Hockey Mask Introduced

November 1, 2008

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Profile America — Saturday, November 1st. It was an all too familiar scene on this date in 1959 — NHL goalie Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens had once again stopped a flying hockey puck with his face, requiring seven stitches. But this was a turning point and the face of professional hockey literally changed. Tired of such injuries, Plante came out of the dressing room wearing the first modern protective mask, made of fiberglass. Soon, similar masks began showing up at hockey rinks all over the world. Goalies had tried leather masks in the 1920s, but they never caught on. Today, Jacques Plante’s mask is the most powerful visual symbol of a sport played by more than 2 million Americans and eagerly watched by almost 21 million spectators a year. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2008, p. 537
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008, t. 1222, 1218
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008edition.html