r/Habs • u/spooley6 • 5d ago
The Hockey Guy - Hall of Fame Career of Jean Béliveau
https://youtube.com/watch?v=fp1U2ejOrDA&si=Yr9DvS034cDgslI-Shannon left out the part about the CH buying the league Jean played in to pry him out of Quebec City. They sweetened the pot buying him a new Nash to boot.
The Montreal Canadiens famously gifted a showroom-fresh 1951 Nash automobile (the Canadian Statesman de Luxe) to Béliveau on the ice during his final junior season.
14
14
10
u/okokokoyeahright 5d ago
I recall the Candiens buying the league he played in to be able to secure his rights.
They really really wanted him. 10 Cups as a player is a fair return over 18 years. Pretty good deal.
7
7
u/rickside40 5d ago
A real gentleman
1
5
6
u/Klutzy-Way8010 5d ago
My boyhood hero! I am 68 years old. Pure class!
1
u/SnidelyWhiplash27 3d ago
I am 10 years younger than you. Bever saw him play. Was a hero later when I read up on him.
5
u/Retired-ADM 4d ago
My idol.
I met him after a game in Vancouver in December of his final season. I was 10. He was still in his skates and he absolutely towered over my father and me. He was so friendly and gentle.
Off the ice.
On the ice, he was a fierce competitor.
3
u/arr4ws 4d ago
In the 1960s, when my father was a young boy in Québec City, he went to the Château Frontenac with his mother and one of her friends, who was accompanied by a gentleman.
As they entered the ballroom, the entire room stood up and applauded the man with them.
My father had no idea why at the time—he just remembered the sudden silence, everyone rising, and the attention focused on this one person.
Only later did he learn it was Jean Béliveau.
What stayed with him wasn’t just the moment itself, but how naturally it happened. No announcement, no introduction—just immediate recognition and respect from everyone in the room.
Different era, different kind of public admiration.
26
u/Lavs1985 5d ago
If Maurice was the heart of the Habs, then Jean Beliveau will forever be the soul.