While preparing for the unwelcome arrival of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Henri Sunday, I began to wonder for whom this tempest is named.
Perhaps Henri Richard, center for the Montreal Canadiens and winner of 11 Stanley Cups? He battered National Hockey League adversaries for 20 seasons and won more titles than any player in NHL history, so he certainly warrants a significant storm named after him.
The Pocket Rocket, so nicknamed because he was the little brother of Maurice “Rocket” Richard, also a star of the Canadiens, helped make Les Habitants the dominant pro hockey franchise in the 1950s and ‘60s.
Henri Richard skated in 1,256 regular-season games, the franchise record, from 1955 to 1975. He was the ninth player in NHL history to score 1,000 points and finished his career with 358 goals and 688 assists. The only other professional athlete to win 11 championships is Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics.
Henri Richard was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979. He died in 2020 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 84.
Perhaps tennis champion Henri Leconte of France? The left hander played on the pro tour from 1981 to 1996, won the French Open doubles in 1984 with countryman Yannick Noah, was runner-up in 1988 to Mats Wilander and helped France to the Davis Cup championship in 1991. He won nine titles and attained a career-high ranking of No. 5 in 1986.
Or the Tennis Hall of Famer Henri Cochet of France? One of the famous Four Musketeers of the late 1920s and early 1930s, Cochet was a star in singles and doubles. He won 90 career titles and led France to six consecutive Davis Cup championships, 1927 to 1932. He caught the eye of the tennis world with his countrymen Jacques Brugnon, Rene Lacoste, and Jean Borotra, The Four Musketeers.
Cochet won five French titles, Wimbledon in 1927 and 1929 and the U.S. Championship in 1928. He also won five major doubles titles, won the singles and doubles medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics, played for 25 years and coached into his 70s. He was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1976 and died in 1987. He was 85.
Henri Richard, Henri Leconte, Henri Cochet, Hurricane Henri. Now there’s a quartet worth remembering.
