Good Ideas in History: November 2

In the middle of a 1959 game against the New York Rangers, Jacques Plante, Hall of Fame goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens, returned from the locker room with a mask after being hit in the face with a puck shot by Andy Bathgate. Although Plante was not the first goaltender ever to wear a mask during an NHL game, he was the first to wear one on a daily basis. In addition to preserving the teeth, cheek and orbital bones of several generations of hockey goalies, Plante’s innovation offered an invaluable contribution to the roster of cliches that govern American horror films.

Good for him, I say.