Bill Barilko
![]() Barilko in 1945 | |||
Born | (1927-03-25)March 25, 1927 Timmins, Ontario, Canada | ||
---|---|---|---|
Died | c. August 26, 1951(1951-08-26) (aged 24) Unorganized Cochrane District, Ontario, Canada | ||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
Position | Defence | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for | Hollywood Wolves (PCHL) Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
Playing career | 1945–1951 |
William "Bashin' Bill" Barilko (March 25, 1927 – c. August 26, 1951) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played his entire National Hockey League career for the Toronto Maple Leafs.[1][2] Over five seasons, Barilko won the Stanley Cup four times in 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1951. Barilko died in August 1951 in a floatplane crash during a fishing trip to Quebec. Barilko's #5 was retired by the Leafs. He was the subject of the 1993 single "Fifty Mission Cap" by The Tragically Hip.
Personal life
Barilko was of Ukrainian descent and had a brother, Alex, and sister, Anne. He was engaged to Louise Hastings.[3]
Professional career
In February 1947, Bill Barilko was called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs from the PCHL's Hollywood Wolves and played for Toronto until his death.[4] He was assigned sweater #21 when he debuted for the Leafs. He changed to #19 for the 1948–49 and 1949–50 seasons. The #5 (which was retired by the Leafs) was worn by Barilko for only one season, 1950–51. During that span of five seasons, Barilko and the Toronto Maple Leafs were Stanley Cup champions on four occasions: 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951.[5] The last goal ever scored by Barilko was in overtime against the Montreal Canadiens' netminder Gerry McNeil. The goal was the overtime game-winning goal in Game 5 of the 1951 Stanley Cup Finals (April 21, 1951).
Disappearance and death
On August 26, 1951, Barilko joined his dentist, Henry Hudson, on a flight aboard Hudson's Fairchild 24 floatplane to Rupert House in northern Quebec for a weekend fishing trip.[6][7] On the return trip to Porcupine Lake, the single-engine plane disappeared and its passengers remained missing.[6][8] Eleven years later, in June 1962, helicopter pilot Gary Fields discovered the wreckage of the plane[9] about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Cochrane, Ontario,[10][11] about 56 kilometres (35 miles) off course. The cause of the crash was deemed to have been a combination of pilot inexperience, poor weather, and overloaded cargo.[12][10][13]
Barilko is buried in Timmins, Ontario, Canada, at the Timmins Memorial Cemetery.
"Fifty Mission Cap"
The 1993 song "Fifty Mission Cap" by The Tragically Hip is about Barilko's death and the Leafs' subsequent Stanley Cup drought.[6][11] The song has been credited as singlehandedly reviving Barilko's fame after he had lapsed into semi-obscurity;[14] the song remains a staple part of the Leafs' warm-up playlist at every home game, and the Leafs have a framed, handwritten copy of Gord Downie's lyrics to the song in their private players' lounge.[15] Whenever the band played the Air Canada Centre, Barilko's retired-number banner was always left in place during the concert,[14] and when Downie died on October 17, 2017, the team incorporated Barilko's banner into its Downie tribute.[16]
Honours
Barilko played in the 1947, 1948 and 1949 NHL All-Star Game, scoring a goal in the 1949 game.
Barilko won four Stanley Cups with the Maple Leafs in 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1951.
Until October 15, 2016, Barilko's #5 was one of only two numbers retired by the Maple Leafs (Ace Bailey's #6 was the other).[2][6][10]
Barilko's story was published in the 1988 book Overtime, Overdue: The Bill Barilko Story, by John Melady, and the 2004 book Barilko — Without A Trace, by Kevin Shea.
In 2017, TSN aired the short documentary film The Mission, profiling a project to recover the remaining wreckage of Barilko's plane; the film took its title from "Fifty Mission Cap", and it thematically touched on the song's role in Barilko's story.[17] The film received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Sports Feature Segment at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018.
Career statistics
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1943–44 | Holman Pluggers | NOHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1944–45 | Timmins Canadians | NOHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1944–45 | Porcupine Combines | NOHA | — | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1945–46 | Hollywood Wolves | PCHL | 38 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 103 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 26 | ||
1946–47 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 18 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 33 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | ||
1946–47 | Hollywood Wolves | PCHL | 47 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1947–48 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 57 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 147 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 | ||
1948–49 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 60 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 95 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||
1949–50 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 59 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 85 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 18 | ||
1950–51 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 58 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 96 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 31 | ||
NHL totals | 252 | 26 | 36 | 62 | 456 | 47 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 104 |
See also
- List of fatalities from aviation accidents
- List of ice hockey players who died during their playing career
- List of NHL retired numbers
- List of solved missing person cases
- Lists of sportspeople who died during their careers
- List of Stanley Cup Finals overtime series winners
- Sports-related curses
References
- ^ "What are some Canadian stories that have not been told or potentially could be told?". Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ a b "Toronto Maple Leafs Team Alumni Bios: Bill Barilko". Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ Hornby, Lance (April 20, 2011). "The legend of Bill Barilko". The Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on April 22, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- ^ "Maple Leafs History: 1940s". Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ "Maple Leafs History: 1950s". Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ a b c d "Leafs pay tribute to Barilko". CBC Sports. 2001-05-01. Archived from the original on 13 September 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ Vyhna, Carola (July 1, 2017). "The 11-year mystery of Leafs' 'Bashin' Bill Barilko'". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ Pagan, Ken (October 20, 2011). "Barilko's plane finally arrives home". London Free Press. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ Victims of Aviation Accidents or Incidents in Canada: Cal Jones, Billy Joe Booth, Jonathan Mann, Brice Herbert Goldsborough, Bill Barilko, ISBN 978-1-155-40830-9
- ^ a b c Fitzpatrick, Todd (1999-06-07). "Bashin' Bill". The Sporting News. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ a b "Millennium Moment: Fifty Mission Cap". University of Western Ontario Gazette. 1999-05-28. Archived from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ "Bashing Bill Barilko is Missing". CBC. p. Did you know. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ "Maple Leafs History: 1960s". Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- ^ a b "The late Gord Downie helped us remember Bill Barilko". Toronto Sun, October 18, 2017.
- ^ "Leafs mourn ‘huge inspiration’ Downie". Toronto Star, October 18, 2017.
- ^ "Maple Leafs honour Gord Downie with unique 50 Mission Cap tribute". Daily Hive, October 19, 2017.
- ^ "TSN Original: The Mission". The Sports Network.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Ron Boyd wreckage discovery
- Bill Barilko at Find a Grave