MAURICE RICHARD

Saying that Maurice (The Rocket) Richard was the outstanding ice hockey player of 1958 is like saying water was wet last year. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, while still recovering from a grave injury to his right Achilles' tendon, playing on 36-year-old legs and competing for goals with younger players of brilliance on one of the great Montreal teams, he displayed again his famous talent for excelling while under extreme pressure. In the fourth game of the semifinal series with Detroit—the decisive game—he scored three goals in the Canadiens' 4-3 victory. In the critical fifth game of the final series with Boston, he scored the sudden-death, tie-breaking goal in overtime that broke Boston's heart. In November he made the 600th goal of his long, tempestuous, illustrious, unparalleled career. Neither the record nor the man is likely ever to be surpassed.

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