Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Spring 2019
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/18/2019
This classic photo-matched Montreal Canadiens wool sweater is the late Emile "Butch" Bouchard's captain's jersey, worn by the HOF defenseman during his final season, in 1955-56. Highly desirable and especially important as this sweater was worn on the eve of hockey’s all-time greatest dynasty, when the powerful Canadiens were crowned five-time Stanley Cup champions! Bouchard won the Stanley Cup four times during his 15-year career with the Canadiens, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, with his number 3 retired by the Habs on December 4, 2009, prior to the Canadiens' centennial anniversary game against Boston. Butch wore this bleu, blanc et rouge classic during the 1955-56 regular season, when a knee injury limited him to 36 games. (Bouchard wore a different sweater when he accepted the Stanley Cup that spring after only playing once in the playoffs. Toe Blake put him on the ice late in the Canadiens' Cup-clinching 3-1 win against Detroit in the final). The captain's jersey has the Habs' famous CH crest sewn on the front in red, white and blue triple felt. Its placement, with relation to the upper white and blue bands across the chest, matches up with a David Bier portrait of Butch in uniform, carrying the puck while wearing this wool sweater. The white and blue double felt captain's C offers more solid photo matches to the same image. The top line of the upper part of the white felt C curves slightly downwards; the long vertical part of the C tapers from wider to narrower moving from top to bottom; and the bottom end of the C is angled somewhat open. The photo also matches the big team repairs on the lower right sleeve. We count five more sewing fixes on the front, one on the left sleeve, another on the left side of the collar and a pair on the rear tail. White and blue double felt number 3 sewn on the back, with diamond-style stitching in the middle, has a few stains, including some pinkish marks on the bottom right, that do not diminish this historic sweater's display, nor do the small unrepaired holes observed in a few areas of the jersey. This amazing Montreal Canadiens game-worn captain's wool sweater is originally from Butch Bouchard's personal collection, and comes with a Classic Auctions letter of authenticity. Please take note that this item may be subject to a silent reserve.
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