The Curse of the Bill Barilko
William “Bashin’ Bill” Barilko got the call that he was needed in the NHL in February of 1947. The defenseman who was then playing for the Hollywood Wolves in the PCHL was told he’d get to live out his dream to play for the Maple Leafs. It was the only NHL club he’d ever compete for, as he remained with the team until the time of his death.
Barilko played five seasons in Toronto and won the Stanley Cup four times. In his fifth and final season, wearing the number five on the back of his sweater, he scored an overtime goal in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals. As remembered in The Tragically Hip song, “Fifty-Mission Cap“, the goal “won the Leafs the Cup.”
That summer, during Barilko’s offseason, he and his dentist friend, Henry Hudson, flew to Northern Quebec for a weekend fishing trip. They never made it back. The plane disappeared on the return flight and its passengers went missing. This brought about the curse of Bill Barilko.
While Barilko’s body remained missing, the Toronto Maple Leafs were unable to win another title. The curse on the team saw them get as close as the Finals, but they were unable to win those series without the curse being lifted.
Things changed when Ron Boyd, a helicopter pilot was able to re-discover the wreckage site that bush pilot Gary Fields had spotted a week prior. Along with the wreckage, Barilko’s remains were found.
It was June 7, 1962, less than two months after the Toronto Maple Leafs finally won another championship. It took 11 years for the Leafs to win a cup since Barilko’s legendary overtime goal and it happened the same year that Barilko was discovered.
Many believe that the tragic death and disappearance of Barilko was a curse on the franchise. The Maple Leafs weren’t able to win hockey’s biggest prize again until he was found.
Unfortunately, that is a misunderstanding of the curse. It’s actually the Leafs who had cursed Barilko. It wasn’t until they were able to change their fortunes and win another cup for there to be closure for the Barilko family, thus breaking the 11-year curse.