On Nov. 9, 1953, Maurice “Rocket” Richard scored his 325th NHL career goal, setting a new National Hockey League record.
A native of Montreal, he played 18 season with the Montreal Canadiens. During that time he was the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season, and the first to reach 500 career goals.
He also played in 13 all star games.
Richard was noted as an aggressive player, and teams would often try and provoke him in order to get him suspended. In late 1954 he was fined $250 for slapping a linesman in the face. On March 13, of the next year, he was involved in another altercation, knocking an opponent unconscious. Boston police attempted to arrest him after the game and were only dissuaded by a promise the league would take action. After a hearing on March 16, he was suspended for the balance of the season. In Montreal, fans and demonstrators at the next game got out of control, vandalizing and looting stores and overturning cars. The riot continued until 3 a.m., leaving 12 policeman and 25 members of the public with injuries.
In 1960 he retired, after helping his team win five consecutive Stanley Cups. At that time he was the leagues all time leader in goals, with 544.
In 2005, Richard was honoured on a Canadian 50-cent coin, part of a four coin series showing famous Canadiens. Other players honoured included Jean Beliveau, Guy Lafleur, and Jaques Plante. A total of 25,000 sets were struck on sterling silver blanks.