I’ve always marveled that there weren’t two or three hockey goalies killed in every NHL game, back in the days before face masks and helmets. In November 1959, Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens became the first goalie to regularly use the equipment (though it had been tested and discarded decades earlier).

From ESPN Classic: “His coach, Toe Blake, opposed the idea, but relented after Plante was struck in the face by a shot from the Rangers’ Andy Bathgate and balked at returning to the ice unless he could wear a plastic mask that he donned frequently in practice.

The goalie endured taunts about his manhood and questions about the mask’s durability and effect on his vision. Asked if he were scared to play without a mask, Plante replied, “If you jumped out of a plane without a parachute, would that make you brave?” Montreal went 10-0-1 that month with a masked Plante, and the face of hockey was changed forever.” Read the rest of this entry »