They are love letters, to be sure, but they also constitute a vibrant tribute to a woman who had taught him to share his innermost thoughts, and to appreciate the people he worked with. From Raymonde, Jacques had learned the patience necessary to teach aspiring goaltenders how to best develop their skills.
He succeeded in exorcising his loneliness and gave it meaning. He wrote to Raymonde twice a day, attentive to the anniversary of every occasion they had shared, particularly the date of their meeting.
In the same way that he gave all he had in his professional life, Jacques was a passionate lover. He was a forthright, wholehearted man. He was so completely wrapped up in the relationship that sometimes, his heart would beat so hard that he thought it would burst from his chest. It tortured him to be separated from the woman he loved, for whom he composed delicate poetry. Jacques’ work still obliged him to spend much of his time in distant cities, but his thoughts no longer centered on the ice; he expressed his great happiness on paper.
The Canadien errant – the homesick native son of the old French Canadian folk-song – was still a wanderer, but he was no longer an unwilling exile. He cut the ties that bound him to his country. In 1979, he closed the mask factory in Magog that he had started in 1970. He moved to Sierre, a town in the Swiss Alps, with Raymonde.
Nonetheless, in Canada, Jacques remained a much-appreciated broadcast analyst whenever there were special hockey events. To give just one example, Jacques was the analyst for the TVA broadcasts of the Canada Cup series in which Team Canada faced the best teams in the world. He was the most articulate of all the French-speaking athletes who had played this sport. It was not just his mastery of language (he now expressed himself as well in English as in French): people listened to Jacques Plante because they found what he said pertinent and interesting. His comments revealed a truly contemporary grasp of hockey.
This particular Canadien errant never completely stopped travelling. But in Sierre, his new home, the much-scarred warrior finally took his rest. He found time to paint. He learned German. He skied and played tennis with Raymonde. A peaceable man, Jacques’ pleasures were simple; his friends were Charlie the restaurant owner, Emile the winegrower, and Zizi the innkeeper. From time to time, he would give a little coaching advice to the city’s hockey club. Hockey was still in his blood.
When he was summoned by the North American hockey world during the season, Jacques would pack his bags again. He and Raymonde would fly to Florida where she would sunbathe at the home of friends while Jacques prepared to consult his extraordinary mental filing system.
Jacques Plante no longer wore his skates nor his heavy leg pads; he no longer set his wide-ended stick firmly on the ice; he no longer wore his mask – except, of course, when he gave lessons to young goalies. His fame continued to spread nevertheless. His name was already written in gold in the annals of sport. He had shone so brightly on the ice and had given so much to this spectacular sport that hockey rendered him its highest tribute.
On Jury 13, 1978, Jacques Plante was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, in the company of Marcel Pronovost and Andy Bathgate. On September 13, 1978, he and Raymonde were the guests of honour at the Hall of Fame presentation dinner. Frank Selke, his first pro manager, delivered the main speech of the evening and spoke glowingly of the goaltender’s remarkable achievements. It was the crowning moment of Jacques’ career, the accomplishment of a lifetime, and the realization of a hockey players greatest hopes.
Seven years later, at a gala event at the Montreal Forum, he was elected a member of the Habs all-time dream team by popular vote. This was perhaps the greatest of all honours from Jacques’ point of view, as the contenders included Bill Durnan, the man whom Jacques had admired so much when he first trained with the Canadians, and Ken Dryden, whose exploits had brightened the end of the 1960s. But the public had remembered Jacques Plante over all of them. He was their choice for number 1 goaltender of the best team of all time. On January 12, 1985, he appeared on centre ice with the living legends he had revered: defencemen Doug Harvey and Larry Robinson, centre Jean Béliveau, left-winger Dickie Moore, right-winger Maurice Richard, and coach Toe Blake. But wasn’t he himself part of the legend?
In January 1986, Jacques resumed his work as a hockey consultant. He went to St. Louis to help goaltenders Greg Millen and Rick Wamsley, who had played for the Habs. One day when they were having lunch together, coach Jacques Demers noticed that Jacques hardly ate anything at all. He mentioned the fact to Dr. Probstein, the Blues’ physician, who examined Jacques and found that he had lost seven kilograms in only a few weeks’ time.
Jacques was sent back to Switzerland, where he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. The disease had progressed to a point of no return. Jacques Plante died in Geneva on February 27, 1986, at 5:25 a.m. He was fifty-seven years old. The sports world was in shock, as the news of his disease had not been released to the media until his last days. Jacques had not wanted it to be divulged at all – he hated to be the source of trouble or worry for other people. The funeral took place in Sierre, and he was buried there. Jean-Claude Tremblay and Jean Béliveau attended on behalf of the Canadiens.
On March llth, a memorial service was held at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Montreal. Jacques’ first wife, Jacqueline, his son, Michel, and numerous hockey personalities were present.
The officials of the Swiss National Hockey League announced the creation of the Jacques Plante Trophy, the equivalent of the Vézina Trophy for best goaltender of the year. Other honours continued to be bestowed on Jacques posthumously: he was inducted into the Quebec Pantheon of Sports Heroes on September 23, 1994, and on October 7, 1995, the Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club honoured him by retiring the uniform marked with the number 1 – Jacques’ number when he had played for the Habs. In the year 2000, Canada Post dedicated a series of stamps to the greatest hockey players of the past century: the five selected were Maurice Richard, Doug Harvey, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, and Jacques Plante.
Certainly, these are valid ways to highlight the achievements of an extraordinary character in hockey history. But it is on the ice every night, on every hockey rink in the world, that the memory of an innovator of the likes of Jacques Plante is reborn – every time that commentators or coaches discuss a goaltenders ability to handle the puck outside the net, and every time a mask saves a goaltender from injury.
As long as the game is played, Jacques Plante’s name will live on.
Jacques Plante and his son Michel, five years old.
Jacques Plante: Career Statistics
Chronology of
Jacques Piante
(1929–1986)
Compiled by Michèle Vanasse
PLANTE AND THE WORLD OF SPORTS
CANADA AND THE WORLD
1910
The Montreal Canadiens, founded the previous year by J. Ambrose O’Brien, inaugurate the first season of the National Hockey Association (later the NHL).
Debut of goaltending great, Georges Vézina.
1910
In Great Britain, King Edward VII is succeeded by George V.
1917-1918
The National Hockey League (NHL) is inaugurated. On February 18th, Georges Vézina achieves the first shutout in NHL history. 1918
End of World War I; Canada has fought with the Allies against Germany, Austria, and Italy.
The deadly Spanish flu epidemie ravages the world, killing about 50,000 Canadians; some Quebec villages are exterminated by the disease.
1926–1927 season
The Vézina Trophy is established; it will be awarded to the NHL goalie who allows the lowest number of goals in the regular hockey season.
1929
Jacques Piante is born on January 17 on a farm near Mont Carmel in the Mauricie region of Quebec. He is the eldest son of Xavier Piante and Palma Brière. Soon after Jacques’ birth, the family
moves to Shawinigan Falls, where Xavier works for the Aluminum Company of Canada.
1929
Black Thursday on Wall Street on October 24; the American stock market collapses and the Great Depression (1929–1939) begins.
The prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the U.S. means profitable times for Canada-U.S. liquor smugglers. The gangster era in North America is at its height.
1932
At three, Jacques Piante begins to play hockey, skateless, using a goalie’s stick made by his father, and tennis balls instead of pucks.
Sonja Henie of Norway wins three gold medals for figure skating at the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. 1932
In Canada, two new politicai parties arise in response to hard times: the socialist CCF (Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, forerunner of the New Democratic Party) led by James Woodsworth, and the Social Credit Party, founded by William Aberhart.
1934
At five, Jacques Piante breaks his wrist in a playground accident. The bones fail to heal properly, resulting in a handicap that moulds Plante’s goalkeeping style, obliging him to use his body for blocking high shots.
1934
Adolf Hitler, leader of the totalitarian National Socialist, or Nazi Party, becomes absolute ruler of the German army and the government. Nazi repression of democrats, Jews, and Marxists intensifies.
The Dionne Quintuplets are born in northern Ontario.
Left-winger Aurèle Joliat of the Canadiens wins the Hart Trophy for most valuable player.
In Montreal, Mayor Camilien Houde opens the Jacques Cartier Bridge on the 400th anniversary of Cartier’s arrivai in Canada.
The Masters Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia is founded by golf pro Walter Hagen.
Hank Greenberg is batting .333 for the Detroit Tigers.
1936
Jacques Piante enters primary school in Shawinigan. He receives his first real goalie’s stick. He learns knitting – which becomes a lifelong pastime, an unusual one for a sports idol.
1936
In the Quebec elections, Maurice Duplessis leads the Union Nationale party to victory.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is established.
The Canadian Football League (CFL) is founded.
In France, socialist party leader Léon Blum creates the Front populaire.
At the Berlin Summer Olympics, African-American athlete Jesse Owen sweeps the gold medals in track and field. Canada’s gold is won by Frank Amyot in kayaking.
Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Fascist Italy form an alliance.
Sonja Henie again sweeps the gold medals in figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Garmisch.
Civil War begins in Spain between the Republicans and the extreme right/fascists under General Francisco Franco.
1937
Montreal Canadiens great, Howie Morenz, dies from complications after his leg is broken in a game. 1937
In Great Britain, George VI is crowned king.
Boxer Joe Louis becomes world heavyweight champion, a title he will hold for twelve years.
The civilian population of the Spanish town of Guernica is mercilessly bombed by the German air force. Pablo Picasso represents the tragedy in his best-known painting, Guemica, shown that same year at the Paris World Fair.
1938
American Don Budge makes a grand slam, winning four of the world’s most prestigious tennis tournaments.
1938
The Munich agreement, signed by Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France, allows the Nazis to annex Czechoslovakian territory where a German-speaking majority lives.
1939
Hector “Toe†Blake wins the NHL scoring championship and the Hart Trophy for most valuable player.
1939
World War II begins when Hitler invades Poland; England, France, and Canada declare war on Germany. The United States remains neutral while providing arms to Hitlers adversaries.
Because of the war, the Olympic Games are suspended until 1948. In Quebec, Adelard Godbout of the Liberals is returned to the Premier’s office.
In the United States, a baseball game is televised for the first time.
The Spanish Civil War ends in victory for Franco.
1941
At age twelve, Jacques Piante begins to play organized hockey as number 1 goalie for his school team of seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds.
1941
The attack on Pearl Harbor brings the United States into the war against the Japanese and their allies, Germany and Italy.
Hockey players are criticized by the public for being exempted from war service and from the closed border rules between the U.S. and Canada. The U.S.S.R. declares war against Germany.
Canada under Mackenzie King declares war on Japan without waiting for U.S. or British lead.
Joe DiMaggio sets a record by hitting base hits or better in 56 consecutive games.
As part of air-raid preparations, dusk-to-dawn blackouts are observed in Western Canada.
Wartime price control begins in Canada.
1942
Maurice “the Rocket†Richard debuts with the Canadiens under coach Dick Irvin Senior.
French boxer Marcel Cerdan becomes European middleweight champion.
1942
A majority of Canadians vote for wartime conscription in a plebiscite although the opposite result is obtained in the province of Quebec.
1944
Jacques Piante plays in nets for four teams in four different categories: midget, juvenile, junior, and intermediate. He also plays for a Shawinigan factory team, earning fifty cents a game.
1944
Maurice Duplessis of the Union Nationale party is returned to power in Quebec after five years on the opposition bench.
The Allies land in Normandy on June 6th.
1945
Rocket Richard shatters Joe Malone’s 1917 record of 44 goals in one season by marking his 45th goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He becomes the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games.
1945
In the U.S., President Roosevelt dies in office, and is replaced by Harry Truman.
The atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima by the Americans; the Japanese surrender and the Allied victory in Europe ends World War II.
The United Nations (UN) Organization is founded to keep world peace and to protect human rights.
1946
Clarence Campbell becomes NHL president, and Frank Selke is named general manager of the Montreal Canadiens.
1946
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill refers to the countries under Soviet domination as “the iron curtain countries.â€
The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL come into being.
Jackie Robinson, the first black player in professional baseball, is a member of the Montreal Royals, an International League team.
1947
Jacques Piante graduates from high school and works as an office clerk in a Shawinigan factory. He refuses offers from the Providence Reds and from the Junior Canadiens, in favour of one from the Quebec Citadels. He begins to show his characteristic style of roaming beyond the goal crease, galvanizing the crowds.
1947
Canada joins the UN.
Great Britain grants independence to strife-torn India, which is partitioned into India and Pakistan.
The U.S. Truman Doctrine aims to create a bulwark against communism in Europe by providing aid.
Jackie Robinson signs with a major league baseball team.
Under Walter Gordon, price controls are still in effect in Canada.
1948
The Citadels, largely due to Jacques Plante’s exploits, beat the Junior Canadiens in the finals.
1948
Louis St. Laurent of the Liberal party becomes prime minister of Canada.
Piante is named best player of the year by the Shawinigan Softball League.
Th
e United States adopts the Marshall Pian for European reconstruction.
Marcel Cerdan wins the world middleweight title.
Palestine is partitioned and the State of Israel comes into existence.
Figure skater Barbara Ann Scott of Ottawa wins the world championship and the gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics.
1949
Jacques Piante marries Jacqueline Gagné on Aprii 30th.
Jacques Plante Page 15