WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.519 The deep dive. 1955 -56 NHL season. The first 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:07.500 zebra referees, Montreal's dominance, and a rule 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:10.240 that changed hockey. Welcome back to another 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:12.259 deep dive. Today we're transporting you to the 00:00:12.259 --> 00:00:16.300 ice of the 1955 -56 NHL season, a turning point 00:00:16.300 --> 00:00:19.039 in sports history. Discover how the unstoppable 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:21.399 Montreal Canadiens forced the league to rewrite 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:24.460 the power play rules, why referees finally ditched 00:00:24.460 --> 00:00:26.899 orange for the iconic black and white zebra stripes, 00:00:27.059 --> 00:00:29.280 and how the rise of television began reshaping 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:31.800 the game. Featuring legendary performances by 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:34.640 Jean Bolivo, Maurice Richard's bloody brawls, 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:37.700 and Glenn Hall's rookie goaltending magic. Whether 00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:46.670 you are a diehard hockey 1955 -56 NHL season. 00:00:47.100 --> 00:00:49.439 Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, hockey 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:52.420 history, NHL rule changes, Jean Beliveau, Maurice 00:00:52.420 --> 00:00:54.399 Richard, Stanley Cup playoffs, hockey referee 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:57.340 uniforms. Imagine turning this heavy dial on 00:00:57.340 --> 00:00:59.380 a brand new television set in your living room. 00:00:59.500 --> 00:01:01.439 Right, one of those massive wooden console TVs. 00:01:01.740 --> 00:01:04.140 Exactly. And you're waiting for the picture tubes 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:05.939 to warm up so you can catch professional sports 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:08.819 broadcast. But when the screen finally flickers 00:01:08.819 --> 00:01:11.159 to life, the game has already been going on for 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:13.120 an hour. Yeah, you were dropped right into the 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:14.879 middle of the action. You're just squinting at 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:16.900 this, you know, really low - resolution screen 00:01:16.900 --> 00:01:19.680 and you notice something strange. The referees 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:21.719 skating around the ice are wearing bright orange 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:24.900 uniforms. Which just seems so wrong to us now. 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:28.200 But that was the reality for sports fans tuning 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:31.480 in during the mid 1950s. The entire broadcast 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:35.319 landscape was different and the actual visual 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:38.040 presentation of the game was causing huge problems, 00:01:38.219 --> 00:01:40.400 not just for the players on the ice, but for 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:42.829 those fans at home. Welcome to this deep dive. 00:01:43.069 --> 00:01:45.549 I'm your host, and sitting across from me is 00:01:45.549 --> 00:01:48.310 our resident history expert. Today, we're jumping 00:01:48.310 --> 00:01:50.390 into your requested sources to explore the Wikipedia 00:01:50.390 --> 00:01:54.349 article on the 1955 -56 NHL season. Glad to be 00:01:54.349 --> 00:01:56.430 here. And this isn't just a list of old stats. 00:01:56.730 --> 00:01:59.870 No, not at all. Our mission today is to look 00:01:59.870 --> 00:02:02.829 at a season of monumental shifts. This is the 00:02:02.829 --> 00:02:04.709 moment where the emerging medium of television, 00:02:04.969 --> 00:02:07.109 combined with the just sheer athletic dominance, 00:02:08.109 --> 00:02:10.810 literally rewrote the rules and completely changed 00:02:10.810 --> 00:02:12.849 the look of the game you know today. Yeah, when 00:02:12.849 --> 00:02:16.090 you examine the 1955 -56 season, you're looking 00:02:16.090 --> 00:02:18.990 at this incredible intersection of technology, 00:02:19.289 --> 00:02:22.530 culture, and sports legislation. It's really 00:02:22.530 --> 00:02:25.300 the exact moment. the modern era of the sport 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:27.759 takes shape. Okay, let's unpack this, because 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:30.479 setting the scene for you is important. The structural 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:33.400 reality of the NHL back then created this massive 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:35.199 pressure cooker environment. Oh, absolutely. 00:02:35.219 --> 00:02:37.280 We're talking about an era of just six teams, 00:02:37.419 --> 00:02:40.000 Montreal, Detroit, New York, Toronto, Boston, 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:42.979 and Chicago, and they are battling it out over 00:02:42.979 --> 00:02:46.259 a grueling 70 -game regular season schedule. 00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:48.340 That's right, and mathematically, 70 games spread 00:02:48.340 --> 00:02:50.340 across only six teams means you're playing the 00:02:50.340 --> 00:02:53.259 exact same opponents up to 14 times a year. 14 00:02:53.259 --> 00:02:55.389 times. The claustrophobia of that schedule is 00:02:55.389 --> 00:02:58.550 hard to overstate. Players develop these deep, 00:02:58.590 --> 00:03:01.270 personal animosities because the bruises from 00:03:01.270 --> 00:03:03.509 a previous game wouldn't even have time to heal 00:03:03.509 --> 00:03:05.650 before you were lining up for a face -off against 00:03:05.650 --> 00:03:08.370 the exact same guy who gave them to you. That 00:03:08.370 --> 00:03:11.330 deep familiarity definitely fueled the on -ice 00:03:11.330 --> 00:03:15.280 product. But the way fans actually consumed that 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:17.419 product was going through a massive transition. 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:19.979 In Canada, this was only the fourth season of 00:03:19.979 --> 00:03:22.479 Hockey Night in Canada on CBC television. And 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:24.580 that broadcast quirk you mentioned earlier was 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:26.599 standard practice. Right. Regular season games 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:29.960 and even the Stanley Cup playoffs were not broadcast 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:32.680 in their entirety. They just weren't. Audiences 00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:36.159 were routinely joined in progress. If you wanted 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:38.439 the complete narrative of the game from the opening 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:40.599 puck drop, you had to huddle around the radio 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:42.120 to listen to the first period, and then you'd 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:44.300 switch the television on later. It's wild to 00:03:44.300 --> 00:03:47.020 think about. But television was still finding 00:03:47.020 --> 00:03:49.759 its footing, and its growing influence was already 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:52.930 causing a literal crisis on the ice. The visual 00:03:52.930 --> 00:03:55.430 presentation became a primary issue at a league 00:03:55.430 --> 00:03:57.590 governor's meeting in December of that season 00:03:57.590 --> 00:04:00.689 because at the time, the referees were wearing 00:04:00.689 --> 00:04:03.430 orange and black. Orange and black. Yeah. And 00:04:03.430 --> 00:04:05.270 the governors argued that these outfits were 00:04:05.270 --> 00:04:07.629 confusing the players and the fans because when 00:04:07.629 --> 00:04:10.090 teams wearing red uniforms like Detroit or Montreal 00:04:10.090 --> 00:04:12.990 were on the ice, that orange completely clashed. 00:04:13.050 --> 00:04:15.469 It just blended in with the red in fast motion. 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:17.980 Well, what's fascinating here is how the limitations 00:04:17.980 --> 00:04:20.759 of television technology directly forced the 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:23.079 NHL to adapt its aesthetic. Right, because of 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:26.480 the monochrome screens. Exactly. In the mid -1950s, 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:28.339 all these broadcasts were in black and white. 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:31.220 The cathode ray tubes struggled with contrast. 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:34.819 So on a black and white TV, those bright orange 00:04:34.819 --> 00:04:37.180 and black uniforms showed up as solid black. 00:04:37.420 --> 00:04:40.800 Oh, wow. Yeah. You had players in dark jerseys 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:43.000 skating around with referees who also looked 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:45.019 like they were wearing solid dark jerseys. It 00:04:45.019 --> 00:04:47.240 was a visual mess. It made the broadcast incredibly 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:50.110 difficult to follow. So the league unanimously 00:04:50.110 --> 00:04:53.129 agreed that the officials uniforms needed a complete 00:04:53.129 --> 00:04:56.410 overhaul. They needed a design that would stand 00:04:56.410 --> 00:04:59.329 out distinctly against both light and dark team 00:04:59.329 --> 00:05:01.910 jerseys in person. And crucially, something that 00:05:01.910 --> 00:05:04.370 would pop with high contrast on a monochrome 00:05:04.370 --> 00:05:07.189 television set. The solution was the black and 00:05:07.189 --> 00:05:09.629 white vertical stripes. The classic look. The 00:05:09.629 --> 00:05:11.949 first time officials ever debuted those black 00:05:11.949 --> 00:05:14.829 and white zebra outfits was on December 29th, 00:05:14.829 --> 00:05:18.680 1955. It was a game between the Canadians and 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:20.980 the Maple Leafs. So the striped referee uniform 00:05:20.980 --> 00:05:23.399 we see in almost every sport today was essentially 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:25.620 born out of the necessity of low -resolution 00:05:25.620 --> 00:05:28.439 1950s television screens. Exactly. But the look 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:30.860 of the referees wasn't the only fundamental element 00:05:30.860 --> 00:05:32.920 of the sport to change that year. The mechanics 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:34.939 of the game itself were put to the test by one 00:05:34.939 --> 00:05:36.899 of the most dominant rosters ever assembled. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:39.500 The Montreal Canadiens. Yes. Going into this 00:05:39.500 --> 00:05:41.899 season, the Detroit Red Wings had this massive 00:05:41.899 --> 00:05:44.139 seven -year dynasty at the top of the regular 00:05:44.139 --> 00:05:46.819 season standings. But this year, Montreal just 00:05:46.819 --> 00:05:49.660 obliterated the competition. They set a new league 00:05:49.660 --> 00:05:52.579 record with 45 wins under their brand new coach, 00:05:52.779 --> 00:05:55.980 Hector Toblake. A former all -star left winger. 00:05:56.120 --> 00:05:59.019 He commanded massive respect in that locker room. 00:05:59.290 --> 00:06:01.670 And Montreal wasn't just beating teams, they 00:06:01.670 --> 00:06:03.990 were punishing them, specifically on the power 00:06:03.990 --> 00:06:06.709 play. Because unlike today's game, where a power 00:06:06.709 --> 00:06:09.790 play ends the moment a goal is scored, in 1955, 00:06:10.149 --> 00:06:13.230 a two -minute minor penalty meant a full two 00:06:13.230 --> 00:06:15.850 minutes of a man advantage. Regardless of how 00:06:15.850 --> 00:06:17.490 many times you put the puck in the net. Right. 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:21.139 Montreal had such an unstoppable force of offensive 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:23.680 talent that they were frequently racking up two 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:26.180 or sometimes even three goals on a single power 00:06:26.180 --> 00:06:29.019 play. It's insane. Taking a single tripping or 00:06:29.019 --> 00:06:31.160 hooking penalty against Montreal could essentially 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:33.199 end the competitive nature of the game in the 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:36.060 span of 120 seconds. And the psychological toll 00:06:36.060 --> 00:06:37.800 that took on the rest of the league was immense. 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:40.779 Opposing defensemen were terrified to play physically 00:06:40.779 --> 00:06:42.860 against Montreal for fear of taking a penalty. 00:06:43.339 --> 00:06:45.500 which just gave the Canadiens forwards even more 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:48.319 open ice during 5 -on -5 play. So the league 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:50.480 president, Clarence Campbell, eventually steps 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:53.480 in. He proposes a rule change stating that a 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:55.420 penalized player would return to the ice the 00:06:55.420 --> 00:06:57.720 moment a power play goal was scored on a minor 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:00.579 penalty, which is the rule we know today. Yes. 00:07:00.740 --> 00:07:03.339 It's a fascinating administrative move, though. 00:07:03.540 --> 00:07:06.100 How did the league justify penalizing a team 00:07:06.100 --> 00:07:08.660 just for being too good at the existing rules? 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:11.459 If we connect this to the bigger picture, you 00:07:11.459 --> 00:07:13.279 actually see this happen in professional sports 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:17.100 periodically. A team will find a strategy or 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:20.180 assemble a roster so potent that it literally 00:07:20.180 --> 00:07:22.620 breaks the intended mechanics of the game. Like 00:07:22.620 --> 00:07:25.300 they solved the puzzle. Exactly. When one team 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:27.980 achieves that level of mastery, the governing 00:07:27.980 --> 00:07:30.899 body often has to legislate parity back into 00:07:30.899 --> 00:07:33.199 the sport to keep it competitive and entertaining 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:36.579 for the paying audience. An insurmountable advantage 00:07:36.579 --> 00:07:39.699 damages the overall product. And the voting for 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:41.899 this new legislation went exactly as you'd expect. 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:44.220 Out of the six teams, the Montreal Canadiens 00:07:44.220 --> 00:07:46.579 were the lone club to vote against the rule change. 00:07:46.860 --> 00:07:49.220 They knew they had a strategic advantage. They 00:07:49.220 --> 00:07:51.560 had no interest in giving it up. But the rule 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:53.899 passed anyway, fundamentally balancing the risk 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:56.819 and reward of minor penalties forever. But even 00:07:56.819 --> 00:07:59.060 with that rule change limiting the damage they 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:01.220 could inflict, Montreal continued to provide 00:08:01.220 --> 00:08:03.199 plenty of fireworks on the ice. Oh, absolutely. 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:06.050 Here's where it gets really interesting. Because 00:08:06.050 --> 00:08:08.389 the day -to -day action of the 70 -game season 00:08:08.389 --> 00:08:12.529 was just filled with brawls, unbelievable displays 00:08:12.529 --> 00:08:15.829 of skill, and incredibly high drama. Yeah, let's 00:08:15.829 --> 00:08:18.069 talk about the pure speed and offensive talent 00:08:18.069 --> 00:08:21.029 for a second. Jean Bilibo's performance on November 00:08:21.029 --> 00:08:23.750 5th really stands out. Against the Boston Bruins, 00:08:23.930 --> 00:08:26.730 Bilibo scored three goals in just 44 seconds. 00:08:26.970 --> 00:08:29.250 Achieving a hat -trick in under a minute is a 00:08:29.250 --> 00:08:31.750 staggering display of talent. I should mention, 00:08:31.870 --> 00:08:34.649 it didn't break the ultimate record. Bill Mosienko 00:08:34.649 --> 00:08:37.110 still held that with his unbelievable three goals 00:08:37.110 --> 00:08:40.450 in 21 seconds. Which is just mathematically incomprehensible. 00:08:40.590 --> 00:08:44.090 It is. But 44 seconds by Bilivo is the kind of 00:08:44.090 --> 00:08:46.549 performance that leaves a packed arena completely 00:08:46.549 --> 00:08:50.129 speechless. It really highlights the sheer firepower 00:08:50.129 --> 00:08:52.820 Montreal possessed. But it wasn't just skill. 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:56.779 That era of hockey was notoriously brutal. You 00:08:56.779 --> 00:08:58.899 get a real sense of the violence during a game 00:08:58.899 --> 00:09:01.500 on January 11th at Madison Square Garden. Oh, 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:05.740 the MSG game. Yeah. A crowd of over 15 ,000 fans 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:08.840 watched their New York Rangers decisively beat 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:11.639 the mighty Canadians 6 -1. But the actual score 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:14.340 was completely overshadowed by the physical altercations. 00:09:14.340 --> 00:09:17.500 The sources describe a quote -unquote gala fight 00:09:17.500 --> 00:09:20.659 between the Rangers' Lou Fontenot and Montreal's 00:09:20.659 --> 00:09:23.179 legendary Maurice Richard. And Fontenot knocked 00:09:23.179 --> 00:09:25.440 out Richard with a punch that required several 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:28.039 stitches above Richard's eye. Maurice Richard 00:09:28.039 --> 00:09:30.279 was the heart and soul of the Canadians. He was 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:33.960 this incredibly intense, emotional leader. Knocking 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:35.779 him out on the ice in front of a New York crowd 00:09:35.779 --> 00:09:38.159 was guaranteed to have severe repercussions. 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:40.059 And the revenge match took place on February 00:09:40.059 --> 00:09:42.700 18th. Montreal played the Rangers again, and 00:09:42.700 --> 00:09:44.600 the Canadians showed... Absolutely no mercy. 00:09:44.779 --> 00:09:47.639 They won 9 -4. Blivo secured a hat -trick, and 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:49.740 Richards scored two goals of his own. But Richards' 00:09:49.899 --> 00:09:51.820 emotional temperature was still running incredibly 00:09:51.820 --> 00:09:55.360 high. So high. During that game, referee Louis 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:58.360 Moschio gave Richards' brother, Henri, a misconduct 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:01.799 penalty. And Maurice Richard became so enraged 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:03.620 at the official that his own teammates had to 00:10:03.620 --> 00:10:06.360 physically restrain him to prevent him from attacking 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:10.220 the referee. His intensity was unmatched. But 00:10:10.220 --> 00:10:12.259 his fearless style of play also led to moments 00:10:12.259 --> 00:10:15.759 of genuine danger. Like on March 15th, Richard 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:18.460 suffered a terrifying injury. He tripped over 00:10:18.460 --> 00:10:21.659 Chicago defenseman Pierre Pilot's skate and went 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:23.840 headlong into the goal frame. Requiring more 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:25.980 stitches and a trip to the hospital for x -rays. 00:10:26.120 --> 00:10:28.440 Right. But proving his resilience, he made his 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:30.879 return to the lineup just two days later on St. 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:32.899 Patrick's Day. And of course, he scored a hat 00:10:32.899 --> 00:10:35.019 trick as Montreal beat the Rangers yet again, 00:10:35.259 --> 00:10:37.840 7 -2. You can't script that kind of drama. You 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:39.600 really can't. And the drama wasn't just on the 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:41.919 ice. There was a fascinating and honestly somewhat 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:44.539 tragic coaching carousel happening behind the 00:10:44.539 --> 00:10:47.360 scenes. Yeah. Involving the Chicago Blackhawks. 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:50.460 They were being coached by Dick Irvin. Now, Irvin 00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:52.879 was formerly the head coach of Montreal. But 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:55.379 Montreal's general manager, Frank Seltzke Sr., 00:10:55.379 --> 00:10:58.200 decided that Irvin was too, quote unquote, truculent 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:01.269 and fired him. Truculent. What a word to use 00:11:01.269 --> 00:11:03.870 for a hockey coach. Right. So Urban moved to 00:11:03.870 --> 00:11:06.289 Chicago, which was a homecoming of sorts since 00:11:06.289 --> 00:11:08.389 he started his coaching career there in 1930. 00:11:09.049 --> 00:11:11.409 But the tension when those two teams met was 00:11:11.409 --> 00:11:14.230 palpable. On October 22nd, the Blackhawks traveled 00:11:14.230 --> 00:11:16.629 to the Montreal Forum. Before the game, there 00:11:16.629 --> 00:11:18.990 was this display of sportsmanship. Irvin was 00:11:18.990 --> 00:11:21.289 presented with a set of silver flatware by the 00:11:21.289 --> 00:11:23.870 Canadian Arena Company. Silver flatware? Yeah. 00:11:24.070 --> 00:11:26.830 But once the puck dropped, the pleasantries completely 00:11:26.830 --> 00:11:30.250 vanished. Montreal's rookie, Henri Richard, scored 00:11:30.250 --> 00:11:33.190 two goals, and the Canadians shut out Irvin's 00:11:33.190 --> 00:11:36.480 Blackhawks 6 -0. Ouch. It was a brutal reminder 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:38.740 of the powerhouse Irvin had been forced to leave 00:11:38.740 --> 00:11:41.379 behind. And despite his efforts to improve the 00:11:41.379 --> 00:11:43.620 Chicago roster, they ultimately finished the 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:45.559 season in the cellar of the standings with only 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:48.220 50 points. While Montreal finished first in the 00:11:48.220 --> 00:11:51.120 league with 100 points, exactly double Chicago's 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:53.379 total. And that dominance carried seamlessly 00:11:53.379 --> 00:11:56.139 into the postseason. The playoff structure back 00:11:56.139 --> 00:11:58.879 then was very straightforward. The top four teams 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:01.649 qualified. First place played third place, and 00:12:01.649 --> 00:12:04.169 second place played fourth place in Best of Seven's 00:12:04.169 --> 00:12:06.549 semifinal series. So the bracket saw the number 00:12:06.549 --> 00:12:09.309 one seed, Montreal, facing off against the number 00:12:09.309 --> 00:12:11.629 three seed, the New York Rangers. And on the 00:12:11.629 --> 00:12:13.909 other side, the number two seed, the Detroit 00:12:13.909 --> 00:12:16.570 Red Wings, faced the number four seed, the Toronto 00:12:16.570 --> 00:12:19.429 Maple Leafs. Montreal handled the Rangers with 00:12:19.429 --> 00:12:23.090 a decisive 4 -1 series victory. Detroit mirrored 00:12:23.090 --> 00:12:26.320 that performance, eliminating Toronto 4 -1. which 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:28.399 set up the ultimate clash for the Stanley Cup 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:30.919 finals. The rising powerhouse of Montreal against 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:33.320 the defending dynasty of Detroit. It was the 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:36.019 heavyweight matchup the league wanted. But Montreal 00:12:36.019 --> 00:12:38.000 was simply playing at a different level. They 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:40.320 defeated Detroit four games to one to capture 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:42.600 the Stanley Cup. It was a definitive passing 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:45.440 of the torch. It officially ended the Red Wings' 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:47.759 seven -year reign over the regular season and 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:50.500 cemented Montreal's legacy as the new kings of 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:53.279 the NHL. So what does this all mean? When you 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:55.519 look back at the postseason awards for that year, 00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:58.019 the individual dominance of the Montreal roster 00:12:58.019 --> 00:13:00.299 becomes crystal clear. It wasn't just a team 00:13:00.299 --> 00:13:04.279 victory. It was an absolute sweep of the major 00:13:04.279 --> 00:13:06.940 individual hardware. The statistics are just 00:13:06.940 --> 00:13:10.139 staggering. Jean Beliveau won the Art Ross Trophy 00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:13.039 as the league's top scorer. He put up 47 goals 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:16.299 and 41 assists for 88 points. That set a new 00:13:16.299 --> 00:13:18.039 record at the time for the most goals scored 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:20.370 by a center. And winning the scoring title by 00:13:20.370 --> 00:13:22.549 that margin naturally earned him the Hart Trophy 00:13:22.549 --> 00:13:25.830 as the league's most valuable player. Plus, Montreal's 00:13:25.830 --> 00:13:28.990 goaltender, Jacques Plante, won the Vizina Trophy. 00:13:29.269 --> 00:13:32.970 He boasted an incredible 1 .86 goals against 00:13:32.970 --> 00:13:36.129 average and logged seven shutouts in an era where 00:13:36.129 --> 00:13:39.100 offensive talent was rapidly evolving. And then 00:13:39.100 --> 00:13:41.539 on the blue line, Montreal's Doug Harvey won 00:13:41.539 --> 00:13:44.000 the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:45.840 best defenseman. Holding the trophies for the 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:48.519 most valuable player, the top scorer, the best 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:50.360 goaltender and the best defenseman simultaneously. 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:53.799 It represents an unprecedented level of systemic 00:13:53.799 --> 00:13:56.559 perfection for a single franchise. It really 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:59.019 does. But, you know, while Montreal was monopolizing 00:13:59.019 --> 00:14:01.100 the awards, we do need to highlight the foundational 00:14:01.100 --> 00:14:03.460 strength that remained in Detroit because their 00:14:03.460 --> 00:14:06.460 rookie goaltender, Glenn Hall, delivered an unbelievable 00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:08.980 debut season. Oh, Glenn Hall was incredible. 00:14:09.139 --> 00:14:11.179 Taking over the net for a defending dynasty is 00:14:11.179 --> 00:14:14.379 hard enough. But Hall played all 4 ,200 minutes 00:14:14.379 --> 00:14:16.740 of the season. Every single minute. He never 00:14:16.740 --> 00:14:19.440 came out of the game. He recorded 12 shutouts 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:22.559 and maintained a 2 .10 -0 goals against average. 00:14:22.899 --> 00:14:24.980 And that performance earned him the Calder Memorial 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:28.100 Trophy as the best first -year player, beating 00:14:28.100 --> 00:14:31.399 out Montreal's highly touted rookie, Henri Pocket 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:34.570 Rocket Richard. Hall really proved that even 00:14:34.570 --> 00:14:37.190 though Detroit lost the Cup, they still possessed 00:14:37.190 --> 00:14:40.330 incredible, resilient talent. To sum it up, the 00:14:40.330 --> 00:14:44.610 1955 -56 season leaves a massive legacy. You 00:14:44.610 --> 00:14:46.990 see the definitive end of Detroit's streak and 00:14:46.990 --> 00:14:49.909 the dawn of a new, terrifyingly efficient dynasty 00:14:49.909 --> 00:14:52.950 in Montreal. You witness the birth of the iconic 00:14:52.950 --> 00:14:56.230 zebra stripes for referees, driven entirely by 00:14:56.230 --> 00:14:58.330 the technological limits of black and white television. 00:14:58.549 --> 00:15:01.090 And you see a Montreal power play unit so potent 00:15:01.090 --> 00:15:03.450 that they forced the NHL to rewrite the rulebook 00:15:03.450 --> 00:15:06.129 to give everyone else a fighting chance. This 00:15:06.129 --> 00:15:08.350 raises an important question, though, especially 00:15:08.350 --> 00:15:10.330 when we look back at those broadcasting quirks 00:15:10.330 --> 00:15:13.570 we discussed earlier. Fans in the 1950s routinely 00:15:13.570 --> 00:15:15.929 had to join games in progress on television. 00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:18.860 They missed the entire beginning of the narrative 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:21.379 and had to rely on radio to piece together the 00:15:21.379 --> 00:15:23.820 full story. Think about your own modern sports 00:15:23.820 --> 00:15:26.480 fandom. It's completely different today. We live 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:29.679 in an era of wall -to -wall coverage, 247 access, 00:15:29.820 --> 00:15:32.559 and the ability to stream every single second 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:35.899 of a game from multiple camera angles. How would 00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:37.799 your relationship with your favorite sports team 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:40.320 change if you were only ever allowed to watch 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:42.340 the second half of their games on television? 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:45.419 That would drive people crazy today. Right. Does 00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:47.200 having every single minute of action available 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:50.159 to us today make us more analytical and educated 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:53.779 fans? Or does that unfettered access just make 00:15:53.779 --> 00:15:55.980 us more entitled? It's something to think about 00:15:55.980 --> 00:15:58.240 the next time you tune into a broadcast right 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:00.440 at the opening face -off, taking for granted 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:03.159 that you get to see the whole story unfold. Thank 00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:04.919 you for joining us on this deep dive into the 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:08.539 1955 -56 NHL Super. It's been a privilege exploring 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:10.320 these sources with you, and we hope you keep 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:13.039 learning, keep asking questions, and keep exploring 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:15.139 the history behind the things you love. See you 00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:15.519 next time.