Saul "Red" Fisher, (22 August 1926 – 19 January 2018) was a Canadian sports journalist who wrote about the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

and the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in his newspaper column. Fisher received the

Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award The Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award is an accolade presented annually to a print newspaper columnist or reporter in recognition of their achievements covering the game of ice hockey. The award is "to recognize distinguished members of the newspaper ...

in 1985. He was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...

in 1999, and became a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

(CM) in 2017.

Biography

Fisher was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

in 1926 and was given the nickname "Red" for the colour of his hair as a young man. Fisher began his hockey reporting for '' The Montreal Star'' on 17 March 1955, the night of the

Richard Riot The Richard Riot was a riot on March 17, 1955 (Saint Patrick's Day), in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The riot was named after Maurice Richard, the star ice hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Following a v ...

. He remained as writer and sports editor until the ''Stars demise in 1979. He then joined the ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'' as sports editor (for a short time), where his columns continued to appear. He covered the

when they won five Stanley Cups in a row in the 1950s, and during their dynasty years in the 1960s and 1970s. Fisher said Habs legend Dickie Moore was his closest friend.Fisher, Re
Red Fisher: Remembering great friend and Habs legend Dickie Moore, dead at age 84
''Montreal Gazette''. 20 December 2015 He was also at the

1972 Summit Series The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (russian: Суперсерия СССР — Канада, Superseriya SSSR — Kanada), or Series of the Century (french: Série du siècle, Séries of the Century), was an eight-game ic ...

between NHL players and the Soviet national team. Fisher was known for his "no-nonsense approach" to his career, such as his refusal to talk to rookies and walk away if a player answered his questions with cliches. Fisher served as president of the

Professional Hockey Writers' Association The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) is a North American professional association for ice hockey journalists writing for newspapers, magazines and websites. The PHWA was founded in 1967 and has approximately 180 voting members. The as ...

from 1968 to 1970. He was the longest-serving beat writer to cover an NHL team. Over his career, he worked for ten editors and publishers, and won the Canadian National Newspaper Award three times. His retirement was announced by ''Gazette'' publisher Alan Allnutt in a column on 8 June 2012. He continued to write guest articles for the ''Gazette'' until his death. Fisher died at the age of 91 on 19 January 2018. His wife of 69 years, Tillie Fisher, had died ten days earlier.

Books

References

External links

''Montreal Gazette'': Red Fisher
accessed 11 November 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Red 1926 births 2018 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Canadian sportswriters Canadian television sportscasters Elmer Ferguson Award winners Jewish Canadian journalists Members of the Order of Canada Montreal Gazette people Sir George Williams University alumni Writers from Montreal