Maxwell Edison said:
Didn't it go something like he assaulted Hal Laycoe (to put it mildly) by cracking hockey sticks down on Laycoe's head, all the while the sticks were being feed to him from the Montreal Canadiens bench. Then when Linesman Cliff Thompson attempted to stop Richard from killing Laycoe Richard turned his anger towards Thompson and punched him with a closed fist in the eye.
Or are you going with the defense that I have heard before that due to an earlier hit to the head from Laycoe Richard was unable to comprehend what he was doing?
I am not sure if something against French-Canadiens was said, and quite frankly I don't care, his behaviour can only be described as shamfull, as is the case when any player attacks an official, and that is ignoring the entire stick swinging incident which is more of a discrace because of the bench feeding him sticks (can't remember where I heard this, but I am sure someone can back me up - CBC documentry on the Riot I think).
Max,I'm not going with a defense, it isn't necessary, it's history that's all. The story is told differently depending on the account you read. I don't know if any tape of the incident exists. Our poster Classic Hockey could probably answer that, and may have actually spoken to people who were there, so obviously his comments would be interesting.
I'll give you my take on the whole thing for what it's worth. Keep in mind, I'm not a historian,sociologist, nor particularly bright. I'm an anglophone so all accounts I've read over the years have been in English, I speak French but I have trouble reading prose. These are impressions,keep in mind.
The Rocket had taken as much abuse as anyone ever had,game after game, and he felt that the officials left him to take a beating. Richard was a proud guy who answered every shot with retaliation or a hat trick,sometimes both. Clarence Campbell was thought to hate Richard for his penchant of evening the score on his own. I think there were many who thought Campbell hated richard for other reasons. There had been pressure over the years to discipline Richard from the Smythe and Norris families,but they had their own agendas. So you have a superstar with a crazy temper,and players going out of their way to exploit it. Gordie Howe was leaving bodies in his wake,and many questioned why there was no outcry there. The game in question, Richard went after Laycoe, I believe in response to earlier hit. The multiple stick swinging thing with the guys on the bench handing him sticks, I've heard about,I've seen the Heritage minute,but I'm not sure I believe it. I'd have to confirm that it was the same night also. Try and picture a guy swinging the stick at a player,goingback to the bench for another one and doing it again, c'mon, that's WWE, I just don't believe it happened like that.
I'm not saying Richard wouldn't have swung a stick, there were actual stick fights in those days, where players would swing toe to toe, the most famous being Eddie Shack and Larry Zeidel. If the Shack/Zeidel thing happened today,both would be gone for at least a season if not for life. I just can't imagine how a guy could break multiple sticks in someone without being stopped or killed. I just don't believe it was the way it's told.
My understanding of his punch at the linesman was that Laycoe was free to swing at Richard while Thompson had richard's arms pinned. Richard then swung at Thompson. I've heard stories of the concussion, that it was an accident etc., I believe in frustration over Laycoe pummeling him, he swung at Thompson.
There was nothing racial in the incident,there were plenty of things over the years, but not that night. The ensuing riot on St.Patrick's day was definitely fueled by social frustration. I think that the crowd saw the suspension as another example of the rich anglo playing seigneurial lord over the French Canadian and decided like the guy in Network, 'we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore'. Some point out this night as a launch point of The Quiet Revolution, but at this point,I'm getting into Quebec social history and attitudes that I don't know that I'm qualified to go much further on. As to shameful, I don't lose any sleep over it. The Rocket to me is the most compelling story or player in hockey history. A guy's the sum of the good and the bad, and that's the Rocket.
You do realize that several items in Rib's purse shattered on impact during that event??
