Montreal Gazette reporter Red Fisher, who has covered the Canadiens for 58 years, has “written his last column” for the paper, as he announced his retirement earlier this week, according to Alan Allnutt of the MONTREAL GAZETTE. Fisher began his career in ’54 with the Montreal Star and won the National Newspaper Award for sports writing three times. Allnutt writes, “Publishers came. Publishers went. Red Fisher stayed” (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 6/8). The Montreal Gazette's Dave Stubbs said of Fisher, “He’s been certainly one-of-a-kind and in this business, he will never be replaced. You could never invent a Red Fisher today.” Fisher was the “Godfather of hockey” and he will “forget more about the game than any of us on the beat today will ever know.” He said of the chair Fisher sat in while covering Canadiens games, “I think we’ve got to rope it off, for this season at least. If the Montreal Canadiens don’t put that chair on a plaque and present it to Red in some fashion, I think something’s wrong” (CJAD-AM, 6/8).
CHEERS FROM PEERS: Many of Fisher's peers and colleagues took to Twitter to offer congratulatory messages and reactions to his announcement. TSN’s Bob McKenzie wrote, “No one, and I mean no one, could write a game story like Red.” The Globe & Mail’s Roy MacGregor wrote, “Red Fisher may retire, but his words will work forever. One beautiful craftsman. One kind and courteous gentleman.” The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson: “We should all be indebted to Red Fisher, the best hockey writer ever. It's cliche, but he really did call it as he saw it.” LHN.com French Language Managing Editor Arpon Basu: “Red Fisher is a big reason I do what I do, and for that I will always be grateful. Happy retirement.” Former Capitals Senior Dir of Media Relations Nate Ewell: "Red Fisher once wrote something complimentary of the Caps game notes. It was an honor just that he read them." Rogers Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek: “Red Fisher retires after covering the Habs since '55. Was once offered the ST Louis GM job but turned it down to write about hockey instead.” The CBC’s Tom Harrington: “Best memory of Red Fisher? Travelling to USSR with Habs in 1990 & watching him dance with his late wife Tilley at airport in Riga, Latvia."
