William "Bashin' Bill" Barilko (March 25, 1927 – ) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over five seasons, Barilko won the Stanley Cup four times in 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1951. His last goal is one of the most famous in NHL history, winning the 1951 Stanley Cup for the Maple Leafs in overtime. His brother Alex also played professional hockey in the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL), Bill playing for Hollywood Wolves and Alex for Oakland Oaks. The two recorded a 78rpm recording greeting for their mother Faye while in Hollywood, the only known recording of Bill's voice.

Professional career

thumb|Barilko in 1945

Barilko played junior ice hockey while also working in the Delnite mine. He was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs and assigned to their affiliate the PCHL's Hollywood Wolves. Under coach Tommy Anderson, a former NHL defenceman, at Hollywood, he learned how to hit and hit hard. He played most of two seasons in Hollywood, nicknamed "Billy The Kid."

In February 1947, Bill was called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs on an emergency basis. In a brash move, when he first met team owner Conn Smythe he is quoted by team-mate Allan Stanley as saying "Your troubles are over." "Don't worry about The Kid.", he said, "They're not chasing The Kid back to Hollywood. I like this big-time stuff." He became a popular player, described as tall, blue-eyed and handsome, and described as "[having] a build like Johnny Weismuller", "the Timmins kid with the Atlas build and the toothpaste ad smile," and 'the wavy-haired blonde with the wandering hip."

On April 21, 1951, Barilko scored what is considered one of the most memorable goals in NHL history. Barilko accepted the invitation despite the misgivings of his mother Fay who did not want him to fly off to "that wild bush country" and leave on a Friday, a day that Fay considered bad luck. The two set off on August 24, a Friday.

A massive search was organized. The Royal Canadian Air Force organized a search that covered Investigating the report, on June 7, 1962 helicopter pilot Ron Boyd and helicopter engineer Phil Weston found the wreckage of the plane for the Ontario government Ministry of Lands and Forests. The wreck was located about north of Cochrane, Ontario, about off course. The two dropped rolls of toilet paper around the site and marked it on a map. The two then landed nearby in a makeshift landing spot and hiked to the site. They found the remains of the two occupants still strapped in their seats. The wreckage was half-buried in the muskeg. The two took photographs of the wreckage and guided Ministry officials to the site.

The cause of the crash was deemed to have been a combination of pilot inexperience, poor weather, and overloaded cargo. It was determined that the plane had crashed straight-down, likely having ran out of fuel and stalled. The wreckage was left on site, and not removed until 2011, to be moved to Timmins.

Barilko's skates from the 1951-52 season, and the Stanley Cup-winning goal are in the possession of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. After the winning goal, referee Bill Chadwick retrieved the goal from the Montreal net and flipped it to disabled spectator Jimmy Main (a Gardens regular who was well-known) behind the net, saying "Here Jimmy, give this to your mother". Main did not keep the puck, giving it to his cousin George Fletcher, saying "give it to Aunt Annie". Fletcher kept it until 1985 and then donated it to the Hall.

In media

Barilko's story has been published in two books - 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. The film received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Sports Feature Segment at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018. Frozen in Time: The Bill Barilko Story, a documentary film directed by Steve Paikin, entered production in 2026.

"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. 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. Whenever the band played the Air Canada Centre] Barilko's retired-number banner was always left in place during the concert,

Career statistics

{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  

! colspan="5" | Regular season

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  

! colspan="5" | Playoffs

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! Season

! Team

! League

! GP

! G

! A

! Pts

! PIM

! GP

! G

! A

! Pts

! PIM

|-

| 1943–44

| Holman Pluggers

| NOHA

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1944–45

| Timmins Canadians

| NOHA

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

| 1944–45

| Porcupine Combines

| NOHA

| —

| 3

| 2

| 5

| 8

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 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

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 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

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 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

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1950–51

| Toronto Maple Leafs

| NHL

| 58

| 6

| 6

| 12

| 96

| 11

| 3

| 2

| 5

| 31

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" | 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: 1950–1999
  • Lists of sportspeople who died during their careers
  • List of Stanley Cup Final overtime series winners
  • Sports-related curses

References

  • Ron Boyd wreckage discovery