Published: February 18, 2009 11:42 pm      

Rocket’s visit part of city’s hockey history

Johnstown baseball old-timers often talk about the day Babe Ruth and the 1927 Murderer’s Row New York Yankees played at Point Stadium.

The Babe, Lou Gehrig and the rest of the boys in pinstripes faced the Johnstown Johnnies Middle Atlantic League team in an exhibition.

Whether or not Ruth hit a homer out of Point Stadium still is debated even though newspaper accounts and box scores from the game clearly state he did not.

So, what does a Babe Ruth story about Point Stadium have to do with local hockey?

Oddly, Cambria County War Memorial Arena had a brush with a National Hockey League star who attained legendary status in Canada, much as the Babe did in the states.

Maurice “Rocket” Richard and the Stanley Cup dynasty Montreal Canadiens skated at Cambria County War Memorial Arena on Nov. 20, 1951. The Habs played the Eastern Hockey League’s Johnstown Jets in an exhibition game.

The Jets and Canadiens had a working affiliation, with many Johnstown players under contract to the parent club.

“We were a farm club of Montreal at that time,” said Johnstown Jets great Don Hall, who was in his first season with the Jets in 1951-52. “(Jets players) Skip Burchell and Reggie Grigg were both members of the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens had signed me to what they called a C-form. That meant they had my rights as a professional.”

Hall reflected on Richard’s War Memorial appearance during the Johnstown Hockey Heroes ceremony on Sunday at the arena. Ex-Jet Reg Kent’s No. 7 jersey was retired by the Johnstown Chiefs, who beat Wheeling 5-2 that evening.

Nine former Jets, Wings and Red Wings participated in the event.

“The Rocket scored six goals,” said Hall, a 21-year-old forward in 1951. “Nobody really checked him. We didn’t want to put any injuries on him. But they were clean-cut goals.”

The Canadiens defeated coach Wally Kilrea’s Jets 10-2 in front of 1,638 fans who “displayed real enthusiasm over the skill of the big leaguers and over the valiant efforts of the outclassed Jets,” according to The Tribune’s Nov. 21, 1951, edition.

“It was an exciting game,” Hall said. “The guys played hard. The Rocket shot six that night. That’s going back 58 years. I don’t think anybody’s got six goals since then. Dicky (Roberge) and I both had some five-goal games. But six, that’s tough to do.”

Hall, whose No. 9 jersey is retired here, is second on Johnstown’s all-time scoring list with 393 goals, 586 assists and 979 points. Many contend that Hall could have played in the NHL had the league consisted of more teams than the Original Six.

Hall didn’t score that November night against the Canadiens. Buster Barber and John Horvath tallied for the Jets.

Richard pelted Johnstown’s standout goaltender Ivan Walmsley for a double hat trick.

Still, Walmsley made 46 saves – 22 in the second period.

“Ivan kicked out many Canadien shots,” The Tribune reported, “but probably never before in his hockey career was the Johnstown goaltender called upon to defend against such sharp, powerful and deceptive shooting.”

Those 1951-52 Jets were a pretty solid bunch at their own level. Johnstown won both regular-season and playoff titles in ’52 and repeated as champs the next year.

Richard played for the Canadiens from 1942 to 1960 and won eight Stanley Cups. He captained five consecutive Stanley Cup-winning squads from 1956-60. The Rocket was the first NHL player to score 50 goals in a season and 500 in a career.

He had 544 regular-season goals and 82 more in the playoffs. The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted him in 1961, waiving the customary three-year waiting period in his honor.

“Rocket was very strong. He was so strong on his skates,” said Hall, who remained in Johnstown after his playing career ended in 1962. “His determination was so great. He used to get that glare in his eye when he saw a chance to score. Nothing was going to stop him when he was headed to that net. Even in an exhibition game he was determined too.”

Nearly four years after his appearance in Johnstown, Richard was in the spotlight for the wrong reasons in what became known as “The Richard Riot.” He hit an official during a melee in a game against Boston. After a hearing, he was suspended for the remainder of the season and the playoffs.

Angry Montreal fans rioted during and after a playoff game against visiting Detroit that NHL President Clarence Campbell attended.

But Richard’s legacy was made on the ice. He received a 16-minute standing ovation during a ceremony at the closing of the Montreal Forum in 1996, four years before his death.

Almost 58 years ago, the Montreal Canadiens’ visit to the War Memorial was a novelty – an exhibition in which the EHL players apparently were instructed to avoid vigorously checking their NHL brethren.

But because of the Rocket’s legendary career, his six-goal night at the nearly brand-new War Memorial eventually evolved into part of Johnstown’s hockey history.



Mike Mastovich is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.