Professional Hockey Player. He played at the position of Left Wing for six seasons (1968 to 1973) in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Vancouver Canucks. Born in Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, to Anselmi Maki and Jeanne Bourgeois Maki he began his interest in hockey at a young age. His older brother Ron "Chico" Maki had also played hockey as a child and eventually went on to a successful professional hockey career in the National Hockey League (or NHL). He began his career by playing with several junior and minor league teams including the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (or NOJHL) in 1964 when he was twenty years old. He played with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for a total of three seasons from 1962 to 1964. His total hockey record for that team includes 43 goals, 31, assists, 74 points, and 44 penalties in minutes. He next played with the St. Catharines Black Hawks of the Ontario Hockey Association (or OHA) for one season from 1964 to 1965. His total regular hockey season record for that team includes 56 games played, 29 goals, 48 assists, and 77 points, while the playoffs hockey record includes 4 games played, 3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points, and 10 penalties in minutes. He then played professionally for the St. Louis Braves of the Central Professional Hockey League (or CPHL) for four seasons from 1964 to 1967. His total regular hockey season for that team includes 139 games played, 56 goals, 54 assists, 110 points, and 115 penalties in minutes, while the playoffs record includes 2 games played, 1 assist, 1 point, and 13 penalties in minutes. He then joined the Dallas Black Hawks of the Central Professional Hockey League (or CPHL) and played with them for three seasons from 1967 to 1969. His total regular hockey season record for that team includes 72 games played, 30 goals, 31 assists, 61 points, and 88 penalties in minutes, while the playoffs hockey record includes 16 games played, 9 goals, 8 assists, 17 points, and 54 penalties in minutes. He made his National Hockey League (or NHL) debut with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1967. He played with them for one season from 1967 to 1968, and his brother Ron "Chico" Maki also happened to be on the team at that time. He then continued with the Chicago Blackhawks for 1 game in the 1968 to 1969 season. He was then signed and acquired by the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues and played with them for one season from 1969 to 1970. One of the main highlights of his career was the infamous stick-swinging duel between him and the Boston Bruin's defenseman "Terrible" Ted Green during a preseason game on September 21, 1969. Both players engaged in a heated on-ice fight that led to Green being smacked in the head with Maki's hockey stick resulting in Green having a fractured skull and a brain injury. The incident almost cost Green his life. They were both charged with assault as a result of the fight, the first time National Hockey League (or NHL) players faced charges as a result of on-ice violence, but both players were later acquitted. However, Maki was suspended by the National Hockey League (or NHL) for 30 days. He was eventually sent to the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League (or AHL). Later commentators have rated Maki's attack as one of the most vicious attacks in league history. He played with the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League (or AHL) for one season from 1969 to 1970. His total record for that team includes some 39 games played, 13 goals, 20 assists, 33 points, and 72 penalties in minutes. After his time with the American Hockey League's Buffalo Bisons he was allowed back in the National Hockey League (or NHL) and during the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft, he was acquired by the Vancouver Canucks. He played with them for almost three seasons from 1970 to 1973. He was seen as a feisty winger who soon became one of the franchise's first real stars. He was was also one of the team's top scorers during his entire time with the team. In December 1972, his promising career was cut short when he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He passed away in Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 12, 1974, at the age of 29. He was cremated and his ashes were brought back to be buried in his hometown of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario. His National Hockey League career consisted of some 246 games played, 57 goals, 79 assists, 136 points, and 184 penalty minutes in regular season play, and 2 games played, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point, and 2 penalty minutes in the playoffs. His number 11 jersey was unofficially retired by the Vancouver Canucks after his death but Mark Messier who had worn number 11 with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers, was allowed to wear that number when he joined the Vancouver Canucks in 1997, even over the protests of the Maki family.