Maurice Richard is the most famous professional ice hockey player in Canada (born on August 4, 1921, and died on May 27, 2000). Richard played for the only team that mattered to him, the Montreal Canadiens, for 18 years.

Maurice was the oldest of eight siblings born into a low-income family in Montreal, Canada. When he retired, he held nearly 20 NHL records, including the record for most goals scored. Richard became one of the greatest players in NHL history after overcoming adversity on every level.

 He’s also someone who played a key role in elevating hockey to an elite level in Montreal and setting a high bar for future generations. We’ll look at what kind of phenomenon player Maurice Richard was in this article. We’ll also discuss his early life, family, career, net worth, riot, and a variety of other topics.

Maurice Richard’s Net worth.

Maurice Richard made enough money in the NHL as a professional player. Following his retirement from the game, Maurice pursued a career in business. To begin, he purchased a pub in Montreal and sold it three years later for twice the price he paid for it. He later put the money into a fishing-line business.

Maurice was a well-known celebrity hockey player who was well-known both in the United States and abroad. As a result, he traveled to various sporting and other events across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Richard made a lot of money solely because of his talent and hard work, despite coming from a low-income family. Maurice also wrote a sports column for Montreal’s La Presse in the 1980s. Unfortunately, Maurice Richard’s exact net worth is unknown, but he certainly lived a lavish lifestyle in his later years.

Maurice Richard is a native Montrealer.

Maurice Richard’s genuine significance to his fans and well-wishers is based on what he symbolized rather than his impressive statistics and long career. He was regarded as the personification of French-Canadian pride.

Early Days & Family

He was born and grew up in the tough Bordeaux district of Montreal, Quebec. Born to parents Onesime Richard and Alice Laramee, Maurice came from a family of poor economic background. Both his parents were from Gaspe and moved to Montreal after their marriage. Onesime Richard was a carpenter by profession, and after the birth of Maurice, he got a job in the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Unfortunately, Onesime lost his job on the railway in 1930, and the whole family relied on the government. Luckily after six years, he got his job back. Richard had a pair of ice skates when he was only four, and he used to skate on local rivers and a small backyard ice surface made by Onesime.

Education

Richard went to the Montreal Technical School to become a machinist at the age of sixteen. The main reason behind joining technical school was to support the family economically.

As he was interested in hockey from an early age, he played for school and neighborhood teams. In Montreal Technical School, he played for the Parc Lafontaine team. Richard’s brilliancy in the game was unbeatable. Because of such talent, various school teams wanted to take Richard on their sides as a left-winger. Maurice used various names to play more hockey games every day since he could not play for more than one team the same year.

Maurice Richard: Physical Appearance

The former ice hockey player Maurice Richard was 5 feet 10 inches tall. His weight was around 170 lbs during his active NHL career. But after suffering from cancer, Maurice lost some weight. The fiercely competitive, virtual demon on ice was the oppositely shy and reserved person in real life.

Maurice Richard Team Montreal Canadien

Montreal Canadiens is a Canadian professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. It is one of the oldest continuously operating teams in the National Hockey League. Formed in 1909, it is as one of the founding teams of the National Hockey Associations before NHL was formed. It was also the home team for a great hockey player of the pre-World War II era, Howie Morenz. He joined the team in 1923.

Compared to other NHL teams, the Canadiens have won nearly 24 Stanley Cup titles, making them the most successful franchise in league history. The Montreal Canadiens signed Maurice Richard in 1942 as of right-wing. Later, Richard became the franchise’s career leader by scoring unique goals and was eventually named Hall of Famer.

Maurice Richard: Professional Career

Initially, because of the poor economic family background, Maurice was unable to begin playing hockey. However, later, he started playing for some local teams at the age of fourteen and led the team to three straight league championships.

Maurice started his professional ice hockey career by playing for Verdun Juniors. After completing his rookie season, Henri was promoted from Verdun Juniors to the Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL) and played for Montreal Royals.

Awards and Achievements

The “Rocket” topped the goal-scoring four more times in his career. From 1944 to 1957, he gained a place on the NHL All-Star Team 14 consecutive times. From 14 times, eight of those selections were for the First All-Star Team.

In November 1952, by scoring his 325th regular-season goal against Chicago, Richard surpassed Nels Stewart as the NHL’s All-Time Leader.

On October 19, 1957, Maurice became the first NHL player to score 500 regular-season goals. This history was assisted further in the future by hockey players Dickie Moore and Jean Beliveau. In 1961, he was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame just one year after retiring though this recognition is given to other players only after five years of retirement.

Maurice Richard: Wife & Children

Henri met his wife Lucille Norcet when he was seventeen. Lucille was a younger sister of Maurice’s one of teammates and was fourteen years at that time.

Maurice’s quiet, reserved personality and the bright, outgoing personality of Lucille somehow complemented each other. The couple got married at the young age of twenty and seventeen on September 12, 1942.

Lucille and Maurice are parents of seven children; five sons and two daughters. In Montreal, the couple raised their children Huguette, Maurice Jr., Norman, Andre, Suzanne, Polo, and Jean. Richard was blessed with his first daughter at the onset of the 1943-44 season, which prompted him to change his number to nine. Henri changed his number from 15 to 9 in honor of his daughter Huguette, nine pounds at birth.

Lucille died in 1994 because of cancer, two years before the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary.

Maurice Richard: Overcoming Injuries

When Richard enjoyed a fine start in his career in the Canadiens, he suffered his first significant injury. He got crashed into the boards and broke his ankles. During the same time, Richard was called to the Canadian Military Recruitment Office for duty, but the offer was turned down because of an injury. Even suffering from various injuries, Maurice would rejoin the team during the playoffs, would perform great, and even got an opportunity to earn a tryout for the Montreal Canadien NHL team. Because of the lack of French-Canadiens players in the NHL because of War, Richard was called up to the NHL in 1942. Unfortunately, this time also only after playing sixteen games, Richard broke his leg.

Maurice tried to join the Canadian army to defend his country during World War II but was declared ineligible for combat because of a leg injury. During the War, it was a matter of pride for man to serve and fight for his country. Thus Richard experienced lots of humiliation and doubt, so he started training hard during the off-seasons to give his best in the new season.

Maurice Richard: Death

On May 27, 2000, Maurice Richard left the world while struggling with abdominal cancer. A day before the funeral, his body is at the Molson Centre in Montreal. Almost 115,000 well-wishers came to see the casket and signed a book of remembrance for Maurice.

On May 31, Maurice is  a State funeral in Notre Dame Basilica, where his thousands of admirers came to pay respect to the Hockey legend. His former teammates, including brother Henri, carried his coffin while veteran Canadiens, prominent politicians, former opponents followed the funeral procession.

Maurice Richard: Quick Facts

But before we begin, here are some interesting quick facts about Maurice.

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