April 21, 1951
Bill Barilko’s last goal
Toronto Maple Leaf’s defenseman Bill Barilko scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal at 2:53 of overtime to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in Game 5 of the Finals. It was the only Stanley Cup Championship series in NHL history where every game ended in overtime.
On August 26, 1951, Barilko and his friend Henry Hudson boarded Hudson’s Fairchild 24 floatplane en route to Rupert House in northern Quebec for a weekend fishing trip. They never returned. On the return trip to Porcupine Lake, the single-engine plane disappeared. The plane’s occupants’ whereabouts remained a mystery for 11 years until June 6, 1962, when helicopter pilot Ron Boyd discovered the plane’s wreckage about 100 kilometers (62) miles north of Cochrane, Ontario, about 56 kilometers (35) miles off course. The cause of the crash was determined to be a combination of pilot inexperience, poor weather, and overloaded cargo.
Bill Barilko was honored by The Tragically Hip with the song “Fifty Mission Cap” in 1992.
Barilko played five seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, winning the Stanley Cup in 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1951. Barilko played in the 1947, 1948, and 1949 NHL All-Star Games.
It wasn’t until October 15, 2016, that Barilko’s #5 jersey was retired, marking him as only the second Maple Leaf to have his number retired; the other player was Ace Bailey’s #6.
Keep Your Stick on the Ice.
