Quebec names Montreal Canadiens great Maurice Richard a ‘historic figure’

MONTREAL — The late, legendary Montreal Canadiens goal scorer Maurice Richard is now also an official historic figure in Quebec, the province announced Sunday.

Quebec Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe announced the designation alongside members of Richard’s family at an afternoon ceremony at the Bell Centre.

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“Maurice Richard was not only an exceptional athlete…he also embodied the pride and aspirations of French-speaking Quebecers,” said Lacombe at the ceremony, which came days before 25-year anniversary of the hockey legend’s death on May 27, 2000.

The government defines a historic figure as a person who is now deceased who played a role in the province’s history. Richard joins strongman Louis Cyr as one of the few athletes on the list of over 100 people with the title.

Nicknamed “the Rocket,” Richard dominated the NHL beginning in 1940s, and he became the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games during the 1944-45 season. Five of those goals were scored in a single game — a 9-1 victory against Detroit — after a day he spent helping his family move furniture.

He led the team to eight Stanley Cups in an 18-year career and remains the team’s best scorer in both the regular season and the playoffs, the government said in a news release.

Richard’s legend was also intertwined with the identity and struggle of French-speaking Quebecers, and Lacombe described him as one of the sparks of the cultural and social awakening known as the Quiet Revolution.

The frenzy over Richard reached its peak in March 1955 when fans, angered over a three-game suspension handed to their star, booed and threw things at the league’s then-commissioner, Clarence Campbell. The anger spilled out in the streets, where an angry crowd smashed windows and businesses and overturned cars in downtown Montreal in an event now known as the Richard riot.

Tensions only calmed after the star player himself got on the radio to plead for calm.

Richard’s son, who attended the ceremony, said his father had never sought fame or notoriety.

“He played a sport he loved, he loved his fellow citizens, he always played in Montreal, he was proud to be a Quebecer,” Maurice Richard Jr. said Sunday. “I think that was enough for him.”

Sunday’s ceremony included the unveiling of a plaque commemorating Richard, which will be permanently installed in a location that has yet to be determined.

The designation comes after the Quebec legislature adopted a law in February recognizing hockey as the province’s official sport.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2025.

Audrey Sanikopoulos, The Canadian Press