June 4, 1963: Jacques Plante Is Traded for Gump Worsley

Jacques Plante

June 4, 1963: Jacques Plante, at this point possibly the greatest goaltender in NHL history, is traded by the Montreal Canadiens to the New York Rangers, with Don Marshall and Phil Goyette. The Rangers send the Habs their own starting goalie, Lorne "Gump" Worsley, plus Dave Balon, Leon Rochefort and Len Ronson.

With Montreal, Plante was a member of 6 Stanley Cup winners, including 5 in a row. Marshall also played on the 5 straight champs of 1956-60. Goyette played on the last 4 of them. With New York, they won nothing.

Plante retired in 1965, went to work for the Molson Brewery, owners of the Canadiens, and then came out of retirement in 1968, pairing with former Chicago Black Hawks star Glenn Hall to give the St. Louis Blues 2 of the greatest goalies of all time. Plante was then 38, and Hall was 35, but both of them, and the other veterans that the Blues had assembled, had enough left to help the team reach 3 straight Stanley Cup Finals (including the year before Plante got there), thought they were swept all 3 times, including in '68 and '69 by Worsley and the Canadiens.

Plante shockingly played 3 seasons with the Canadiens' arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs (at a time when the Habs had, arguably, the Leafs' greatest player ever, Frank Mahovlich), and 8 games for the Boston Bruins, before closing his career in 1974-75 with the Edmonton Oilers in the World Hockey Association.

He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978. In 1985, he was named the Canadiens' all-time goaltender at their 75th Anniversary celebration. He died of cancer early the next year. In 1995, they retired Number 1 for him, and only for him, despite having a few great goalies before him wearing it, and also having other numbers retired for 2 different men.

With Montreal, Worsley would go on to win 4 Stanley Cups before moving on, and closed his career with the Minnesota North Stars in 1974. Plante wasn't the 1st goalie to play with a facemask, but he did popularize it. Worsley wasn't quite the last one to play without a mask, but close. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980, and lived until 2007.

Gump Worsley

Balon would win 2 Cups, before returning to the Rangers, and became an original 1967-68 North Star. Rochefort would win 1 Cup, and became an original 1967-68 Philadelphia Flyer. Ronson got stuck in the minors, his only NHL appearances being 13 games for the 1961 Rangers and 5 for the 1969 Oakland Seals. With New York, they won nothing.

In fact, while with the Rangers, Worsley was asked which team gave him the most trouble. He said, "The Rangers." Successful in Montreal, he opened a restaurant, and named a sandwich "The Ranger." It was a chicken sandwich.

*

June 4, 1963 was a Tuesday. This was also the day that the film The Nutty Professor premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.

All-Pro offensive tackle Jim Lachey and NBA All-Star Xavier McDaniel were born. And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Steve Barber -- his arm apparently neither sore nor a little stiff -- outpitched Ralph Terry. John "Boog" Powell hit a home run. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-3. Mickey Mantle had a home run and a single; otherwise, the Yankees got just 3 hits.

* The New York Mets lost to the Milwaukee Braves, 3-2 at the Polo Grounds. Hank Aaron went 1-for-4.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 1-0 at District of Columbia Stadium (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) in Washington. Tom Cheney pitched a 5-hit shutout to outpitch Earl Wilson. The only run of the game came on a home run by Don Lock in the bottom of the 6th. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Al Kaline went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ernie Banks went 3-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Willie Mays went 1-for-4. Willie McCovey appeared as a pinch-hitter, and struck out.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Athletics, 5-0 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Jim Perry pitched a 4-hit shutout. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-3.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Colt .45s, 2-1 at Colt Stadium in Houston. This was a no-frills temporary facility to be used by the expansion franchise in the 1962, '63 and '64 seasons, after which they moved to the Astrodome for the 1965 season, changing their name to the Houston Astros.

Being completely open to the elements, Colt Stadium had problems with heat, mosquitoes, and even snakes, which became a bigger problem when the Astros kept using it as a practice facility after the Astrodome opened, until it was finally demolished in 1971. Sandy Koufax, who did not appear in this game, remarked on the size of the mosquitoes, calling them "twin-engine jobs."

* And the Los Angeles Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 1-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Angels were groundsharing while waiting for their stadium in Anaheim to be built. Dan Osinski pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching Gary Peters. The only run of the game came in the bottom of the 2nd, when Lee Thomas singled Félix Torres home.

* The Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates were rained out at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader 2 days later. The Reds swept, 7-5 and 10-5. Over the 2 games, Frank Robinson went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs, 2 walks, and 3 RBIs, rookie Pete Rose went 5-for-9 with a walk, and Roberto Clemente went 2-for-8.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.

April 7, 1974: The Last NHL Goalie Without a Facemask

April 7, 1974: The National Hockey League's regular season comes to an end. And, for the 1st time, the League awards a Coach of the Year award. It is named the Jack Adams Award. I have a separate entry for this event.

Among the season-ending games was the Atlanta Flames' 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at The Omni in Atlanta. In goal for the Pens, Andy Brown faced 31 shots and stopped 25 of them. In so doing, he became the last goaltender in the NHL to play without a facemask.

The son of Adam Brown, a left wing who helped the Detroit Red Wings win the 1943 Stanley Cup,  Brown played 10 games for the Wings in 1972, and 7 in 1973, before being traded to the Penguins. He played 9 games for them 1973, and 36 in 1974. He played 3 more seasons with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association all without a mask, earning him the nickname "Fearless Brown." As of April 7, 2022, Brown is still alive.

In 1930, Clint Benedict, trying to protect a broken nose, became the 1st NHL goalie to wear a mask in a game, a rudimentary one of leather. In 1959, Jacques Plante became the 1st one to regularly wear a mask, a fiberglass one that covered his entire face. Soon, most goalies were wearing them: They figured, Plante was, along with Terry Sawchuk, 1 of the 2 best goalies in the game, so if he can wear one, anyone can.

By the late 1960s, most goalies were wearing masks. In 1967, Gerry Cheevers of the Boston Bruins was hit in the mask in practice, and drew a line of stitches on it. After that, other goalies started to decorate their masks.

Lorne "Gump" Worsley, who starred for the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens, refused to wear one, saying, "My face is my mask." Finally, in the last 6 games of his career, with the Minnesota North Stars, shortly before his 45th birthday, he wore one.

Because he also made it to the end of that season, last playing on April 2, 1974, was famously resistant, and was a lot better-known than Brown, "the Gumper" is often mistakenly thought of as the last NHL goalie to refuse to wear a mask.

*

April 7, 1974 was a Sunday. There were 6 games played in the NHL that day:

* The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-4 at Madison Square Garden. Steve Vickers, Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle each scored 2 goals.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-4 at the Boston Garden. Bobby Orr was involved in all of the Bruins' goals, scoring 2 and assisting on the other 4.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Minnesota North Stars, 6-2 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. Bill Barber scored a hat trick, and also had an assist. Fern Rivard, rather than Gump Worsley, was in goal for the Stars in this game.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 7-4 at the Chicago Stadium.

The World Hockey Association was already into its Playoffs, with 3 games:

* The New England Whalers beat the Chicago Cougars, 4-3 in overtime at the Eastern States Coliseum (now the Big E Coliseum) in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

* The Toronto Toros beat the Cleveland Crusaders, 4-0 at Varsity Arena in Toronto.

* And the Minnesota Fighting Saints beat the Edmonton Oilers, 8-5 at the St. Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Football was out of season. There were 3 games in the NBA Playoffs:

* The New York Knicks beat the Capital Bullets, 106-105 at Madison Square Garden. Walt Frazier scored 38 points. This was the Bullet's 1st season in the Washington, D.C. area after 10 years as the Baltimore Bullets. The next season, they adopted the name "Washington Bullets."

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Bulls, 102-87 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit.

* And the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-92 at the Milwaukee Exposition and Convention Center Arena, a.k.a. The MECCA (now the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena).

And there was 1 game in the ABA's Playoffs: The New York Nets beat the Virginia Squires, 116-88 at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virignia.

And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-4 at Shea Stadium. The Yankees had just begun a 2-year exile, groundsharing with the Mets while the original Yankee Stadium was being renovated.

Thurman Munson hit a home run. Chris Chambliss went 1-for-4. Pat Dobson outpitched Dick Tidrow. Just 19 days later, the Yankees would acquire Chambliss, Tidrow and Cecil Upshaw from the Indians for 4 pitchers.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Jon Matlack outpitched Jim Lonborg. Jerry Grote went 3-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Cleon Jones and John Milner each also had 3 hits for the Mets. Mike Schmidt went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* A doubleheader was split at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The Baltimore Orioles won the opener, 5-1. Ross Grimsley Jr. nearly went the distance, while Woodie Fryman didn't get out of the 1st inning, giving up all the Baltimore runs.

The Detroit Tigers won the nightcap, 8-4. Mike Cuellar and Lerrin LaGrow started, but neither factored in the decision. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Al Kaline, in his final season and playing in his hometown, led off the top of the 10th inning with a walk, and this was followed by singles by Willie Horton, Ron Cash, Bill Freehan and Ed Brinkman. (Ron Cash was no relation to Tiger star Norm Cash, but was an uncle of future player and manager Kevin Cash.) Horton and Mickey Stanley hit home runs for the Tigers, Bobby Grich for the O's.

Over the 2 games, Brooks Robinson went 4-for-9 with an RBI, while  Kaline went 2-for-8 with that walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Phil Niekro outpitched Clay Kirby. Pete Rose went 2-for-5. Johnny Bench went 2-for-3 with a walk. With manager and former slugging partner Eddie Mathews ordered by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to play him, despite his having hit the record-tying 714th home run and everyone but Kuhn wanting him to hit the record-breaking 715th at home, Hank Aaron went 0-for-3 with 2 strikeouts, before Mathews decided he'd carried out Kuhn's order, and replaced him in the field and the lineup.

* The California Angels and the Chicago White Sox were tied 4-4 after 10 innings at Comiskey Park in Chicago, when the game was called due to rain.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 8-4, at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Reggie Jackson went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 9-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Andy Messersmith went the distance for the win, while Jim McAndrew didn't get out of the 3rd inning. Ron Cey went 4-for-4 with 3 RBIs, and Steve Garvey and Jimmy Wynn hit home runs. For the Padres, Willie McCovey went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Dave Winfield did not play.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 8-4 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals were rained out at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 24. The Cards swept, 3-1 and 4-0. Lou Brock did not play in the 1st game, but went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in the 2nd game. Bob Gibson pitched a 4-hit shutout in the 2nd game, striking out 11. Over the 2 games, Willie Stargell went 1-for-8.

* The Boston Red Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers were rained out at Milwaukee County Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 6. The Sox swept, 6-3 and 6-0. Reggie Cleveland outpitched Jim Slaton in the 1st game. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4 with a walk, while rookie Robin Yount went 0-for-3.

Neither Yaz nor Yount played in the 2nd game. Juan Marichal, running out the string in Boston, pitched 7 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, outpitching Clyde Wright, and Diego Seguí finished the 3-hit shutout.

* The Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins were rained out at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 7. The Royals swept, 7-6 and 5-1. Harmon Killebrew only appeared as a pinch-hitter in the 1st game. Rookie George Brett did not appear in that game. In the 2nd game, Brett went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Killebrew went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Over the 2 games, Rod Carew went 3-for-10 with 3 RBIs.

* The Chicago Cubs and the Montreal Expos were rained out at Jarry Park in Montreal. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on September 11. The Expos swept, 6-1 and 13-4.