Who was the pioneer (player-wise) for putting goalie masks on players?

Question

Someone got ****** up at sometime, which was the straw that broke the camels back on masks, way back.

Who was it?

Has anyone died from a hockey puck, player wise?

Answer 1

Clinton Benedict was the first goalie to wear a mask in a game (before Jacques Plante was even born) but Jacques Plante was the goalie that made it fashionable

http://users.aol.com/maskman30/historynf.html

Answer 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDD-zA7OWRk

Jacques Plante's most enduring contribution to the game, , occurred as a result of an incident on November 1, 1959. He was hit in the face by a shot from New York Rangers player Andy Bathgate, needing to go to the dressing room for stitches. When he returned, he was wearing the crude home-made goalie mask that he'd been using in practices. His coach, Toe Blake, was livid, but he had no other goalie to call upon and Plante refused to return to the goal unless he kept the mask. Blake agreed on the condition that Plante discard the mask when the cut healed. Only Camille Henry beat him in that game, which the Canadiens won 3-1. In the ensuing days Plante refused to discard the mask, and as the Canadiens continued to win, Blake became less obstinate. The unbeaten streak stretched to 18 games. Plante didn't wear the mask, at Blake's request, against Detroit on March 8, 1960. The Canadiens lost 3-0, and the mask returned for good the next night. Plante subsequently designed his own mask and masks for other goalies. Although Plante was not the first NHL goalie known to wear a facemask (Montreal Maroons goaltender Clint Benedict had done so thirty years before), Plante introduced the mask as everyday equipment, which continues to this day.

Therfore Plante was IMO, the pioneer.

Answer 3

Jacques Plante.

The only person that I'm aware of that died as a direct result of a hockey puck was a young Ohio girl named Brittany Cecil. A puck was deflected into the stands at a Columbus Blue Jackets game and caught her on the side of her head. She died later that day. Another sad aspect of her tragedy was that her Father had taken her to the game for her birthday. That's why there is netting above the glass now.

I wasn't copying the first answerer. Sometimes there aren't any answers when I compose mine then I see any number of replies ahead of mine after I push the SUBMIT button. Getting slow in my old age I guess.

Answer 4

Jacques Plante pioneered the wearing of masks by goaltenders in hockey.

Answer 5

This is no relation to the answer but I thought you guys might enjoy it and it does relate to goaltenders wearing masks.

Before masks became commonplace, Bobby Hull commented that one thing he liked to do was rip his first shot of the game as hard as he could wide of the net so the goalie would hear how loud it smacked on the glass. As Hull put it, he wanted to scare the "BeJesus" out of them so they wouldn't get in the way of his next shot...which would be on net.

Answer 6

Jacques Plante invented the first full goalie mask. And he was the first one to use it in an official NHL game.

Answer 7

jaques plante is credited in the moderen era the first mask i belive was 1917 ottawa goalie fred muntz yes players have died from hockey pucks in minor hockey no proffesional

Answer 8

FYI, Gerry Cheevers was the first one to start decorating the masks. He'd use a pen to put in a stitch for every spot he was hit on the mask with.

Answer 9

"Suppose you were working at your job one day, and you made a little mistake. Then all of a sudden a red light went on over your desk, and fifteen thousand people stood up and yelled at you that you sucked?" -Jacques Plante

LOL!

As you guys copied and pasted everything else from the Wikipedia board, why did you leave out that little goody?

:-D

Answer 10

fyi Tommy Lasorda ( former Dodger manager) helped develop the goalie mask.