Kids, come gather around as your Mr. Rogers imitation reads from the Canadian classic The Hockey Sweater. Okay, so I won't be reading it here, but the 1979 Roch Carrier children's book is one of the most revered stories in hockey lore.
The story is about a young boy in the mid-1940's and like many boys in the small town of Ste. Justine, Quebec, they idolize Maurice "The Rocket" Richard. How much? Well, in the story, they wear the number 9 in the Montreal Canadiens' bleu, blanc, et rouge that Richard wore, they tape up their hockey sticks like him, and they even comb their hair like their idol. One day, the main character outgrows his Richard sweater, so his mother orders from the same catalog that she always orders from. A few weeks later, instead of getting the Rocket Richard jersey that he always gets, he finds a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater shipped to him, much to his horror. As you can imagine, this causes him much grief, as this would be the equivalent of, say, wearing a New York Rangers jersey to a New Jersey Devils game. Okay, so maybe it's not on that level, but it gives you a good idea. During a game, he takes a penalty and breaks his stick in the process. The referee, who happens to also be the town's priest, sends him to church to ask God for forgiveness. While there, the boy asks God to "send a million moths to eat the Maple Leafs sweater."
The story is one that will definitely strike a nerve for hockey fans, as it is a story that many can relate to, particularly Maple Leafs and Canadiens fans. It is also a good children's book, as any child can see themselves in the main character, if they substitute the hockey sweater for anything that they hold near and dear. The book was so popular that it was turned into a cartoon.
As a bonus, here is the cartoon version of The Hockey Sweater:
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