Updated June 20 with link to Ken Dryden’s story in the Globe and Mail.
The news hit pretty suddenly on Friday morning. In fact, I heard about it on CFCF’s noon newscast, having just woken up. Red Fisher, who has covered the Montreal Canadiens for more than half a century for the Montreal Star and The Gazette, has retired at the age of a billion and three (or, more accurately, 85).
There’s no farewell column, no big party. He’s not even giving interviews. Other media who wanted to report on the end of this long career had to settle for talking to some of Fisher’s friends and colleagues. Dave Stubbs, in particular, was busy talking to various media while preparing his own story on Fisher’s departure. It’s the only one I’m aware of that quotes Fisher directly speaking after his retirement was announced.
Fisher is a legend in more than just his hockey writing. He has a reputation as a friendly curmudgeon, who wouldn’t go after players unnecessarily but wouldn’t acknowledge anyone’s existence until they proved themselves worthy of it. The list of respected figures in Canadiens history who lauded Fisher speaks to the man’s reputation.
Even though I work at the same paper, I’ve never spoken to him in person. Sports writers in general spend little time in the office, and Fisher even less. We’ve conversed over the phone, but by “conversed” I mean he called to confirm that his postgame column had arrived by email and after a quick reply of “yeah, I got it” we hung up.
There are many stories of younger (and by that I mean under 60) colleagues at The Gazette that involve the elder sportsman uttering the words “who the f*** is …” – I don’t think I even reached that level. Though I remember the first time I saw him file a story that had my name in the address list. I imagined him typing my email in and wondering who the heck I was.
Everyone knew who Red Fisher was, though. For years, his reputation was such that there was a column devoted to him, the only column devoted to writing about another columnist. Of course, that column was Mike Boone’s Eeeee-mail, and it wasn’t so much writing about Fisher as it had some fun at the man’s expense (consistently referring to him as the Living Legend of Sports Journalism or LLSJ). But still, I can only wish for status like that someday.
Fisher’s refusal to give interviews is unusual in today’s hypermediatized world, but not so much for him. Fisher wasn’t the type to appear on radio or television regularly, chatting with the TSN hockey panel or giving his take once a week on CKGM’s morning show. Even though his reputation and wealth of knowledge about Canadiens history would make him a fantastic guest, he’s said no to such requests from those broadcasters and others who haven’t long ago given up trying to get him.
There are some who say Fisher retired 10 years too late, that his relevance had waned significantly in the past few years. There are points in favour of this argument. He wasn’t the scoop machine he used to be, and many of the big announcements come via RDS, TSN, La Presse or some of the younger front-line journalists who cover the Canadiens, if they beat the official announcement at all. Fisher stopped travelling with the Canadiens years ago – Pat Hickey does day-to-day team coverage. And the weekly Red Line page sometimes felt more like a roundup of hockey news reported elsewhere than anything original from Fisher.
But Fisher was still influential, and he could still write things that made a difference. In 2008, Fisher won a National Newspaper Award – the most prestigious Canadian award for this industry – for a column saying the Canadiens should not retire the jersey of Patrick Roy (they did anyway, of course, but Fisher’s column provoked a lot of discussion). It’s hard to argue someone has one foot in the grave when he’s winning an award many of his colleagues only dream of one day getting once in their careers.
It’s unclear if Fisher will continue to contribute occasional freelance pieces for The Gazette. He was the go-to guy for Canadiens-related obituaries, for example. But it is clear that the Saturday Red Line is history, and nobody should be expecting a regular column in its place.
He’s done.
Coverage
- Columns and blog posts in the Gazette:
- Dave Stubbs (with a special cartoon by Aislin)
- Mike Boone
- Jack Todd
- Alan Allnutt
- Stu Cowan
- Ian McGillis
- A tribute column by former Journal de Montréal columnist Bertrand Raymond
- A tribute story by Ken Dryden in the Globe and Mail
- CJAD (includes interviews with Dave Stubbs and Michael Farber)
- CHOM (interview with Dave Stubbs)
- CTV Montreal
- OpenFile Montreal
- USA Today
- NHL.com
- TSN.ca
- Many francophone media in Quebec simply used a short Presse Canadienne story: Huffington Post Québec, RDS, La Presse, Radio-Canada, 98.5
See also
- RDS.ca also has a profile written by Pat Hickey for Fisher’s induction into the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame.
- Comments from readers at Hockey Inside/Out and montrealgazette.com
- Red Fisher appears on CFCF’s Hockey Magazine in 1983, to talk about the new “minicomputer” he uses to write stories and file them via modem, and about the changes that were happening to sports coverage at the time (like how he thinks players’ postgame quotes are filled with meaningless clichés – and this was three decades ago)
- Red Fisher’s first column for the Gazette in November 1979, after the Montreal Star’s demise
- More Red Fisher Gazette stories in Google’s newspaper archive (Montreal Star archives aren’t online)
UPDATE: Mike Cohen says he moved this resolution at Côte St. Luc city council Monday evening:
Whereas Red Fisher is a longtime resident of Côte Saint-Luc.
Whereas Red Fisher has covered the Montreal sports scene for The Montreal Star and The Montreal Gazette, specifically the Canadiens for the past 56 years.
Whereas Red Fisher Fisher won the National Newspaper Award for sports writing in 1971 and 1991 and has been nominated for that award on two other occasions.
Whereas Red Fisher was also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Sports Media Canada in 1999.
Whereas Red Fisher is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Whereas Red Fisher last week announced his retirement.
It was
MOVED BY COUNCILLOR Mike Cohen
AND SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR Allan J. Levine
AND RESOLVED
THAT Council wish Red Fisher the very best in his retirement and that a formal letter of good wishes be sent to him signed by the mayor and council.
“I will now come back to council with some recommendations as to how we can further honour Red Fisher,” he says.
Count me as one who thought he retired 10 years too late. Gave up reading his column years ago. In sports they say athletes should go out while they are on top. Mr. Fisher missed that one.
Just do not understand the need for people to look down at others especially those who looked up to him.
Good luck in your retirement.
how he things players’ postgame
*beams proudly*
Fixed. When I get a budget for a proofreader, I’ll know who to call.
Steve, I am sure that I am not the only Gazette staffer of a certain age — well, ok, ex-Gazette staffer, in my case — to feel a certain, oh, I don’t know, mild irritation at your use of his specs to represent the man.
For many of us, that practice — of using an outline of specs to represent a person — began and ended with the late Iona Monahan, longtime Gazette Fashion Editor. In fact, it continues every year on the obit page on the anniversary of her death.
June Thompson will clue you in.
speaking of ancient but well-reputationed gazette staffers, can anyone tell me how old Julian Armstrong is?
She’s a treasure and the main reason I don’t stop the gazette now that all those ontario-based national columnists (including that hideous crime-fetishist they dare call a reporter who’s name I refuse to glorify) fill up the pages.
44 years ago I met Red Fisher while employed as an office boy at The Montreal Star. He was charming and called us office boys by name while others called us “Boy”. He was at the top of his game back then. Later while running CJAD he was part of the stations’ hockey night broadcasts. I wish him well in his retirement. Can’t understand why people just can’t wish him well and not take shots … especially people who can’t hold a candle to his achievements.
A minor correction … Red Risher wasn’t running CJAD when he was part of our hockey night broadcast … I was … this is what happens when you don’t have an editor to proof read copy before posting it.