That's why when a scout proclaimed Dickie Moore would make fans forget about the Rocket, Canadiens management eagerly listened.
Unfortunately injuries plagued Moore's career, but he never-the-less was a very effective and rugged player.
Although hampered by injuries such as knee operations, shoulder separations, broken hands and wrists and countless bruises, scars and wounds, he twice led the league in scoring.
In fact, in 1953 he recorded 96 points to set a new NHL record for points in a season. This feat is made more amazing in the fact that he played much of the season with a specially designed cast on his injured shooting wrist!
His toughness came to no surprise for those who knew him since he was a toddler. Growing up in blue collar North Montreal, Dickie first established a reputation as tough-as-nails when he was hit by a car. Injuries to his knees and leg threatened his hockey career, but Moore stubbornly was determined to achieve the only dream he ever had - to play in the NHL. Although he was not a Habs fan growing up - he cheered for Gordie Drillon and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Moore was a decorated junior player, leading the Montreal Royals (1949) and Montreal Junior Canadiens (1950) to Memorial Cup championships. He wasn't noted as a goal scorer but rather as an intense and feisty power forward that had the Habs drooling.
Although Moore was part of the 1953 Stanley Cup championship team, Moore did not make the Habs full time until the 1954-55 season. His gritty game was the perfect addition to a team loaded with superstars. Much like a John Tonelli with the 1980s New York Islanders or Brendan Shanahan with the late-1990s-early 2000s Detroit Red Wings, Moore supplied the necessary sandpaper to the Canadiens highly polished offensive game.
Somehow Moore's offensive game blossomed in Montreal, too. He would twice lead the entire league in scoring, winning the Art Ross trophy. Three times he scored 35 or more goals. The six time Stanley Cup champion also made the first all star team twice. He would finish his career with a total of 261 goals and 608 points in 719 NHL games.
One has to wonder had Moore's aggressive style not led to such severe injuries just how good Dickie Moore could have been. As it is, he is forever immortalized in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Moore quit hockey in the summer of 1963, upset that the Canadiens did not want him back and were going to trade him. He did try two come backs, one with Toronto and one with St. Louis, but both failed. After retiring from hockey for good, Moore opened up an equipment rental firm, a company he started while playing back in 1962. The company would grow over time and eventually would employ over 40 people, with branches in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa.
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