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Bill Barilko

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by D6 (talk | contribs) at 20:05, 17 October 2004 (adding Category:1927 births Category:1951 deaths , see WP:People by year). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

William "Bill" Barilko (March 25, 1927 in Timmins, Ontario - August 26, 1951 near Cochrane, Ontario) was a Canadian hockey player who played all of his brief National Hockey League career for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Barilko was called up for the playoffs in 1948 and played for the Maple Leafs until his death. Barilko is best known for scoring the overtime goal against the Montreal Canadiens' Gerry McNeil in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final on April 21, 1951 to clinch the Cup for the Maple Leafs -- Barilko's fourth.

Four months later, on August 26, he joined his friend Henry Hudson on a flight aboard Hudson's Fairchild 24 floatplane to northern Ontario, en route to a fishing trip. The single-engine plane disappeared and its passengers remained missing despite a massive search. On June 7, 1963 a pilot discovered the wreckage of the plane about 60 miles north of Cochrane. Ironically the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup that year.

The Canadian musical group The Tragically Hip recorded a song called "Fifty Mission Cap" that prominently features Barilko's tragic story.

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