NHL's Maurice Richard Trophy (right), introduced in 1999. At left, trophy presented to Richard in 1949 that features his milestone 50th goal puck, scored in 50th game of 1944-45; 200th goal puck, scored in 1949; and 45th goal puck of 1944-45, breaking NHL single-season record.
Matthews was 2 years old when the Maurice Richard Trophy was unveiled on Jan. 23, 1999 in Tampa Bay during festivities for the NHL All-Star Game.
"When I was playing 50 years ago, no one went to ask [the League] for a trophy like this," Richard said that day. "But I'm really happy it's going to be in the NHL now, and that it will have my name on it."
Says Richard Jr. now, "My father didn't like to talk about himself and what he did in hockey, but he was very happy that the NHL introduced the trophy in his name. It will enable him to be remembered for many years."
Richard died the following year, on May 27, 2000 at the age of 78.
The Rocket, who scored 966 points (544 goals, 422 assists) in 978 NHL games, would have won his own trophy five times. He was the first player to score 50 goals in a season, No. 50 coming in the 50th and final game of the 1944-45 season, and the first to the 500-goal plateau, reaching that on Oct. 19, 1957. Despite his offensive prowess, Richard won just a single individual award -- the 1946-47 Hart Trophy as the NHL most valuable player. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.