Bill Barilko

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Bill Barilko
Born (1927-03-25)March 25, 1927
Timmins, Ontario, Canada
Died c. August 26, 1951(1951-08-26) (aged 24)
Cochrane, 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 had his #5 retired by the Leafs and 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 scored by Barilko was in overtime against the Montreal Canadiens' netminder Gerry McNeil. This goal, in Game 5 of the 1951 Stanley Cup Final (April 21, 1951) won the Leafs the Cup.[2]

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, on June 6, 1962, helicopter pilot Ron Boyd 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[]

References[]

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Toronto Maple Leafs Team Alumni Bios: Bill Barilko". Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  3. ^ Hornby, Lance (April 20, 2011). "The legend of Bill Barilko". The Toronto Sun. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  4. ^ "Maple Leafs History: 1940s". Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  5. ^ "Maple Leafs History: 1950s". Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  6. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  7. ^ Vyhna, Carola (July 1, 2017). "The 11-year mystery of Leafs' 'Bashin' Bill Barilko'". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c Fitzpatrick, Todd (1999-06-07). "Bashin' Bill". The Sporting News. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  11. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  12. ^ "Bashing Bill Barilko is Missing". CBC. p. Did you know. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  13. ^ "Maple Leafs History: 1960s". Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b "The late Gord Downie helped us remember Bill Barilko". Toronto Sun, October 18, 2017.
  15. ^ "Leafs mourn ‘huge inspiration’ Downie". Toronto Star, October 18, 2017.
  16. ^ "Maple Leafs honour Gord Downie with unique 50 Mission Cap tribute". Daily Hive, October 19, 2017.
  17. ^ "TSN Original: The Mission". The Sports Network.

External links[]

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