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For the article on the baseball umpire, see: Doug
Harvey (umpire)
----
Douglas Norman Harvey (December 19, 1924 -
December 26, 1989) was a star player in the
National Hockey League (NHL).


Harvey played minor league hockey in his native
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, then began his
professional career with the Montreal Royals of
the Quebec Senior Hockey League where he played
from 1945 to 1947, helping them win the Allan Cup.
He then played one season with the Buffalo Bisons
of the American Hockey League. He made the jump to
the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL in the 1947-48
NHL season with whom he remained until 1960-61 NHL
season|1961.

Under coach Dick Irvin, Harvey was named to the
All-Star team 11 consecutive times, beginning in
the 1951-52 NHL season. He won his first of seven
James Norris Memorial Trophys in 1954-55 NHL
season|1955 as the league's best defenseman. In an
era when the defensemen's role did not include
scoring points, Harvey used his skating speed and
passing ability to become a factor in making the
Canadiens a high-scoring team. He had such puck
control that by himself he could set the pace of
the game.

He earned six Stanley Cups, all with Montreal. In
1954, however, he "scored" the Cup-winning goal
for the Detroit Red Wings when he tipped the puck
shot by a Detroit Red Wings|Red Wing past goalie
Gerry McNeil. McNeil was so crushed by the Harvey
"goal," he retired to coach junior hockey the next
season, but returned to the Montreal
Canadiens|Habs in 1956 as back-up to Hall of Famer
Jacques Plante.

Harvey became an outspoken critic of the hockey
establishment who "owned" players for life. In
Harvey’s day, players were paid a pittance
compared to the millions being earned by the team
owners. A superstar such as Harvey, who today
would be paid millions, was earning less than
$30,000 a season at the peak of his career while
playing every game in front of sell-out crowds.
Harvey was one of the first to help organize the
players association which so infuriated the
Canadiens’ owners that in 1961 they traded him
to the then lowly New York Rangers. One of the
individuals secretly blacklisted by the league
owners, Harvey still responded by winning another
Norris Trophy as a Ranger. He remained with New
York until 1963 then played for several teams
before finishing his NHL career in 1968-69 NHL
season|1969 with the St. Louis Blues (hockey)|St.
Louis Blues.

Well into his forties, and with limited education
and no other skills besides hockey, Harvey eked
out a living playing in the minor-pro leagues.
Although he was unanimously voted into the Hockey
Hall of Fame in 1973, because of his involvement
with the players' association, his sweater number
wasn't retired by the Montreal Canadiens until
1985. 

For years, Harvey battled alcoholism while
suffering from bipolar disorder. In one of the
great tragedy's in sport, one of the preeminent
stars in the history of hockey ended up homeless,
sleeping in an abandoned railway boxcar. When his
plight became public knowledge, in 1985 he was
offered a job with the Montreal Canadiens as a
scout. He passed away a few years later due to
cirrhosis of the liver and was interred in the
Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.

The government of Canada honored Doug Harvey in
2000 with his image placed on a List of people on
stamps of Canada|Canadian postage stamp.

In 2002, a  book on his life was published. Titled
Doug: The Doug Harvey Story, it was written by
William Brown with a foreword by his former
teammate, Jean BĂ©liveau.

==See also==
*List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
*List of NHL seasons
*List of NHL players
*Stanley Cup

{| border="2" align="center"
|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
Maurice Richard
|width="40%" align="center"|Montreal
Canadiens#Team captains|Montreal Canadiens
Captains
 1960 - 1961
|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Jean
BĂ©liveau
|}