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THE GOALIE MASK: JACQUES PLANTE, KEN DRYDEN, GERRY CHEEVERS AND GILLES GRATTON
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• Monday, June 14th, 2010
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Student Essay

Wahsontiio Cross
This essay was written by an M.A. student in a Museum Practice seminar in the Department of Art History, Faculty of Fine Arts, Concordia University. The seminar was taught by Dr. Loren Lerner with the assistance of Dina Vescio, a M.A. graduate of the program.

There was a time when it was unusual to see a professional hockey player wearing a mask or helmet. In fact, it was downright sacrilegious until the goaltender Jacques Plante dared to protect himself, forever changing the face of hockey.1 In this paper, you will be introduced to Plante and goaltenders Ken Dryden, Gerry Cheevers and Gilles Gratton who each in his own way developed the character and meaning of the goalie mask.2
Jacques Plante – also known as ‘Jake the Snake’ – who played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1954 to 1960 was the first goalie in the history of the National Hockey League to ever wear a face mask during a game (fig. 1). Other players had worn masks sporadically, in practice, but on November 1, 1959, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Plante made history. A shot from New York Rangers’ Andy Bathgate hit Plante in the face, splitting open his already stitched top lip and nostril. The game was stopped until Plante’s face was re-stitched. Plante told coach Toe Blake he would not go back on the ice unless he was permitted to wear the hand-made fibreglass mask he used in practice. Blake initially refused, but Plante insisted and finally got his way. Fans in the arena were surprised at first, but quickly grew excited when Plante stopped all but one shot, helping the Canadiens win the game.

Plante was traded to the New York Rangers in 1960, where he wore this particular ‘pretzel’ mask which he designed and had made by Bill Burchwood of Fibreglass Canada Inc. of Montreal (fig. 2). This became his signature mask. When Plante retired for the first time in 1965, he began to manufacture masks for other goalies. Plante developed and used six different masks during his career, improving on their ergonomic design. He made major improvements since his first mask, which was difficult to see out of, lay flat on the face and was rather uncomfortable. These masks have served as models for other goaltenders.

Plante not only changed the sport of hockey with this protective equipment but influenced how goaltenders play the game. Plante was the first goalie to exit the crease and play the puck behind the net, thus adding to the important defensive position of the goalie. During his career with the National Hockey League (NHL) Plante won six Vezina trophies. This trophy is awarded each year to an NHL goaltender judged to be the best in this position.

Ken Dryden (b. 1947, from Hamilton, Ontario)

Ken Dryden began his NHL career playing for the Montreal Canadiens in 1971. Dryden wore a metal ‘pretzel’-style mask, similar to Plante’s. He took time off from playing hockey during the 1973 and 1974 seasons due to contractual disagreements. He used that time off to pursue courses at McGill University in Montreal. Dryden marked his return to the game in Montreal at the end of 1974 with his signature ‘target’ mask (fig. 3). The design consisted of concentric circles in the red, white, and blue colours of the Canadiens team. The shape of the circle was meant to resemble the letter ‘C’ for Canadiens. Taking into account all of his fans at the game, Dryden wanted a mask that was easily recognized even from the vantage point of the nosebleed seats. During his career, the team won six Stanley Cup championships and Dryden himself won the Vezina trophy five times for allowing the least number of goals into the net. After his retirement in 1979, Dryden went on to practice law. He is now a Canadian MP for the Liberal Party of Canada. Dryden was immortalised by Quebec artist Serge Lemoyne (1941-1998) in Dryden (1975) which is part of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ permanent collection (fig. 4).

Gerry Cheevers (b. 1940, from St. Catharines, Ontario)

Gerry Cheevers wore one of the most recognized goalie masks in NHL history, and the story behind it is rather interesting (fig. 5).3 He was drafted with the Boston Bruins in 1965 and helped the team win the Stanley Cup championships in 1970 and 1972.4 The first signature design to appear on his mask, in 1968, started as a joke. ‘Cheesie’ (Cheevers’ nickname) disliked hockey practices. During one practice he faked an injury and returned to the dressing room.5 When fellow players and Coach Harry Sinden discovered this, they told him to get back on the ice. John ‘Frostie’ Forristall, the team trainer at the time, drew a stitch on Cheevers’ plain white mask with a black marker in the exact place where Cheevers insisted he had a bruise on his face. ‘Frostie’ then sent him back onto the ice wearing the mask. From then on, during practice and at games, each time Cheevers got hit in the face with the puck, he drew another stitch on the mask. He eventually marked up nearly the entire surface of the mask.6 Cheevers used several masks during his NHL career; some are on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Gilles Gratton (b. 1952, from LaSalle, Quebec)

Gilles Gratton, who played for the St. Louis Blues from 1975-76, and the New York Rangers from 1976-77 is remembered as one of the most eccentric goalies to play in the NHL (fig. 6).7 Gratton, who refused to play on the days of the lunar cycle incompatible with his astrological sign ‘Leo,’ believed he was the reincarnation of a soldier killed during the Spanish Inquisition. Gratton was notorious for his wild antics such as the time he streaked onto the ice during a practice wearing nothing but his mask. His unusual outlook on life was reflected both off and on the ice. Gratton sported a unique lion-faced mask to match the zodiac sign of Leo, the lion (fig. 7). Designed and made by Greg Harrison, a former NHL goaltender who made fibreglass masks for other professional goaltenders, the lion’s face covers the entire surface of the mask. It ‘transformed’ Gratton into a cat-like, wild being not to be reckoned with.

Conclusion

The goalie mask has changed dramatically since Plante first wore one at the Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1959. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s goaltenders themselves often designed, manufactured and painted their own masks. The designs were boldly rendered to be recognizable as the unique mask of that player. As such the mask not only protected the face of the goalie from injury but transformed his image. The accomplishments of Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden, Gerry Cheevers and Gilles Gratton are a part of hockey history.8 The masks enliven this historical record by expressing the different personalities of these goaltenders.

LIST OF FIGURES

fig. 1 Jacques Plante’s mask (designed by Jacques Plante, manufactured by Bill Burchmore and Earl Thomas Greenland of Fibreglass Canada Ltd.), ca. 1960, fibreglass, Canadian Museum of Civilization. (Photo: Canadian Museum of Civilization)
fig. 1 Jacques Plante’s mask (designed by Jacques Plante, manufactured by Bill Burchmore and Earl Thomas Greenland of Fibreglass Canada Ltd.), ca. 1960, fibreglass, Canadian Museum of Civilization. (Photo: Canadian Museum of Civilization)

fig. 2 Jacques Plante on the ice, ca. 1959. (Photo: Imperial Oil-Turofsky/Hockey Hall of Fame, courtesy of Steve Poirier, Co-ordinator, Hockey Hall of Fame Images and Archival Services)
fig. 2 Jacques Plante on the ice, ca. 1959. (Photo: Imperial Oil-Turofsky/Hockey Hall of Fame, courtesy of Steve Poirier, Co-ordinator, Hockey Hall of Fame Images and Archival Services)

fig 3 Ken Dryden, ca. 1975-79. (Photo: Portnoy/Hockey Hall of Fame, courtesy of Steve Poirier)
fig 3 Ken Dryden, ca. 1975-79. (Photo: Portnoy/Hockey Hall of Fame, courtesy of Steve Poirier)

fig. 4 Serge Lemoyne, Dryden, 1975, acrylic on canvas, 224 x 346 cm, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. (Photo: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Estate of Serge Lemoyne/SODRAC)
fig. 4 Serge Lemoyne, Dryden, 1975, acrylic on canvas, 224 x 346 cm, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. (Photo: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Estate of Serge Lemoyne/SODRAC)

fig. 5 Gerry Cheevers, ca. 1970. (Photo: Portnoy/ Hockey Hall of Fame, courtesy of Steve Poirier)
fig. 5 Gerry Cheevers, ca. 1970. (Photo: Portnoy/ Hockey Hall of Fame, courtesy of Steve Poirier)

fig. 6 Gilles Gratton, 1976. (Photo: Mecca/Hockey Hall of Fame, courtesy of Steve Poirier)
fig. 6 Gilles Gratton, 1976. (Photo: Mecca/Hockey Hall of Fame, courtesy of Steve Poirier)

fig. 7 Gilles Gratton holding his mask (designed by Greg Harrison), ca. 1976. (Photo: New York Times, Associated Press {http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/sports/hockey/13goalies.html?_r=1

NOTES

  1. Red Fisher, “The Masked Man,” The Gazette (31 Oct. 2009): D1+D4.
  2. Raymond Plante, Jacques Plante: Behind the Mask, (Montreal: XYZ Publishing, 2001).
  3. George Johnson, “Unmasking an NHL Marvel,” The Gazette (2 Nov. 2009): C1+C2.
  4. Hockey Hall of Fame, “Legends of Hockey: Spotlight: Gerry Cheevers,” (2009) 18 Nov. 2009 {http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep198501.htm
  5. Hockey Hall of Fame, “Legends of Hockey: Gallery: Masks,” (2009) 21 Sept. 2009 {http://www.legendsofhockey.net/htmlgallery/gallery_masks001.shtml
  6. Michael M. Cutler, Great Hockey Masks (Montreal: Tundra Books, 1983) 10.
  7. Lynn Zinser, “Goalies Gone Normal: A Little South of Sanity,” New York Times, (13 Dec. 2006) 24 Oct. 2009 {http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/sports/hockey/13goalies.html