FeedTwo Letters From Claude Mouton
February 8, 2012 in Bob Gainey, Guy Lafleur, Jean Beliveau, Letters, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Expos Tags: Bob Gainey, Claude Mouton, Gerard Pelletier, Guy Lafleur, Jean Beliveau, Red Fisher
As some of you know, I came across a pile of my old letters recently, a pile I thought was long gone, and lately I’ve shown those from Red Fisher, Gerard Pelletier, and Jean Beliveau. (If you click on “Letters” over in the Category list, they’re stored there).
Today it’s two from Claude Mouton.
I wrote a letter to Mouton, who was the Canadiens publicity director along with being the Forum PA announcer, (he also did a stint as Montreal Expos PA announcer), and I asked him about my chances of getting a Guy Lafleur game-used stick. Mouton wrote back that it was impossible for them to send sticks by mail, but of course this didn’t sway me. I wrote back and said I’d drive to Montreal from Ottawa and pick up the stick myself.
Claude must have been sick of me by that time, but being the good guy he was, he wrote again and said to give them some notice and they’d have a stick waiting for me. So I drove down after working a graveyard shift as a semi driver, went up to the Forum offices, and they gave me an unused Bob Gainey stick signed by the entire team.
As a side note, I was down at the bottom of the stairs wrapping this stick up in my jacket so I wouldn’t smudge the autographs, when Jean Beliveau opened the doors at the top and saw me fiddling with something, and he froze. I think he thought I had a rifle.
Anyway, here’s the two letters. The first is Mouton’s reply saying they didn’t mail sticks, and the second telling me to come down to Montreal and they’d give me one.
February 8th, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Dennis – someone should do a documentary on you. This stuff is too good to pass up. Leave it to you to put the fear of god into Beliveau. Maybe he thought you were a Bruins fan coming to exact revenge?
I could so see it: Dennis Kane The Misadventures Of The World’s Greatest Habs Fan. Someone needs to call the National Film Board.
February 8th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Claude Mouton is a great guy but I think he tried to give you the brush-off by blaming the post office for not accepting hockey sticks in the mail. I never heard about that before. But he sure was a gentleman for finally coming through for you like that. What a different era. Try getting a stick autographed by today’s Habs like that. Good luck!
I think Jean Beliveau froze in his tracks because he realized he was in the presence of the Habs’ future Stickboy-Owner-Comforter-of-Players-Wives.
February 8th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
Danno, I’m surprised that the whole practice of giving out autographed sticks like that didn’t open up a can of worms and snowball. If you say yes to some, you end up having to say yes to maybe a whole whack of people, which would be impossible. So I think they got lucky they didn’t create a monster. But yes, the team was great for many decades about going the extra mile for the fans. Not the same now, as you say. As for Beliveau, after he realized what I was doing, he went out and I watched him cross the street and go into the Texas restaurant as it was around lunchtime.
February 8th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Darth, there won’t be much money if it’s the National Film Board. And Lucy will get upset when all those Hollywood starlets and scantily-clad groupies are all over me. Anyway, I did a couple of youtube things, including an unbelievable Habs Rubik cube demonstration.
February 8th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Dennis, it’s your chance to become a Canadian Icon. I’m sure Lucy will understand. Hey, it’s not your fault you’re such a chick-magnet right?
I wonder if they have a “Dennis Kane” file in their offices. Hmm.
February 8th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
What ever became of the stick?
February 8th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
It’s gone in a trade.
February 8th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
Dennis,
Just another day in the life of your average hockey fan.
This series of letters and the stories they evoke are just superb.
Time we went to Hollywood and pitched the script. (I say we because I see an opening for a talentless freeloader to tag along).
February 8th, 2012 at 6:58 pm
Dennis I can see why Luciena doesn’t want you going Hollywood, you have enough hockey groupies to contend with. It’s an old post, but I see you made RobertL’s all-star team. http://www.habseyesontheprize.com/2008/09/playing-on-rocket-and-gretzkys-wing.html
It’s a good thing she won’t mind you taking care of all the players’ wives and girlfriends.
February 8th, 2012 at 7:46 pm
See email…