Jean Béliveau

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Position	Center
Shot	Left
Nickname	Le Gros Bill
Height Weight	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg)
Pro Clubs	Montreal Canadiens
Nationality	Canada
Born	August 31, 1931, Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Pro Career	1950 – 1971
Hall of Fame	1972

Jean Arthur Béliveau, CC , CQ , D.h.c. (b. August 31, 1931 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada) was a professional ice hockey player. He is a Canadian icon, and one of the most respected figures to have ever played the game.

A star at an early age, he won the Quebec Senior Hockey League scoring championship with the Quebec Aces in 1953 then joined the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Three years later, in 1956, Béliveau won both the Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the league's scoring champion and the Hart Memorial Trophy as its most valuable player. During his 18 year career in Montreal, he played on 10 Stanley Cup winning teams and was team captain for five of them. A powerful skater, he had a polished air of composed confidence that made him a natural leader both on and off the ice. Admired and respected by fans, teammates and his opponents, he was the first player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy for his performance in the 1965 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Jean Béliveau retired at the end of the 1970-71 NHL season as his team's all-time leading scorer and the NHL's all-time leading playoff scorer. He scored 507 goals and had 712 assists for 1,219 points in 1,125 NHL regular-season games plus 70 goals and 97 assists for 176 points in 162 playoff games. His jersey number (#4) was retired on October 9, 1971. In 1972, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

After his playing days were over, Béliveau remained with the Canadiens team as an executive and goodwill ambassador while doing charitable work through the "Jean Béliveau Foundation" established in 1971. In 1993 he transferred the foundation to the "Society for Disabled Children."

Jean Béliveau has been given many awards including several honorary doctorates from Canadian universities, plus the Loyola Medal in 1995. He was made a member of the National Order of Quebec and is a Companion of the Order of Canada, his country's highest civilian award. He was appointed as a companion to the Order of Canada on May 6, 1998 (according to "Appointments to The Order of Canada"). In 1994 he was offered the position of Governor General of Canada but declined the position for personal reasons. In 2001 his name was added to Canada's Walk of Fame, the same year he was honored with his portrait on a Canadian postage stamp.

In November 2004, Jean Béliveau supported the NHL's position in the National Hockey League labor dispute (2004), arguing that the players' demands would damage the sport and the league.

Contents 1 Career Statistics 2 Personal accomplishments 3 See also 4 References 5 External Links

[edit] Career Statistics

                                  Regular Season
Season  Team                    Lge   GP   G   A    Pts  PIM

1950-51 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   2    1   1    2    0
1952-53 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   3    5   0    5    0
1953-54 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   44   13  21   34   22
1954-55 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   70   37  36   73   58
1955-56 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   70   47  41   88   143
1956-57 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   69   33  51   84   105
1957-58 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   55   27  32   59   93
1958-59 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   64   45  46   91   67
1959-60 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   60   34  40   74   57
1960-61 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   69   32  58   90   57
1961-62 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   43   18  23   41   36
1962-63 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   69   18  49   67   68
1963-64 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   68   28  50   78   42
1964-65 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   58   20  23   43   76
1965-66 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   67   29  48   77   50
1966-67 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   53   12  26   38   22
1967-68 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   59   31  37   68   28
1968-69 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   69   33  49   82   55
1969-70 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   63   19  30   49   10
1970-71 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   80   25  51   76   40

                   NHL Totals         1125 507 712  1219 1029

[edit] Personal accomplishments

• Played in 13 NHL All-Star Games
• NHL First All-Star Team (6)
• NHL Second All-Star Team (4)
• Art Ross Memorial Trophy (1956)
• Conn Smythe Trophy (1965)
• Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP) (1956, 1964)

In 1998, he was ranked number 7 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Preceded by: Doug Harvey	Montreal Canadiens captains 1961-71	Succeeded by: Henri Richard
Preceded by: inaugural winner	Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy 1965	Succeeded by: Roger Crozier
Preceded by: Gordie Howe	Winner of the Hart Trophy 1964	Succeeded by: Bobby Hull
Preceded by: Teeder Kennedy	Winner of the Hart Trophy 1956	Succeeded by: Gordie Howe
Preceded by: Bernie Geoffrion	Winner of the Art Ross Trophy 1956	Succeeded by: Gordie Howe

[edit] See also

• Captain (ice hockey)
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of NHL seasons
• List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• List of NHL players with 500 goals

[edit] References

• Appointments to The Order of Canada. Appointments to The Order of Canada. Retrieved on July 5, 2005.

[edit] External Links

• Béliveau at Legends of Hockey