Jacques Plante

Joseph Jacques Omer Plante was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1953 to 1963 during his tenure, the team won the Stanley Cup six times, including five consecutive wins.

Plante was born on a farm near NotreDameduMontCarmel, in Mauricie, Quebec, the first ofchildren born to Palma and Xavier Plante. The family moved to Shawinigan Falls, where his father worked in one of the local factories. In 1932, Plante began to play hockey, skateless and with a tennis ball, using a goaltenders hockey stick his father had carved from a tree root. When he was five years old, Plante fell off a ladder and broke his hand. The fracture failed to heal properly and affected his playing style during his early hockey career he underwent successful corrective surgery as an adult. Plante suffered from asthma starting in early childhood. This prevented him from skating for extended periods so he gravitated to playing goaltender. As his playing progressed, Jacques received his first regulation goaltenders stick for Christmas of 1936. His father made Plantes first pads by stuffing potato sacks and reinforcing them with wooden panels. As a child, Plante played hockey outdoors in

Source: Wikipedia