MONTREAL - Former Montreal Canadiens captain Emile (Butch) Bouchard died on Saturday following a long illness. He was 92.
His death was confirmed by his friend and sports analyst Ron Fournier, who says Bouchard was surrounded by his family when he died early this morning.
During his 15-year career in the National Hockey League, Bouchard played 785 games, scoring 49 goals.
He was captain for eight years and a five time All Star before knee issues forced him into retirement after the 1955-56 season.
The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup four times while he was with the team, and twice as captain.
Bouchard also ran a popular restaurant for 32 years at 881 DeMaisonneuve, before he closed it in 1979.
His son Pierre Bouchard also played defence for the Canadiens from 1970 to 1978, helping the team win five Stanley Cups.
Bouchard, who at 6'2" 205 lbs was one of the league's largest players, was seen as the heart and soul of a series of great Montreal teams and others have long given him credit for the role he played in establishing the winning culture.
"Big Butch was the leader, he was kind and generous with the young players," said Dickie Moore in one of many tributes on Bouchard's website.
Bouchard earned a spot on the Canadiens' team in 1941, making a splash at training camp by riding a bicycle 80 kilometers to arrive at the tryouts in Saint-Hyacinthe.
In 1947 a fan attending a game in New York tried to sue Bouchard and Madison Square Gardens for $75,000 after he claimed that Bouchard hit him on the head with a hockey stick. In spite of an attempt to prove the cause by early television evidence, a jury decided against the fan in 1951.
Bouchard succeeded goaltender Bill Durnan as captain and was eventually succeeded by Maurice Richard.
He was so popular with fans and teammates that brass organized Bouchard Night in his honour in 1953, attended by the mayor and other dignitaries, who presented him with gifts which included a Buick convertible.
Bouchard came to hockey relatively late in his youth, as he was too poor to buy skates. He was lured away from a career in banking, as it paid $7 a week, while playing senior hockey offered him $75 a week.
Since 1976, the Emile Bouchard Trophy has been presented to the best defenceman in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey.
Bouchard was an avid baseball player and fan and served as President of the Montreal Royals baseball team during its last two years from 1957.
In his earlier years, Bouchard ran a large-scale beekeeping operation and after retiring from hockey he served as city councillor in Longueuil and founded the Dukes of Longueuil baseball team.
He was inducted into the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame and named to the Order of Canada in 2009.
In December 2009 the Montreal Canadiens retired his number in a lavish ceremony that simultaneously honoured fellow former-Hab Elmer Lach.
He married Marie Claire MacBeth in 1947 and had five children and seven grandchildren.
Along with Pierre, he is survived by children Emile Bouchard Jr., a veterinarian, Jean Bouchard, a journalist, Michel Bouchard, a filmmaker and Marie-France who works in theatre.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
Friends and family share their memories
Many spoke fondly of Bouchard following news of his death Saturday.
"I always noticed the way people spoke to him with such respect when I was young," said his son Pierre Bouchard.
"I noticed how people appreciated his involvement with baseball and hockey in Longueuil, until the end of the 1970s. After that he started spending his winters in Florida, so he was a little less involved," he said.
"His name really meant something to older folks and when the Canadiens retired his number in 2009 it made him known to the younger fans."
Bouchard said that his father had not been suffering from any lingering illness, other than a fractured hip.
Former Hab player and GM Rejean Houle recalls his first impression of Emile Bouchard, who he met while playing junior hockey with his son Pierre.
"Bouchard was solid as an oak and was deeply involved in the community. He'd go to his restaurant after games and that's how I got to know him better. He was always direct and had a slightly sarcastic sense of humour," said Houle, laughing.
Houle noted that the Canadiens did fare well in the 1940s but with the arrival of Bouchard, Richard, Jean Beliveau and others, the team launched a dynasty.
Former Canadiens' star Yvan Cournoyer shared his memories of Bouchard.
"I knew him as a friend and former player and we worked together doing promotions. He was a very kind person who spoke to everybody and was respected by everybody," said Cournoyer.
Sports announcer Ron Fournier described Bouchard as a "great defenceman and a great captain," who was "neither flamboyant nor electrifying, but he was big, considered a giant in his time, a gentle giant, even though you'd think twice about getting hit by him on the ice."
"I'm saddened, but I have great memories of him, he was a man of few words but great kindness."
With files from The Canadian Press
