Henri Richard's two-way rookie contract with the Montreal Canadiens, signed October 12, 1955 for the 1955-56 and 1956-57 seasons, was handwritten on a nearly 2-year old calendar page and signed by both Richard and General Manager Frank Selke who was clearly ahead of his time with the reduce-reuse-recycle mantra.
While a tad simpler than today's contracts, it had the basic stipulations:
- Signing bonus of $C 5,000 (approximately $US 47,000 in today's dollar);
- $C 7,000 salary for 1955-56 (approximately $US 66,000 in today's dollar);
- $C 8,000 salary for 1956-57(approximately $US 75,000 in today's dollar);and
- $C 5,000 yearly salary if he was playing for the Royaux de Montreal of the Ligue de Hockey du Quebec senior league, which he did not.
Playing with Jean Béliveau and brother Maurice Richard, he got 40 and 54 points and helped the Habs win the Stanley Cups both years, ultimately winning 11 Stanley Cups as a player in his career.
In 2014, Classic Auctions put the item for bid and it was sold for $US 949, triggering 11 bids.