Christmas at the Forum
On the second day after Christmas Georges Mantha and the rest of the Canadiens dashed onto the ice surrounded by a welcoming post-Christmas crowd of “over 12,000†(The Gazette, December 29, 1930, p.20, c.3), or “pres de 13,000†(La presse, 29 decembre 1930, p.22, c.1 – 2).
The Dupuis Freres store in the east end had been offering 3 choices of sweaters (size 24 to 36): the barberpole red, white and black of the Senators, the crimson of the Maroons, and le tricouleur evocative of the Canadiens with the instantly recognizable horizontal band of blue across the chest and arms, outlined in white, all on a field of red: La Presse, Mercredi, 28 Janvier 1931, p.30.
Omer De Serres on St Denis Street offered a complete children’s set of jersey, toque and hose for a pre-Christmas sale price of $4.49: The Montreal Daily Star, Saturday, December 13, 1930, at p.14.
In the reserved circle, standing room, and Millionaires’ sections, there were several children – suggesting that Canadiens’ tickets had been distributed generously by Santa Claus a few days earlier. Several of those youngsters would have been wearing hockey sweaters in the Canadiens’ colours. The wearing of team sweaters or jerseys was already a habit for games at the Forum: e.g., The Gazette, December 31, 1930, p.16, c.3. That Gazette observation is interesting because it describes the Canadiens’ fans as wearing team “sweaters,†and the Maroons’ fans as wearing team “jerseys.â€
The habit of wearing team sweaters to the Forum for hockey seemed to have disappeared by the 1960s, but has since experienced a revival as an integral marketing strategy involving the league, the teams, and players themselves. It is a way to demonstrate team and player loyalties that existed in Morenz’s own time.