Will he come? Will he not come?
Posted at 7:45 a.m.
And, an even more crucial question, do we want really that he comes ? After all, he’s slapped us in the face a few times over the years. Well, it’s true that we have not always been correct with him. What was that pathetic idea of booing his son at the pee-wee tournament a few years ago?
We shouldn’t do that, that’s for sure. But he provoked us all the same by speaking of “Colosseum of fanaticism” when the Canadian junior, and his little brother Henri, faced our Citadels in the early 1950s. But, hey, maybe the time has come to put it all behind us…
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These reflections inhabit many sports fans in Quebec City in July 1972. The possibility that Maurice Richard will become the first head coach of the Nordiques has been in the air ever since Claude Larochelle, renowned chronicler of the Sun, mentioned this possibility two weeks earlier: “Despite the problems that the hot and colorful Maurice Richard may have had with Quebec in the past, some support his candidacy and we are thinking of sounding him out. »
The Rocket behind the bench, that would reinforce the credibility of the Nordiques and the brand new World Hockey Association (WHA).
Richard was intrigued by the idea when Marius Fortier and Maurice Filion, two leaders of the Nordiques, met him at his residence in Montreal. But impossible for the Rocket to ignore its relationship with the people of Quebec.
PHOTO REAL ST-JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Maurice Richard, new head coach of the Quebec Nordiques, and Maurice Fillion, general manager of the team, October 10, 1972
Adored across the province, the Rocket knows very well that this is less true in the capital. Always available to support one cause or another, he has refused any public appearance in Quebec for a long time. This is why, before accepting the offer of the Nordics, he wants the certainty of being well received.
Fortier, the club’s first general manager, then had a flash: inviting the Rocket to perform the ceremonial throw before a Carnival game at the Municipal Stadium in Quebec.
A subsidiary of the Expos in the Eastern League, the Carnivals play solid baseball. Future Expos will learn there over the years: Gary Carter, Ellis Valentine, Larry Parrish… And the Municipal Stadium is a nice place to watch a game.
A plan is quickly put together. We will highlight the 10e anniversary of the Sportsmen of Quebec, a group that coordinates many sports activities in the region. The distinguished guest will be Maurice Richard. The event will take place before the July 11 game – 50 years ago this summer – between the Carnivals and the Sherbrooke Pirates.
On this glorious Tuesday night, the stands are packed – nearly 6,000 people – as the Rocket take to the field to make the “first pitch”. In one block, the people rise and give him a tremendous ovation. Deeply moved, he waves to the audience.
The next day, the newspapers of Quebec commented on this unique moment.
“This direct contact with fans was to serve as a poll for Richard’s popularity rating,” writes Action-Quebec. The result was unequivocal. A huge ovation, which lasted several minutes, greeted his arrival. »
The journalist adds that according to the most seasoned observers, this ovation was “the most explosive” ever heard in Quebec to greet an athlete.
In The sunthe veteran journalist Roland Sabourin, whose relations with Richard have long been tumultuous, admits to having felt a “squeeze of the heart” by witnessing this enthusiastic welcome.
“It is obvious that everyone who was there had come to prove to him that Quebec loved him much more than he could have believed in the past 15 years. A heavy burden comes from the shoulders of this famous athlete. »
Sabourin adds: “Whether or not Richard becomes the coach of the Nordiques, it doesn’t matter at all. Everyone who was at the Municipal Stadium yesterday proved to him that they loved him. Now all he has to do is move on from the past and come and see us more often. »
In his column in the weekly Sunday morning, the Rocket writes about this magical evening: “Today, I still don’t believe it. It was one of the hottest receptions of my entire career. »
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Sixteen days later, in front of 1,500 people, Maurice Richard signed his contract as head coach of the Nordiques in the presence of the mayor of Quebec, Gilles Lamontagne, in front of city hall. “French will be the working language for the Nordiques, both on the ice and in the locker room,” he told reporters.
The sequel is well known. The Rocket finds very quickly that this job is not for him. Unhappy as the stones of the road, he left his post after the first two games in Nordiques history, a 2-0 loss in Cleveland against the Crusaders and a 6-0 victory at the Coliseum against the Alberta Oilers , as they were then called.
“We cannot ask Maurice Richard to die behind the bench, explains DG Marius Fortier to the Sun. We are not tyrants. And it is quite obvious that for him, it has become a superhuman task, beyond his strength. He’s visibly lost weight since he’s been with us. His morale is very low. »
In his chronicles of Sunday morning, Richard will confirm Fortier’s words: “Frankly, I can tell you, my readers, for the past 10 days, I have experienced the worst moments of tension in my life. ” He will add later: “Thank you again Quebec, big thank you”, before specifying: “I should never have accepted this work. »
No matter. Between the Rocket and Quebec, the summer of 1972 is that of great reconciliation. This spectacular series of events – offering the head coaching position to the Rocket, the July 11 ovation at the Municipal Stadium, the public signing of his contract and his quick resignation – will in some way set the tone for the history of the Nordic, full of twists from start to finish.
Note: the quotes and facts related in this column are mostly taken from my book The Colosseum versus the Forumpublished by Éditions La Presse in 2012.