Bill Barilko: Toronto Maple Leafs Legend

Bill Barilko

His Legend Grows

It was April 21st, 1951, game 5 of the Stanley Cup final between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. At the 2:53 mark of the first overtime period, Bill Barilko scored the last goal of his life winning the Stanley Cup for the Leafs.

The 24 year old defenseman perished in a light plane crash that summer while on a fishing trip to Northern Ontario. Not until his body was recovered 11 years later in the bush near Cochrane, Ontario, did the Leafs win another championship.

I recently received several documents from the daughter of Ron Boyd who was the helicopter pilot who found the crash site of Bill Barilko. I also recently conducted an interview with Kevin Shea, author of "Barilko: Without a Trace".

Video Of Barilko's Last Goal

The Call Of The Goal

This brief video of the goal gives us a listen as to how it was heard on April 21, 1951.

The Top Leafs Goal

Global TV's Jim Tatti tells us about #1, off the stick of Bashin' Bill Barilko.

Ken Dryden on Bill Barilko

Dryden tells us why Barilko's goal matters.

Barilko's Career Statistics

Bill Barilko's Regular Season Statistics
Year	Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	Penalty min.
1946-47	Maple Leafs	18	3	7	10	33
1947-48	Maple Leafs	57	5	9	14	147
1948-49	Maple Leafs	60	5	4	9	95
1949-50	Maple Leafs	59	7	10	17	85
1950-51	Maple Leafs	58	6	6	12	96
Totals:		252	26	36	62	456
Bill Barilko's Playoff Statistics
Year	Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	Penalty min.
1946-47	Maple Leafs	11	0	3	0	18
1947-48	Maple Leafs	9	1	0	1	17
1948-49	Maple Leafs	9	0	1	1	20
1949-50	Maple Leafs	7	1	1	2	18
1950-51	Maple Leafs	11	3	2	5	31
Totals:		47	5	7	12	104

Pictures

The famous goal
The Goal.

The final resting place of Bill Barilko
The final resting place of Bashin' Bill Barilko.

My brothers and I in our Leaf jerseys. #5 Forever.

Bashin' Bill Barilko

Bill Barilko's goal remembered on a Maple Leaf Garden's Ticket Stub.

The card that inspired the Tragically Hip to record 50 Mission Cap
The card immortilized by The Tragically Hip in Fifty Mission Cap.

The Tragically Hip's "Fifty Mission Cap" Lyrics

Bill Barilko disappeared that summer
He was on a fishing trip
The last goal he ever scored won the Leafs the cup
They didn't win another until 1962 the year he was discovered
I stole this from a hockey card I keep tucked up under
My fifty mission cap I worked it in to look like that

Notes

He's our Buddy Holly, immortalized by the Hip's "Fifty Mission Cap", and scorer of the 1951 Stanley Cup winner for my beloved Maple Leafs. Every year, his legend grows. Here are some additional links of interest.

5 Responses to "Bill Barilko: Toronto Maple Leafs Legend"

Doug Munroe
July 17, 2009 / 15:44

Very interesting, I am really impressed by the research you've done. As a patriotic Canadian, I love searching out the history of the greatest game ever created! Thank's for such a great site...Cheer's!

Roshan
September 20, 2009 / 00:08

I first heard about him in the Hip song but I couldn't make out the name. Then I read about him in your blog and it connected. He may have lived a short life but his legend lives on.

Elizabeth S. Brinton
November 21, 2009 / 13:24

I remember my brother, the late Tom Smythe, hearing on the radio that Barilko's body had been found. He kept shouting, "Its a sign, its a
sign!" In our family, you could never say, "we are going to win the cup," not out loud, because that might jinx it, but that is what he
meant. When we did win, Tom said he knew it when he heard about Barilko.

There is a film clip of my grandfather shaking Barilko's hand after the famous goal and the picture hanging in the Gardens said it all. Scott
Young describing, "Barilko flat out.." Yes, Barilko played a great part in Leaf history, in the legend, and he, like so many others, was gone too soon.

Oksanna Crawley
December 16, 2009 / 10:38

I've written a children's book and Bill Barilko is one of the main characters. It's called "So, You Be Keon and I'll Be Mahovlich". You can order it from Amazon.ca and soon from Chapters-Indigo.ca It's aimed at 9 to 12 year olds, but I think anyone would enjoy it. Barilko is one of my favourite players, too.

Pete Hollingworth
January 16, 2010 / 05:51

Live in the UK but have read everything about Bashin Bill after a piece in our local hockey teams (Nottingham Panthers) match night programme some years ago got my attention. Visiting Toronto for the first time next month, but won't have time to head up to Timmins. Great site and great memories of a great hockey player.