November 29, 1924: The Forum Opens It’s Doors

The Montreal Forum under construction in 1924 photo: The McCord Museum

It’s hard to believe that 85 years ago, the most storied building in hockey history was built, and it wasn’t even intended for the Montreal Canadiens.

The Montreal Forum was actually built for the new Montreal Maroons franchise, owned by the Canadian Arena Company.

The creation of the Maroons was granted by Canadiens manager Leo Dandurand, who saw the potential of a rivalry between the two clubs.

For $15,000, Maroons president Jimmy Strachan was able to share the Canadiens territorial rights in Montreal. The Canadiens had the French followers, and the Maroons would have the English.

“I assumed that an English team competing against the mostly French-Canadiens would turn into the biggest rivalry in the NHL,” Dandurand said. “And it did.”

The idea to build the Forum in 1923 is credited to Sir Edward Beattie, president of the Canadian Pacific railway.

At the suggestion of Senator Donat Raymond, William Northey  originally developed a plan for a 12,500 seat capacity rink, but the size was reduced for financial reasons.

Finding financing for a smaller sized Forum was still difficult to find until H. L. Timmins stepped in with $500,000 towards the project.

In the meantime, in the fall of 1924, the Canadiens, fresh off a Stanley Cup victory the season prior, were still under contract to play their games in the Mount Royal Arena.

 Interior construction of the Forum in 1924

Dandurand watched over the summer if 1924 in envy as the then state-of-the-art arena, designed by architect John Archibald, was being constructed and completed in just 159 days.

After all, the $1.5 million rink, that sat 9,300 people, had an artificial ice making plant as well.

The Canadiens were set to play their home opener of the 1924-25 season, against the Toronto St. Pats, on November 24.

The mild weather in Montreal however, had other plans. The Mount Royal Arena ice was nothing more than a puddle of slush, despite it’s ome new ice making equipment, and Dandurand needed to find a suitable location, or forfeit the game.

He was able to secure the Forum and it’s new technologies and move the game to the corner of Atwater and Ste. Catherine.

Mount Royal Arena officials fought the move to no avail, and over 8,000 people witnessed the Canadiens first ever game in the Forum, a 7-1 win over Toronto.

Billy Boucher scored the first goal ever in the Forum and also registered the first hat-trick.

The Canadiens played the Maroons, in the Forum, for the first time on December 27. Imagine, the Canadiens were the visiting team in the Forum!

Eleven thousand people packed the building, setting a new attendance record along the way.

The game ended in a 1-1 tie that included two 10-minute overtime periods.

The Canadiens would move into the Forum permanently in 1926, sharing the building with the Maroons. Their first game as permanent tenats was a 2-1 loss to Ottawa.

One could only imagine how heated and intense the rivalry of these two teams could have been, let alone sharing the same ice. It would have made the Nordiques-Canadiens rivalry look like a tea party.

Brian MacFarlane wrote it this way in his book “Brian McFarlane’s Original Six: The Habs”:

Today’s hockey fans have never seen anything like the rivalry that existed between the Canadiens and the Maroons.

Heated? It was explosive. When the English-backed Maroons met the French-supported Canadiens, the on-ice battles were often overshadowed by skirmishes in the stands.

Emotions became so feverish that a missed goal or and “undeserved” penalty would trigger a rash of pushes and punches, with police and ushers rushing in to keep English and French fans apart.

The damage was usually minimal: a torn jacket, a hat yanked off and thrown away, the occasional black eye, and enough ‘20’s-style “trash talk” (in two languages) to shock fans ten rows away.”

Despite two Stanley Cup championships (1926, 1935) the Maroons could not keep up with the financial stress of the Great Depression  to the point that the Forum was nearly sold to the city, with plans to became a streetcar barn. The Maroons withdrew from the NHL in 1938.

The Canadiens now had the Forum to themselves and would win 22 more Stanley Cups (12 on Forum ice) during their tenure.

The Montreal Forum circa 1960 photo: City of Montreal archives

The Montreal Forum after it’s second renovation in 1968.

After two renovations in 1949 and 1968, the Montreal Canadiens played their last game in the Forum on March 11, 1996.

It was then completely gutted and converted into a downtown entertainment centre called the Pepsi Forum, consisting of an AMC multiplex theater, shops and restaurants.

Centre ice has been recreated in the centre of the complex complete with a small section of the grandstand, along with a statue of a fan leaning forward in delight, while original seats are used as benches throughout the complex. A statue of Maurice Richard can be found next to the grandstand.

The Atwater Street entrance has a large bronze Montreal Canadiens logo surrounded by 24 bronze Stanley Cup banners cemented into the sidewalk. Inscribed in French are the words "forever proud".

Theres is also a Canadiens logo in brick tiles on the sidewalk on Atwater Street.

The entire building remains themed after the Forum's storied history with special emphasis on the Montreal Canadiens.

Just a Few Other Forum Facts and Figures

The Forum had two renovations. The first came in 1949 at the cost of $600,00. Upon taking over as GM of the Canadiens, Frank Selke cited, “Clean the toilets. Nettoyez les toilettes!” He spent over $100,00 alone upgrading the plumbing alone.

Four thousand more seats are added bringing capacity to 13,551.

The second upgrade took place in the off-season of 1968. The $10 million renovation project resulted in an air-conditioned 17,959 seat arena that included standing room for 1,600 people.

Longest game ever: At 8:24 p.m. on March 24, 1936, the puck was dropped to start a playoff game between Detroit and the Maroons.

It took until the sixth overtime period, making it the longest game in NHL history (176 minutes and 36 seconds), before Mud Bruneteau scored the game's only goal for a Detroit victory.

It was 2:25 a.m. and some fans in the Forum were reportedly reading newspaper accounts of the earlier action.

Habs first Cup in the Forum: Howie Morenz scores the game-winning goal on April 3, 1930 in a 4-3 win.

A farewell to The Stratford Streak:  On March 11, 1937,  a centre ice funeral is held for Morenz, who died from complications of a leg injury. An estimated 50,000 people pay their respects.

Prior to the start of the 1937-38 season on November 2, a benefit auction and all-star game in tribute of Morenz is held. NHL All-Stars defeat a team on Canadiens and Maroons 6-5 and help raise $20,000.

Maroons/Canadiens Rivalry ends: The Canadiens defeat the Maroons in the final game between the two teams on March 17, 1938 as the Maroons fold operations at the end of the season.

“Hello Canada”: The CBC broadcasts the first live television hockey game on October 11, 1952 as "Hockey Night in Canada" makes its debut as the Habs play host to Detroit. Canadiens win 2-1.

The first non-Montreal team to claim a Stanley Cup in the Forum: Many will say the Calgary Flames in 1989, but actually that claim belongs to the New York Rangers in 1928.

The circus kicked the Rangers out of Madison Square Garden so all five games were played in Montreal. The Rangers won the series 3-2 for their first Stanley Cup. They were also the first American NHL team to do so.

Origin of the name: The site of the Montreal Forum was on an old roller skating rink, also named the Forum. The CAC decided to keep the name when the new building was constructed. An early photo is shown below.

 

A great list of many more dates of importance, pertaining to the Montreal Forum, can be found on MontrealCanadiens.ca

Sources and references for this article:

Books:

Denault, Todd (2009): Jacques Plante: The Man Who Changed the Face of Hockey. McClelland and Stewart

Jenish, D’Arcy (2008): The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory. Doubleday Canada

McFarlane, Brian (2008): True Hockey Stories: The Habs. Prospero Books

Mouton, Claude (1987). The Montreal Canadiens. Key Porter Books

Blogs/WWW

HabsEyesOnThePrize.com (2008): The Forum and Two New Rivalries

Doucet, Paul  (2004) MontrealCanadiens.ca: The Montreal Forum

November 28, 1925: Georges Vezina plays his last game

It was a typical sight, for fans of the Montreal Canadiens, to see Georges Vézina between the pipes for their team from it’s second season and into the early 1920’s.

After all, the Chicoutimi Cucumber had played in every NHA and NHL regular season game (328), and post-season game (39) since joining the Canadiens fifteen seasons prior.

But in November of 1925, that changed forever.

Vézina had reported to training camp, as usual, but felt ill after an exhibition game against the Victoria Cougars on November 18.

He lost nearly 35 pounds during training camp, and was running a fever of 102. Doctors diagnosed it as a flu virus, and recommended bed rest.

Vézina still made his start for the Canadiens home opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates on November 25.

The game began as usual, but during the the first period Vézina, was suffering from chest pains and left the ice at the end of the fist period bleeding from the mouth.

He reportedly collapsed in the Canadiens dressing room but returned to start the second period.

Vézina collapsed again on the Mount Royal Arena ice before the period began and, after a short delay, left the game.

He returned to the dressing room, sat in his corner and took off his pads for the last time.

Alphonse LaCroix, a U.S. Olympic goalie, took to the ice to finish the game and claimed the win for the Canadiens. LaCroix played the next four games for the Canadiens, posting just one other win.

Vézina went home and saw his doctor, J-E Dube, the next day. The Canadiens iron-man was diagnosed with tuberculosis and told that his lungs were in dreadful condition.

Dr. Dube told Vézina that his chances for survival were slim and recommended that he go home to Chicoutimi to rest.

Vézina listened to his doctor’s orders, but first made a final visit to the Forum on December 3.

There, in the dressing room, he saw his equipment laid out in the corner, as it always was, by trainer Eddie Dufour.

Team manager Leo Dandurand noticed tears rolling down the goalie’s cheeks. Dandurand placed a hand on Vézina’s shoulder and asked, “Is there anything I can do for you, Georges?”

“Yes, Leo. I would like to go home now. And I would like to take my Montreal sweater with me, the won I wore in the Stanley Cup finals in ‘24.”

Dandurand tracked down the sweater and Vézina tearfully said good-bye to his teammates for the last time.

The Canadiens manager then made a statement to reporters.

“Georges is gone and I doubt if hockey will ever know his like again. He has been a great credit to professional sport. He was a great athlete and a wonderful gentleman.”

The Canadiens paid Vézina his full salary ($6,000) for the 1925-26 season, despite only playing part of the first game.

Vézina returned to his home in Chicoutimi and died on March 27, 1926 at age 39.

Close to 1,500 people crammed into the cathedral in Chicoutimi for his funeral and over 800 Catholic masses in Montreal and Chicoutimi were devoted to Vézina’s memory.

The Montreal Standard referred to him as the "greatest goaltender of the last two decades" in their obituary.

Later in the year, Dandurand and fellow Canadiens owners Louis Letourneau and Joe Cattarinich donated the Vézina Trophy to the NHL to honor their departed goaltender.

Georges Vézina Facts and Figures

• Inaugural member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, elected in 1945.
• Member of the Canadiens first two Stanley Cup winning teams (1916, 1924) and appeared in three other Cup finals.
• Was the first goalie in the NHL to record a shutout on Feb 18,1918 and was the first goalie credited with a shutout.
• Referred to as the "Chicoutimi Cucumber" for his cool demeanor on the ice.
• He was also known as "L'Habitant silencieux" (the "silent Habitant"), a reference to his reserved personality. He often sat in a corner of the team's dressing room alone, smoking a pipe and reading the newspaper.
• Contrary to urban legend, he never had 22 children. That came from a boastful story relayed to the media from Dandurand.
• Vézina had two children, Jean-Jules born in 1912 and  Marcel Stanley, who was born the night the Canadiens won their first Cup.
• His 328 consecutive games was a record that stood for over 30 years.
• Gained the attention of the Canadiens when he led his amateur club to a shutout victory in an exhibition against the Canadiens.
• Led in GAA seven times in his career and finished twice five times.
• Played wearing a toque (which can be seen on the photo of him on the Vézina Trophy) and made use of his large stick for blocking shots. He also didn’t learn to skate until his late teens and started playing goal in his work boots.
• Was known to play without gloves…ouch!
• Ranked 75th in The Hockey News 100 All-time Greatest Players
• The city of Chicoutimi renamed their hockey arena the Centre Georges-Vézina in 1965

Georges Vézina’s Career Stats

Sources for this article:

Books:

• Jenish, D'Arcy (2008), The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory, Doubleday Canada, ISBN 978-0-385-66324-3
• McFarlane, Brian (2008), True Hockey Stories: The Habs, Prospero Books, ISBN 978-1-55267-714-8

Blogs/WWW:

• HabsEyesOnThePrize.com, “1925-26 All That Could Stop Georges Vezina”
• ourhistory.canadiens.com, Georges Vezina player profile