The Richard Riot of March 17, 1955

I started watching the National Hockey League games in 1958, so I wouldn’t have directly known about this ‘uprising’ at the Montreal Forum. But I was well aware of who Maurice Richard was: at the time he was the highest scorer in the NHL, although he never achieved the scoring title even once. The fact that he was on track to do so in 1955 may have been partly behind the fans displeasure when he was suspended for hitting a linesman during the March 13th game against the Boston Bruins at the Boston Gardens. But that the suspension was for the rest of the season and the Stanley Cup playoffs was a punishment considered too harsh for the Canadiens best player, so the fans ‘protested’ at the very next game.

(The video shows a game between Detroit and Montreal from that era, but it wasn’t that particular game because Richard had already been suspended. The egg pelting of Clarence Campbell and the smoke bomb, followed by the rioting outside, are from that fateful night.)

Years later the ‘event’ would be seen as the opening chapter of the ‘Quiet Revolution’ that took place later in the 60’s in Quebec. Yes, hockey is taken seriously here in Canada.