William
Barilko, Bill for short, was a famous hockey player for the Toronto Maple
Leafs. This great Canadian was born in Timmins, Ontario on May 25th
in 1927 (“www.barilko.ca”, n.d.). He was the second born son of Russian parents
(Peacock, 2001) Steve and Feodosia Barilko with one older brother named Alex (“www.barilko.ca”,
n.d.) and one younger sister named Anne (O’Connor, 2013). At a young age, Bill
and his siblings would listen to the hockey games described on Saturday Night
Radio featuring the famous Foster Hewitt’s voice, since games were not shown
live on television as they are nowadays (O’Toole, 2011). As a child, Bill would
follow the game and try to act out the goals with his older brother who also
became a professional player (2011). Little did Bill Barilko know that his
childhood dream of playing for the Leafs would later become a reality.
An overview of Bill Barilko's hockey career and his impact on Canadian history. Authors: Stephanie, Jeff, and Steve
Bill Barilko and Hockey
Bill Barilko
first started to play hockey as a goalie when he was young due to his lack of
skating ability. As Barilko’s passion for the game built, so did his
determination to become a better skater, allowing him to become a tough and
fast defenseman on the ice (O’Toole, 2011). At the age of just 18 he
moved to Hollywood to play for the lowest of the Leaf’s three farm teams: the
Wolves (Peacock, 2001). Weighting 180lbs and standing 5 feet and 11 inches
tall, Barilko quickly picked up the nickname “Bashin’ Bill” (“www.barilko.ca”,
n.d.). He was a tough, aggressive player and was known for his “snake-hip” body
checks (Zeisler, 2013). However, he was also known to be the “funny guy” on his
teams and carried plenty team and Northern spirit (Pagan, 2011).
Barilko's Time on the Toronto Maple Leafs
In 1946-47,
Barilko was called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs by coach Conn Smythe (Peacock,
2001). The Leafs were low on defensemen (2001) and although Barilko was young,
Conn Smythe wanted Barilko to play for the Leafs for his determination and
toughness (Zeisler, 2013). The young hockey player quickly made it known that
he would not be pushed around by other players and could be known as the “rock”
on the Toronto Maple Leafs (“www.barilko.ca”, n.d.).
When Barilko
was on the Toronto team they won the Stanley cup in 1947, 1948 and 1949
(Peacock, 2001). Unfortunately, the continuous Stanley Cup victories were set
on hold in 1950 when they lost to Detroit (2001). In the final goal of this
game, the puck actually touched Barilko’s body last before going into the net.
This is not highly discussed possibly due to the negative exposure it could
have brought upon Barilko’s career (2001). However, the Leafs won back the
title in the following year (1950-51) beating Montreal Canadiens (Stewart, 2012).
The Final Game and Goal
The Stanley
Cup final on April 21st, 1951 was the fifth game of the series
between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens (Peacock, 2001). The
game took place in the packed Maple Leafs Gardens and the Leafs were beating
the Canadiens by 3-1 in the series before the game (O’Toole, 2011). The series
had all five games go into overtime, making this game an event not to miss
(Stewart, 2012). During this game, it seemed as though the Toronto Maple Leafs
took any shot they could at Montreal Canadiens goaltender, Gerry McNeil, but he
continued to block the multitude of shots (Peacock, 2001). The game went into
overtime at 2:2 and with 2:53 remaining in first period (“www.barilko.ca”, n.d.)
and Barilko managed to fire the puck past the Canadians goalie McNiel (Peacock,
2001). Photographer Nat Turofsky captured this moment that would be become
known as one of the best Stanley Cup goals in history (2001). It was a dramatic
goal that would always be remembered.
Video 1: Barilko's Stanley Cup winning goal
Bill Barilko's & Henry Hudson's Fishing Trip
Before going
back to Toronto to start training for another NHL hockey season, Bill Barilko
decided to go on a fishing trip with his hometown friend and dentist Henry
Hudson (“www.barilko.ca”, n.d.). They decided to take Hudson’s small yellow,
single-engine plane (Pagan, 2011) called Fairchild 24 with CF-FXT marked on the
wing (“Strom Halts”, 2001). Their destination was Seal River (Zeisler, 2001),
along the east side of James Bay by northern Quebec (Pagan, 2011). Barilko and
Hudson planned to leave Friday, August 24th 1951 and return in the
next two days (“Home”, n.d.).
Barilko and
Hudson were reported to have stopped at Fort George on the east coast of James
Bay on their way home and were seen taking items such as camping gear out of
the plane to lighten the load, stating the fish they caught that weekend was
weighing down the plane (“Storm Halts”, 2001). The two men were then seen at
Rupert House at the Quebec-Ontario border in order to refuel (2001). A clerk
named Dan Wheeler warned Barilko and Hudson about an upcoming storm, but they
ignored the warning in order to get their catch back home before it went bad (2001).
On August 27th
1951 Barilko’s younger sister Anne received a phone call informing her that
Barilko and Hudson were roughly 12 hours late returning home from their fishing
trip (Peacock, 2001). Family and friends naturally started to worry (2001).
Barilko & Hudson Go Missing
Ontario
Provincial Police started to search for the missing plane in northern regions
of Timmins and Cochrane, northwestern Quebec and around James Bay (Peacock,
2001), covering around 843,443 square kilometers (“Storm Halts”, 2001). It was
one of the largest search and rescue mission at the time (Peacock, 2001),
containing Royal Air Force Planes, around 270 personnel and it lasted for a
month (Pagan, 2011). There were many reports of seeing the yellow plane in the
air in different areas, but when further investigated the men were not found
(Peacock, 2001). Coach Conn Smythe advertised a $10,000 reward for the men dead
or alive and Bill’s brother Alex and a few teammates tried to raise money for a
ground search (“Storm Halts”, 2001).
It was not
until 11 years later on June 6th (“Storm
Halts”, 2001), 1962 that a helicopter pilot by the name of Ron Boyd spotted a
plane about 45 miles away from Cochrane, deep in the forest (“www.barilko.ca”,
n.d.). When the plane was reached it was reported to be twisted, half-buried,
and camouflaged into the woods with two skeletons in the cockpit (“Storm
Halts”, 2001). The skeletons were not eligible for identification through
dental records, but personal items were left on the scene giving the
investigators enough information to report that it was Bill Barilko and Henry
Hudson (2001). However, the case stayed as an open-shut case (2001).
Years Following
After the
disappearance of Barilko and his friend Hudson, the Toronto Maple Leafs were
stuck in a bad losing streak until 1962 when the Toronto Maple Leafs won the
Stanley Cup again, coincidentally the same year Barilko was found (“Storm
Halts”, 2001). Some say there was a curse on the team that had finally been
lifted. It was Tim Hortons from Cochrane, Ontario that took Barilko’s spot on
the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1952 after Barilko was reported missing (Pagan,
2011).
In October
of 2011, friends and family of Barilko and Hudson went on a mission to retrieve
the debris from the plane crash and return it to its home in Timmins, Ontario (2011).
The plane would be on display at Porcupine Lake (2011). There is still a small
yellow and black sign nailed onto a tree trunk at the site of the plane crash
in memory of Bill Barilko and Henry Hudson (O’Toole, 2011).
Bill Barilko in the Media
Barilko’s
Stanley Cup winning goal was widely broadcasted on the radio as were the
broadcasts asking for public aid to find his missing body. TV was a factor at
the time but it was still in its early stages making live television impossible.
Barilko was also shown strongly in newspapers at the time, making the front page
of the Globe and Mail six times within two weeks during the search for his body
(Peacock, 2001) which helped in paving the way for stories and conspiracies
about the young hockey star and his fishing partner (Stewart, 2012).
Conflicting Stories about Bill Barilko
When Bill
Barilko and friend Henry Hudson went missing there were many stories regarding
what happened to them. Some stated that Barilko, because of his Russian
background, fled to the Soviet Union to teach them how to play defence in
hockey (“Storm Halts”, 2001).The more popular rumor was that the two men from
Timmins, which was a gold-mining town, had a deal in which Barilko would
invest in gold and Hudson, being a dentist, used gold for fillings and caps
(“Storm Halts”, 2001). This caused some people to think that the two were
smuggling gold in the pontoons of their plane, causing excess weight requiring
them to lighten the load at Fort George (O’Toole, 2011). Hearing rumors, the
police stated strict rules about entering the crash site before they arrived
(“Storm Halts”, 2001) and when spectators arrived at the scene the pontoons
that were supposed to be filled with fish were curiously cut open and empty (2001).
Further
controversy was created when the position of the plane was observed as the
front of the plane was facing up and in a Northward direction, rather than down
due to a plummeting crash and facing south towards Timmins (2001). The
skeletons in the cockpit were never truly identified either leaving the
possibility that the two skeletons found were not Bill Barilko’s and Henry
Hudson’s (2001). Everything was left in a positive manner, allowing people to
assume that the pontoons were full of fish which weighed them down causing the
crash.
How Barilko Impacted Canadian Hockey History
Bill Barilko
played in a total of 252 games, scoring 26 goals, and assisting 36 times, but
he is remembered for his aggressiveness in hockey leading to a total of 456
penalty minutes (Stewart, 2012). Although Barilko was not the best of his era,
he was still a great defenseman, leading to the Leafs decision to retire his number
(#5) in 1992 and hang it in the rafters of the Maple Leaf Gardens (2012).
Barilko demonstrates the traditional underdog story of a young player being
called up from the lowest of the farm teams to playing four and a half seasons
with his childhood dream team and winning four Stanley Cups, scoring one of the
most famous winning goals in hockey history (Peacock, 2001).
Remembering Bill Barilko Today
Bill Barilko will always be remembered as a great defenseman and for his
tough playing style, but is more famously remembered for his Stanley Cup
winning goal which was said in 2003 by the Toronto Star to be one of three top
moments in Toronto Sport History (“www.bailko.ca”, n.d.). There have been multiple books
written on Bill Barilko’s story, including “Without a Trace” by Kevin Shaw (“www.barilko.ca”,
n.d.) and “Overtime, Overdue” by John Melady (“Storm Halts”, 2001). In recent
years, Barilko’s fans have managed to gain him a place in the Hockey Hall of
Fame (Hockey Hall of Fame, 2012).
There is a photograph of Barilko in the posh players lounge at the Air Canada Center in
memory of the great athlete (O’Toole, 2011). Finally, in 1992 the rock band The
Tragically Hip wrote a song to remember Bill Barilko called “Fifty Mission Cap”
(Stewart, 2012) which describes Bill’s final goal and tragic death (“Storm Halts”,
2001).
Video 2: Bill Barilko's highlights.
References:
Bill Barilko. (2012). The Official Site of The Hockey Hall of Fame.
Retrieved from http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=11916
O’Connor, J. (2013, January 20). ‘People
loved meeting’ her: Bashin’ Bill Barilko’s sister, Anne, who spent a lifetime
swapping stories with hockey fans, dies at 82. National Post. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/20/anne-barilko-klisanich-bashin-bill/
O’Toole, M. (2011, September 3). Best of
Summer: Lost Leaf ‘Bashin’ Bill Barilko a Canadian myth. National Post. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/09/03/best-of-summer-lost-leaf-bashin-bill-barilko-a-canadian-myth/
Pagan, K. (2011). Barilko's plane finally arrives home. Toronto Sun. Retrieved from http://www.torontosun.com/2011/10/20/barilkos-plane-finally-arrives-home
Pagan, K. (2011). Barilko's plane finally arrives home. Toronto Sun. Retrieved from http://www.torontosun.com/2011/10/20/barilkos-plane-finally-arrives-home
Peacock, S. (2001). The Mystery of the
Missing Hockey Star. Beaver, 81(4),
26
Stewart, J. D. M. (2013). Bill Barilko. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/bill-barilko
Stewart, J. D. M. (2013). Bill Barilko. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/bill-barilko
Storm Halts Search For Barilko and
Pilot. (2001). Beaver, 81(4), 32
www.barilko.ca. (n.d.) Retrieved from www.barilko.ca
www.barilko.ca. (n.d.) Retrieved from www.barilko.ca
Zeisler, L. (2013). Historical Dictionary of Ice Hockey. Scarecrow Press Inc., United
Kingdom.
Figure 3:
Figure 5:
http://barilko.ca/images/the-crash-site/#
Retrieved: October 30th 2013.
Figure 6:
http://pics.classicauctions.net/classicauctions/auctions/62/146/source_146_75635.jpg
Retrieved: October 30th 2013.
Figure 7: http://www.torontomike.com/fastsearch?IncludeBlogs=1&search=bill+barilko+toronto+maple+leafs+legend
Retrieved: October 30th 2013.
Figure 8 and 9:
http://www.torontomike.com/fastsearch?IncludeBlogs=1&search=bill+barilko+toronto+maple+leafs+legend
Retrieved: October 30th 2013.
Figure 10 : http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/65598/
Retrieved: October 30th 2013.
Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaHdiOt_1Rw
Retrieved: October 30th 2013.
Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blddhUFvkZk
Retrieved: October 30th 2013.
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