Legendary Montreal sportswriter Red Fisher has passed away at the age of 91 on Friday. The longtime writer chronicled hockey in the city for seven decades.
Red Fisher, who covered the Montreal Canadiens for nearly six decades for The Montreal Gazette and The Montreal Star, has passed away at the age of 91. pic.twitter.com/Au8vcVbKW4
— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) January 19, 2018
Red Fisher Passes Away at Age 91
Fisher, whose first name was Saul, started on the Montreal Canadiens beat in 1955 with The Montreal Star. His first day on the job was March 17, 1955 when the Maurice Richard Riot broke out after the Habs legend smacked linesman Cliff Thompson. Richard was then suspended by league president Clarence Campbell and a riot broke out at the Montreal Forum.
Fisher would go on to cover the Canadiens teams that won five Stanley Cups in a row in the 1950s and the dynasty teams of the 60s and 70s. He also covered the Summit Series in 1972 and was editor of the Star until the paper folded in 1979. He’d then go over to the rival Montreal Gazette and would cover the Habs until he retired in 2012. He also would do guest columns until his passing.
Fisher was the longest-serving beat writer covering an NHL team. The journalist netted many awards while working for 10 editors and publishers. He won the Canadian National Newspaper Award three times. Fisher was given the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 1985 and was a member of the Order of Canada in 2017. The Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest civilian honours. He also penned a book in 1994 called “Hockey, Heroes and Me” that was his memoirs.
He was also inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.
Remembering Red
He had a no-nonsense approach when it came to reporting and that earned him respect around the league. Fisher would not talk to rookies and would walk away from anyone giving him canned clichéd answers.
“He was the best of his time, and his time lasted a very long time,” Canadiens Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden wrote in an email to the Montreal Gazette.
Main Photo By US Embassy Canada – Flickr: Ambassador Jacobson Joins Enthusiastic Crowd for Canadiens Game, CC BY 2.0, Link
