What was the hearing like?

"It would be foolish for me to go on record that I wasn't at fault. There's no doubt that I hit Laycoe and had also hit Thompson. The point is that there was a great deal of provocation in both instances. I think my penalty (suspension for the remainder of the season and the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs) wouldn't have been so severe if Lynn Patrick had told the absolute truth to Campbell at the hearing. To this day I can't forgive him."

Explain what you mean?

"Patrick said that I started the fracas and had hit Laycoe first. Everything Patrick said to Campbell was completely different from the way I remembered it or the way the referee, Frank Udvari, recalled. Overall, Laycoe wasn't a bad guy, but his testimony left much to be desired."

What kind of punishment did you expect?

"I probably deserved to be suspended for the final three games of the season or possibly 10 or 15 games in the following season but not for the playoffs. I could see no justification for Campbell punishing my teammates or me by docking me from the Stanley Cup round. I still say that if justice was truly done, I wouldn't have been kept out of any of the Stanley Cup games."

-Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday.

This week, Stan presents his popular "Voices from The Past" on the 69th anniversary of "The Richard Riot" in Montreal with a one-on-one interview with Maurice "Rocket" Richard from his book, "The Flying Frenchmen: Hockey's Greatest Dynasty," co-authored with the Hockey Hall of Famer. Richard details the roots of the conflict and opines about his controversial suspension in the spring of 1955.

Read more from Richard.