Bernie Geoffrion

Hockey Player

• Born: February 16, 1931
• Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Died: March 11, 2006
• Place of death: Atlanta, Georgia

Sport: Ice hockey

Early Life

Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion was born on February 16, 1931, in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. On the outdoor rinks of inner-city Montreal, Bernie got his first experience with hockey. On most winter Saturdays, after spending the day playing and practicing, Bernie would head downtown to the Forum, home of the Montreal Canadiens, to watch the team play and root for his hero, Maurice “The Rocket” Richard. As soon as he was able, Bernie joined a local team and started making a name for himself on the ice.

The Road to Excellence

At the age of fourteen, while playing for the Immaculate Conception parish team, Bernie had an argument with his coach, who suggested that Bernie should pursue another sport. In fact, this coach threw all of Bernie’s equipment on the floor, told him he would never amount to anything in the sport, and sent him home. This was one of the turning points in Bernie’s career. He was so mad and so sure that his coach was wrong that he was determined to try harder. He was soon on another team and proving to the world that he did belong on the ice. In fact, as he progressed toward the National Hockey League (NHL), Bernie impressed so many people that he never played hockey in the minor leagues. He jumped straight from junior hockey right into the big leagues.

During his junior hockey days, Bernie picked up a nickname that stayed with him for the rest of his career. While Bernie was practicing his slap shot, a Montreal sportswriter noticed the sound that the puck created when it hit the boards. In an indoor arena, the booming noise was unavoidable. The name “Boom Boom” stuck. The hard slap shot would be a trademark of this great right wing. Bernie was brought up to the big club, the Canadiens, during the 1950-1951 season. In eighteen games, he averaged just under a point a game. The next year, in his first full season, Bernie won the NHL rookie of the year award (Calder Memorial Trophy).

The Emerging Champion

Bernie’s slap shot was earning him the respect of all goalies. The shot was not only powerful but also controlled and accurate. Bernie was a natural goal scorer. At the time he was playing, he was only the second player, other than Maurice Richard, to score 50 goals in a season. He accomplished that feat in the third to last game of the 1961 season. He tried to break that record but scored no points in the final two games. Through sixteen years as a player, fourteen with Montreal and two with the New York Rangers, Bernie proved that he was one of the greatest scorers ever. He won the scoring title (Art Ross Trophy) in 1955 and again in 1961. He claimed that winning the scoring title the second time was much more satisfying because it proved that the first time was not just luck. In 1968, when Bernie retired as a player, he was fifth in goals scored and eighth in all-time point production. He had been on six Stanley Cup teams and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player in 1961.

Continuing the Story

Throughout his career, Bernie dealt with a temper and a rash of injuries that would have ended the career of a less determined man. In 1958, he ruptured a bowel during a practice session. He almost died from that injury and most people, including his doctors, thought that he was finished as a hockey player. At best, they thought he might attempt a comeback the following season. Bernie proved them all wrong, returning to the ice less than six weeks later, just in time to participate in the playoffs against archrival Boston. In the sixth and final game of that series, Bernie scored the first goal, assisted on the second, and then scored the game winner as Montreal won the Stanley Cup.

In 1964, Bernie retired from the Montreal Canadiens to take a coaching job with the Quebec Aces of the American League. He stayed there until he was lured out of retirement. In 1966, when the New York Rangers needed a team boost, they called on Bernie. The Rangers made the playoffs in each of Bernie’s two seasons with the team. Finally, in 1968, he retired for good as a player but continued with the Rangers as the team’s coach. Once again, one of his many ailments and injuries derailed him. An ulcer got so bad that doctors ordered Bernie to quit the game or his life would be in jeopardy. This time, he had no choice but to say good-bye to hockey.

Summary

A man of intense pride and great determination, Bernie Geoffrion played the game with the best. By his own admission, he was not one of the better skaters in the league, but hard work helped him to achieve greatness. His ability to propel the puck accurately and at great speed was only one of many talents he possessed on the ice. He played the game when only six teams made up the league. The level and standards of hockey were high and Bernie was able to excel at a game he loved. Bernie died of stomach cancer on March 11, 2006—the day the Montreal team was set to retire Bernie’s number.

Bibliography

Goldstein, Richard. “Bernie Geoffrion, Seventy-five; Popularized the Slap Shot.” The New York Times, March 13, 2006, p. A19.

McDonell, Chris. For the Love of Hockey: Hockey Stars’ Personal Stories. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly Books, 2004.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Hockey’s Greatest Stars: Legends and Young Lions. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly Books, 2005.

O’Donnell, Chuck. “For the Man They Called ’Boom Boom,’ Life Goes On.” Hockey Digest 25, no. 6 (1997).