Brian Spencer Death, From North Central British Columbia, Canada to the bright lights of the National Hockey League.
Brian Roy Spencer was born September 3, 1949, in Fort St, James British Columbia, and died on June 3, 1988, at Riviera Beach, Florida, U.S. Spencer was a Canadian professional hockey player who played ten seasons in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Brian and his twin brother Byron grew up in British Columbia’s rugged interior near Fort St. James. Their father, Roy, raised them. Roy was a no-nonsense father; he was a talented mechanic by trade, a heavy drinker, and a tough father; he instilled in his boy’s a hard work ethic. That hard work ethic was the catalyst that would propel Brian Spencer out of Fort St. James and into the NHL limelight.
WCHL Western Canadian Hockey League. (Player Profile)
Brian’s path to the NHL began in the WCHL, now the WHL (Western Hockey League). At the age of 17, Brian left home to play for the Calgary Centennials, where he would play for 34 games before being traded to the Regina Pats during the 1967-1968 season. The 1968-1969 season saw Brian begin the season in an Estevan Bruins jersey. During his time in the WCHL, Brian earned the nickname “Spinner” for his fast skating, hard-charging reckless abandon style of play.
Going To Toronto
Brian Spencer makes the NHL. Drafted 55th overall in the 1969 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. On December 12, 1970, Spencer was called up to the big club to play in his first-ever televised NHL game on Hockey Night In Canada. Brian informed his father that he would appear on air during the intermission and that he wanted him to make sure he tuned in to watch the game. Being a proud father, Roy Spencer gathered a full house the night of the game to celebrate his son’s NHL success on live television. Well, the party came to a sour end when instead of airing the Leaf’s game that night, CBC affiliate network CKPG-TV in Prince George aired the Vancouver Canucks versus the California Golden Seals game instead. SNAP, LOSE IT. An enraged Roy Spencer drove 84 miles to the CKPG-TV station. When Roy arrived at the station, he was livid and brandishing a firearm. At gunpoint, Roy demanded the TV staff to play the Maple Leafs game instead. After complying with the enraged senior Spencer, Roy left the building where the RCMP confronted him. Roy immediately fired at the police officers, shooting one of them in the foot, the officers returned fire, and Roy was shot and killed. Brian learned of his father’s death later that evening, and despite the tragic news, he stilled suited up for the Leafs the next night, recording three assists against the Buffalo Sabres.
Brian Spencer’s best years in the NHL were with the Buffalo Sabres. The high point of his professional hockey career was the 1974-1975 season, when he recorded 12 goals and 41 points in 73 games. Spencer and his Sabres would lose in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games. Spinner was adored by the Buffalo faithful for his aggressive rambunctious style of play. After four successful years in Buffalo, Spinner would play the last two years of his NHL career in Pittsburgh.
After Hockey Brian Spencer Death
After hockey, Spencer’s life began a tragic descent into drugs, alcohol, and murder. In 1987, he was charged with kidnapping and murder. Former NHLer Rick Martin and Dave Keon tried to help Spencer appearing as character witnesses on his behalf. Spencer was eventually acquitted in March 1988. Three months later, on June 3, 1988, Spencer would be found shot to death in a pick-up truck following a crack cocaine transaction in Riviera Beach, Florida.
Martin O’Malley wrote a book about the life of Brian “Spinner” Spencer. The book was later adapted as a movie in 1993 by Paul Gross and directed by Atom Egoyan, Gross Misconduct: The Life of Brian Spencer.
Even after Brian’s death, the family tragedies continued when in 1999, Spencer’s daughter and grandson lost their lives in a car accident in Oklahoma.
“Spinner Spencer Quotes”
(Brian Spencer Death)
“I never ate Chinese food until I was 20”.
“The first NHL game I ever saw was the one I played in”.
Upon hitting a lady in the stands with an errant puck during a game, “I hit her so hard I think I got her pregnant”.
“I never saw a television set until I was 16”.
Brian Spencer’s favorite song was “Let You’re Love Flow”, by the Bellamy Brothers, he would play it often.
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