Historical Hockey Memorabilia Spring Winter 2000
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/1/2000
Detroit Olympia, May 5th 1966, the 1966 Final series for the Stanley cup, had gone to a sixth game in the best-of-seven series. In the five previous games, Canadiens had won three, Detroit Red Wings two. Regulation time in the sixth game had ended in a 2 to 2 tie; now it was overtime and the first goal would win the game. At two minutes and twenty seconds of overtime, Canadiens rushed the Detroit end all-out. Defenceman Jean Guy Talbot got the puck up to left winger Dave Balon who lifted a pass over Detroit Defenceman Gary Bergman's stick. Canadien centre Henri Richard, skating in high gear, made a desperate lunging effort to deflect the puck just as Bergman got a piece of him and sent Henri plunging head-first to the ice. As Henri, stomach down on the ice, whizzed across the left corner of the Detroit net barely missing the post, the puck seemed to be riding on his outstretched right arm. There was an inches-wide opening between goalie Roger Crozier and the post; into that absurdly small opening went the puck of Henri's arm-or what is it his leg by this time. Anyway, the puck slid to a stop a hair's width across the goal line. There was a stunned moment of indecision. The capacity crowd in the Olympia stood wide-eyed with bated breath. No light had been turned on by the goal judge; the rules demand that the puck completely clear the goal line to be a goal and from the rear it didn't seem to be clear. Referee Frank Udvari had sped into position , saw the puck was across but realized in a flash that this was the toughest decision of his fifteen NHL years behind a whistle. If Richard had shoved the puck with arm or leg, it was an illegal goal; if, in Udvari's opinion, the puck had simply been deflected into the net by Henri's body, it meant the World's championship for Canadiens. But into that moment of indecision was injected a flash of quick thinking that still rates as top, real pro stuff with me. Behind the Canadiens bench, Coach Toe Blake shrieked: "Onto the ice.....everybody yell.........everybody!" The Canadiens bench exploded into loud jubilation. Out near the goal , Jean Guy Talbot took the cue and went into an Indian war dance, arms and stick upraised. Richard, slightly fuzzy after crashing headlong into the boards behind the net, yelled automatically. To this day, Udvari won't admit that the noisy jubilation of the onrushing few among the silent sixteen thousand in the Olympia influenced his call but up went his arm. It was a goal! Offered here, is the actual stick Henri Richard was using when these events occurred in 1966. The stick is a CCM Custom Pattern made pro with "Mc Nieces" sporting goods stamped on the front of the shaft. Mc Nieces was the Canadiens equipment distributor back in the mid 1960's. The stick is nicely stamped "Richard 16" at the top of the shaft. Still has all original black tape on blade a
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