Bill Barilko

Template:Short description Template:Infobox ice hockey player William "Bashin' Bill" Barilko (March 25, 1927 – Template:Circa) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played his entire National Hockey League career for the Toronto Maple Leafs.<ref name="Ukrainian Foundation">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Maple Leaf bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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's #5 was retired by the Leafs. He was the subject of the 1993 single "Fifty Mission Cap" by The Tragically Hip.

Personal lifeEdit

Barilko was of Ukrainian descent and had a brother, Alex, and sister, Anne.<ref name="ts42011">Template:Cite news</ref> He was engaged to Louise Hastings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Professional careerEdit

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.<ref name="Maple Leafs history 40s">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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, and 1951.<ref name="Maple Leafs history 50s">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The last goal ever scored by Barilko was in overtime against the Montreal Canadiens' netminder Gerry McNeil. The goal was the overtime game-winning goal in Game 5 of the 1951 Stanley Cup Finals (April 21, 1951).

Disappearance and deathEdit

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.<ref name="Leafs pay tribute">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="11year">Template:Cite news</ref> On the return trip to Porcupine Lake, the single-engine plane disappeared and its passengers remained missing.<ref name="Leafs pay tribute" /><ref name="plane home">Template:Cite news</ref> Eleven years later, in June 1962, helicopter pilot Gary Fields discovered the wreckage of the plane<ref>Victims of Aviation Accidents or Incidents in Canada: Cal Jones, Billy Joe Booth, Jonathan Mann, Brice Herbert Goldsborough, Bill Barilko, Template:ISBN</ref> about Template:Convert north of Cochrane, Ontario,<ref name="The Sporting News">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="uwo">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="CBC Archive">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The Sporting News" /><ref name="Maple Leafs history 60s">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Barilko is buried in Timmins, Ontario, Canada, at the Timmins Memorial Cemetery.

"Fifty Mission Cap"Edit

The 1993 song "Fifty Mission Cap" by The Tragically Hip is about Barilko's death and the Leafs' subsequent Stanley Cup drought.<ref name="Leafs pay tribute" /><ref name="uwo" /> The song has been credited as singlehandedly reviving Barilko's fame after he had lapsed into semi-obscurity;<ref name=remembered>"The late Gord Downie helped us remember Bill Barilko". Toronto Sun, October 18, 2017.</ref> 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.<ref>"Leafs mourn ‘huge inspiration’ Downie". Toronto Star, October 18, 2017.</ref> Whenever the band played the Air Canada Centre, Barilko's retired-number banner was always left in place during the concert,<ref name=remembered/> and when Downie died on October 17, 2017, the team incorporated Barilko's banner into its Downie tribute.<ref>"Maple Leafs honour Gord Downie with unique 50 Mission Cap tribute". Daily Hive, October 19, 2017.</ref>

HonoursEdit

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).<ref name="Maple Leaf bio" /><ref name="Leafs pay tribute" /><ref name="The Sporting News" />

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.<ref>"TSN Original: The Mission". The Sports Network.</ref> The film received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Sports Feature Segment at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018.

Career statisticsEdit

			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

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Template:Authority control