60 years ago, hockey goalkeepers used masks only in training, but one famous goalkeeper was able to change this
He repeatedly received the most prestigious goalkeeper awards, held Stanley Cup six times in his hands. Only in history he went as an innovator and, if I may say, a fighter for the rights of goalkeepers.
In those years, it was believed that since real men play hockey, the goalkeeper is obliged to enter the field with an open face. However, after several painful injuries, Jacques Plant decided that it was time to start thinking with his head. And he took up the development and testing of hockey masks.
It should be noted that the goalkeeper masks existed until this moment, they were simply used only in training, and in a serious game they did not so much defend them as thoroughly interfered.
In one of the games of the season, in November 1959, a puck flew in the face of a planet. The goalkeeper had to leave the game for 45 minutes, he was imposed a seam. Jacques returned to the game not only with the seams, but also with his training mask, which led to the indescribable rage of a coach.
For fans and journalists, Jacques became an exemplary coward and a traitor to heroic male ideals. Thus began the struggle of Plant for the creation of both the goalkeeper mask and the positive image of the goalkeeper mask.
Plant remembered how in the 1930s the Montreal goalkeeper Clint Benedict defended his broken nose with a home-made mask of rough leather. So why not make this accessory mandatory? Jacques helped a lot that his team achieved noticeable success in the championships, and this is largely thanks to him, the goalkeeper with an incredible reaction. And they always listen to successful players.
At some point, more and more players in the United States and Canada began to go out on the ice in masks, similar to those invented by Jacques Plant.
In 1986, when Plant died of stomach cancer, the CBC sports observer summarized: “Previously, the coaches did not like the idea that the goalkeepers wore something that could distract them, but Plant continued to play as well and after he took itmask “.
After the departure of the Plant “Montreal Canadiens” imposed a veto on the use of number 1, leaving him forever behind this player.
Maximonline materials were used.ru