Professional Hockey Player. He was a tough, hard-nosed, rough and ready defense man who played for the St. Louis Blues. Although he only played 4 years in the NHL, he established himself as one of the elite enforcers during the "anything goes era" of the 1970s when bench-clearing brawls and all-out fighting happened on a regular basis. During his brief time with the Blues, Gassoff was not only the Blues' chief enforcer, but was evolving into a fine all-around defenseman and leader. Standing only 5-foot-10, and weighing 195 pounds, Gassoff was not a super heavyweight like a Clark Gillies or Willie Plett, yet, he was fearless to the core, and possessed a drive and determination to succeed. He earned the respect of teammates and management for playing through injuries. He improved his puck-carrying skills and his shot from the point. The Quesnel, British Columbia native was selected the 48th pick in round #3 of the 1973 amateur draft by St. Louis. Breaking in with the Blues in 1973-74 with a 28 game stint, he had no goals, three assists and 84 penalty minutes. A left-handed shooter, he played 60, 80 and 77 games the next three seasons and established himself as one of the most fearsome players in the game. In 1975-76, Gassoff had a career high 306 penalty minutes. In his final season, 1976-77 he had a career-high six goals and 24 points, with another 254 minutes in penalties. Gassoff never shied from dropping the gloves in but began to feel frustrated by NHL referees. "They figure that anything that happens to me, I deserve it," said Gassoff of the referees. "But I don't think I play that dirty. When I go to take out a big guy — and I'm not big — they see me coming and they get their stick up. If I bring my stick up, even though I don't hit them with it, the ref thinks so. "I'm proud that I'm known as being tough, but I'd like to have people recognize my hockey skills. I've proved that I can fight. Now I have to work on the rest of my game. I don't want to be known as a goon. I'll fight anytime someone tries to push me or one of teammates around, but I don't go out on the ice looking for fights." Gassoff fought them all as a Blue, once challenging the entire Philadelphia Flyers bench. He was considered to be an integral player in the rebuilding of the Blues franchise in the mid-seventies. Former Teammate Gary Unger once said of him, "I remember playing against the Flyers, and Don Saleski and Dave Schultz kept taking runs at our smaller players. Bobby came on the ice and blasted Saleski with a hit at mid-ice, and as Saleski laid there, Bobby just looked down at him, daring him to get up. Saleski never did." Gassoff turned every fight into an intense brawl, fighting like a crazed wolverine. Most opponents respected the strong but wiry enforcer. He once fought Mel Bridgeman of the Flyers, "toasting" the Flyers rookie very badly. On Memorial Day weekend, 1977, the Blues team gathered for a post-season party at Garry Unger's farm near Gray Summit, Missouri. His buddy Gassoff was riding his motorcycle and collided with a vehicle on a road near the farm. He was killed instantly. Bob Gassoff's death stunned the Blues, who did not recover immediately after his death. The Blues failed to reach the playoffs the next two seasons and in 1978-79, they managed only 48 points which was a franchise low. Teammate and Hall of Famer Bernie Federko said that "Bobby was irreplaceable" and his former defense partner Bruce Affleck stated that Gassoff was without peer as an enforcer. "He was the toughest player I've ever seen," said Affleck. The Bob Gassoff Trophy was established in 1978 in his honor and was given to the most improved defenseman of the Central Hockey League. His #3 jersey was retired on October 1, 1997.