Hal Laycoe and struck a linesman, NHL president Clarence Campbell suspended him for the rest of the regular season and the entire playoffs. When Campbell showed up at the Forum on March 17 for the Canadiens' next home game, fans pelted him with food and debris, a tear-gas canister went off, the game was forfeited to Detroit, and the crowd poured into the streets. The Richard Riot left stores looted, cars overturned and 137 people under arrest. The next day, Richard went on the radio and asked the city to calm down. It did.

Richard, who never needed much persuading to drop the gloves, with a Ranger.

"Mob Rule Wrecks Forum, Game." The Gazette's front page the morning after the riot. (The Gazette, Montreal, March 18, 1955, p. 1, via Newspapers.com)

After 500

He didn't slow down. Richard scored number 501 in his very next game.

Richard with the puck and a taped stick marking his 600th goal, regular season and playoffs combined.

Then, on Nov. 13, 1957, at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto defenseman Marc Reaume's skate blade sliced into Richard's right Achilles tendon during a scramble in front of the net. The tendon was partially severed. He missed 42 games. He came back for the playoffs and scored the overtime winner in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against Boston, and the Canadiens won their third straight Cup.

"Rocket, Marshall Hurt As Canadiens Defeat Leafs 4-2. Richard Will Be Sidelined For At Least One Month." It was closer to three. (The Gazette, Montreal, Nov. 14, 1957, p. 30, via Newspapers.com)

"Rocket Socks It! His Overtime Goal Beats Bruins 3-2." (The Gazette, Montreal, April 18, 1958, p. 23, via Newspapers.com)

They would win five in a row, from 1956 through 1960, with Richard as captain for the last four. He retired in September 1960 with 544 regular-season goals and 82 more in the playoffs, both NHL records. Eight Stanley Cups. The Hockey Hall of Fame waived its waiting period and put him in the next year.

Richard with the Stanley Cup. He won eight.

Toe Blake, Richard's left wing on the Punch Line in the 1940s and his coach for the five straight Cups.

"Maurice (The Rocket) Richard Retires." (The Gazette, Montreal, Sept. 16, 1960, p. 25, via Newspapers.com)

Gordie Howe became the second member of the 500 club on March 14, 1962, with a shorthanded goal at Madison Square Garden. He passed Richard's 544 in November 1963. Since then, more than 40 players have reached 500 goals, and every one of them is following a trail the Rocket cut by himself.