This was about 12 years ago. I was watching the film, "The Rocket", downtown at the AMC Theatre that used to be the Old Forum. Nice symmetry. I'm trying to watch the film's first scene -- the brawl that ultimately led to the famous Richard Riot-- but there's an old guy sitting right behind me who won't shut up. The movie's going on with Richard punching a ref, the crowd going nuts, coach Dick Irvin yelling from the bench, but the old guy behind me is still talking to his companion. I've had enough. I stand up, turn around to confront him, and come face to face with Dick Irvin Jr. I stare for a second at the face I grew up watching and then bust out laughing. I say, "I can't believe I was just about to give you ****!".
He leans forward, points at the screen and whispers, "I was THERE at that game, with my dad. He wasn't yelling. In fact, I'd never seen him so calm!" He pats my shoulder and smiles, "And now I promise to be quiet!".
After the film, we chatted about grandkids and the West Island and babysitting. I mentioned that my wife had chatted with him at a mall when our twin boys were babies. Not debating your secondhand accounts of Irvin, just adding a different texture.
