| Bill Barilko | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 25, 1927 Timmins, ON, CAN |
| Died | c. August 26, 1951 (aged 24) Cochrane, ON, CAN |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| 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]
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Barilko was of Ukrainian descent and had a brother, Alex, and sister, Anne.[3]
In February 1947, Bill Barilko was called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs from the PCHL's Hollywood Wolves and played for Leafs 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 only worn by Barilko for 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 he ever scored (in overtime against the Montreal Canadiens' Gerry McNeil in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final, on April 21, 1951) won the Leafs the Cup.[2]
Four months later, on August 26, 1951, Barilko joined his dentist Henry Hudson on a flight aboard Hudson's Fairchild 24 floatplane to Seal River, Quebec, for a weekend fishing trip.[6] On the return trip, the single-engine plane disappeared and its passengers remained missing.[6] Eleven years later, on June 6, 1962, helicopter pilot Ron Boyd discovered the wreckage of the plane[7] about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Cochrane, Ontario,[8][9] about 35 miles off course. The cause of the crash was deemed to have been a combination of pilot inexperience, poor weather and overloaded cargo.[10] Notably, the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup that year, after not winning it at all during the eleven years that he was missing.[8][8][10][11] The Tragically Hip's song "Fifty Mission Cap", from their 1992 album Fully Completely, features Barilko's story and the lack of another Leafs championship "until 1962, the year he was discovered."[6][9]
Barilko played in the 1947, 1948 and 1949 NHL All-Star Game, scoring a goal in the 1949 game.
Barilko won 4 Stanley Cups with the Maple Leafs in 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1951.
Barilko's #5 is one of only two numbers retired by the Maple Leafs (Ace Bailey's #6 is the other).[2][6][8]
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.
The story of Barilko's 1951 Stanley Cup heroics and his mysterious disappearance were the inspiration for The Tragically Hip song "Fifty Mission Cap". The song appeared on the Canadian band's third full-length album Fully Completely, and is often credited with reintroducing Barilko's story to a younger generation.