Professional Hockey Player. Born in Timmins, Ontario, he played professional hockey as a defenseman first for the minor league Hollywood Wolves from 1945 to 1946 before being signed with the major league Toronto Maple Leafs. On April 21, 1951, during the Stanley Cup playoff finals, he shot the puck by goaltender Gerry McNeil of the Montreal Canadiens and scored a goal of 2:53 in overtime and won the championship for the Toronto Maple Leafs. During the summer of 1951 his was in a small aircraft piloted by a friend on a fishing trip when the plane went missing in upper Ontario. Despite a massive search conducted by the Royal Canadian Air Force, no trace was found. Theories and speculation about his fate persisted through the 1950s and early 1960s until the wreck of the airplane was found in June 1962, only a few months after the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup for the first time since Bill Barilko scored his 1951 Cup-winning goal. His remains were interred in his hometown. He fell into sports obscurity until 1992 when the Canadian rock band "The Tragically Hip" released the song "Fifty Mission Cap" about Barilko's goal and disappearance. In 2004 hockey historian Kevin Shea published the work "Barilko: Without a Trace" about him.
Professional Hockey Player. Born in Timmins, Ontario, he played professional hockey as a defenseman first for the minor league Hollywood Wolves from 1945 to 1946 before being signed with the major league Toronto Maple Leafs. On April 21, 1951, during the Stanley Cup playoff finals, he shot the puck by goaltender Gerry McNeil of the Montreal Canadiens and scored a goal of 2:53 in overtime and won the championship for the Toronto Maple Leafs. During the summer of 1951 his was in a small aircraft piloted by a friend on a fishing trip when the plane went missing in upper Ontario. Despite a massive search conducted by the Royal Canadian Air Force, no trace was found. Theories and speculation about his fate persisted through the 1950s and early 1960s until the wreck of the airplane was found in June 1962, only a few months after the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup for the first time since Bill Barilko scored his 1951 Cup-winning goal. His remains were interred in his hometown. He fell into sports obscurity until 1992 when the Canadian rock band "The Tragically Hip" released the song "Fifty Mission Cap" about Barilko's goal and disappearance. In 2004 hockey historian Kevin Shea published the work "Barilko: Without a Trace" about him.
Bio by: RPD2
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