Anus horribilis 2020: Noted in passing (Sports... well, Hockey)

Ed. here. 2020 is almost over, thank God, truly an Annus Horribilis if ever there was one. (I know my Latin but Walt insists on leaving the headline as he wrote it.) Here is the final (no kidding) segment of our yearend review, saying farewell to some people in the sports and music fields -- really just subsets of the entertainment field -- who deserve a final tip of the toque.

We're going to do sports first, which for us means hockey. Is there any other sport? Poor Len Canayen already weighed in with his Sports Highlight of the Year, but that wasn't an obituary, so over to you, Len to tell us about... well, you tell it. 

Tank youse, Walt. A number of NHL players, past and present, died this year. Some were famous, some not. Among the latter was Fred Sasakamoose, who died on 24 November 2020 at the age of 86, five days after being hospitalized with Covid-19. 

Fred toiled in the minor leagues for six or seven years, playing just one season for the NHL Chicago Blackhawks. He appeared in just 11 games in the 1953-54 season, taking 6 minutes in penalties and scoring 0 goals and 0 assists -- 0 points in all.

So why is the passing of Fred Sasakamoose worthy of note? Well sir, he was the first First Nations (Americans read: Native American) player to suit up for an NHL team, and that was back in the `50s, before anyone heard of indigenous rights or diversity. And before SJWs started demanding that the Chicago team change their name and lose Chief Blackhawk from their logo.

That's what the NHL says, but real hockey fans will ask: What about George Armstrong, who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs for two games in 1949-50, and again for a remarkable 20 seasons, 1951-71. I always thought "the Big Chief" was an Indian (as we called them in those politically incorrect days), but the distinction seems to be that he was not a treaty Indian, whereas Sasakamoose was born in Debden SK which is the headquarters of the Big River Cree First Nations band government. That makes him an "official" First Nations person.

No matter. Hockey was pretty much a white man's game in those days and it wouldn't have been easy for Sasakamoose (or Armstrong) to be accepted and travel with his team to places like, say, New York or Boston. But he did it, and inspired others to follow in his footsteps... errr, skate grooves. Well done. 

Regular readers of WWW will know that Walt and I [and Ed.! Ed.] are huge fans of Canada's team, the Montréal Canadiens. Henri Richard, one of the greatest players ever to wear la Sainte Flannelle passed away on 6 March 2020. 

He was called "the Pocket Rocket" because he was the younger brother of the legendary Maurice "Rocket" Richard. Some said he was drafted by the Habs because of the family connection, but he proved the skeptics wrong, starring with les Glorieux for the entirety of his 20-season professional career. He won 11 Stanley Cups as a player, the most in the history of not just the Canadiens but the entire National Hockey League. 

In the league's centennial year of 2017, both Richards were named among "the 100 Greatest NHL Players" of all time. Henri shared the ice with many of the Canadiens' greatest stars: Jean Béliveau, Jacques Plante, Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion and Dickie Moore. He succeeded Béliveau as the Habs' captain in 1971. 

Other than the Canadiens' junior team, Henri Richard never played for another team during his career. "Because of the age difference, I didn't think it would be possible but I played with my brother for five years [1955-1960]," he told the Hockey Hall of Fame. "Maurice used to say that if I hadn't been there, he wouldn't have played that long. Some people say it was destiny, but I just think I was in the right place at the right time. That was a great team. There were so many great hockey players. I wouldn't have said it before, but now that it's all over, I thought winning like that was normal."

And so it was, during those glory years. It is the success of the Canadiens of Henri Richard's era, and of the Pocket Rocket himself, that gives us here at WWW hope for the future. Maybe this year will see the Stanley Cup return to Canada after a long absence. That would make Henri happy. His brother too.