[9] He settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he took a job in contracts administration. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto But 37 games later, in the days leading up to the hit that would kill him, there were signs all was not right. The night before the Oakland game, Masterton's family gathered at the house of their neighbor, North Star goaltender Cesare Maniago, to celebrate Maniago's 29th birthday. [24] The University of Denver Pioneers hockey team named its most valuable player award after him,[25] and his Winnipeg high school, Miles Macdonell Collegiate, presents a scholarship in his name. One of their sticks tangled with Mastertons skates as he slid a pass to his wing, and he lost his balance, pitching forward. He didnt just work on the ice. Players, coaches, execs vote for NHL's top centers, NHL Power Rankings: Checking in on each team's 25-and-under core, McAvoy scores in OT, Bruins beat Flames for 8th win a row, Gaudreau scores in shootout, Wild beat Islanders 2-1, Geekie ends drought with 2 goals, Kraken beat Blues 5-3, Robinson scores 3 goals in Blue Jackets' 5-3 win over Sabres. He played for Team USA from 1966 to 1967, and the Minnesota North Stars from 1967 to 1968. "I knew he was done.". But even if they had, he might still have been in the lineup against Oakland. The scoreboard showed a video of Laperriere getting nailed in face with a puck in the opening series against New Jersey, blood pouring from a gash over his right eye. "Helmets are great to absorb blunt impact, but when the brain is spinning, helmets don't help the spinning contents slow down," Corry said. RIP in hockey heaven. The general public doesnt understand the adrenaline, the passion, the dedication the players have to get out there and perform.. They had total control.. They thought it took away from the fan experience, masking the identity of players. Yet that might not actually be the case. More importantly, he earned a degree. He had been checked hard into the glass less yielding in those days two weeks earlier in a game against the Boston Bruins. When he had headaches early on, we wouldnt have had him on the ice, he said. accessed ), memorial page for William Duncan "Bill" Cromie (24 Apr 1915-20 Feb 2002), Find a Grave Memorial ID 244481111, citing Riverside Cemetery . Back at the 1968 All-Star Game, discussion among beat writers went beyond the helmet debate to come up with a way to commemorate the league's first casualty. He didn't see the other defender, who caught him with a clean check that knocked him backward. Realizing he was already gone, Masterton's parents, who had flown in from Winnipeg after they heard of the incident, and his wife, Carol, made the decision to remove Masterton from life support. [11] He finished as the runner up to Doug Robinson for the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL's top rookie. Is his number retired by the Stars? [11], The NHL expanded in 1967, doubling from 6 teams to 12. It was always in the back of his mind.. They and many others claim the league could be doing more to protect its players from returning to action too soon. They thought it took away from the fan experience, masking the identity of players. Yet that might not actually be the case. The Hennepin County medical examiner found evidence of a previous injury on the left side of Masterton's skull on the temporal region of the brain. The night before the Oakland game, Masterton's family gathered at the house of their neighbor, North Star goaltender Cesare Maniago, to celebrate Maniago's 29th birthday. "[10], Turning to professional hockey after graduating with an engineering degree,[9] Masterton signed a contract with the Montreal Canadiens in 1961. What killed this man was second-impact syndrome.. He pursued a masters degree in business engineering, eventually joining technology giant Honeywell, where he worked on the financial end of the Apollo project. In 1968, Boudrias was the only North Star who wore a helmet. That rotation was a contributing factor in the severity of his injury. The night before the Oakland game, Mastertons family gathered at the house of their neighbor, North Star goaltender Cesare Maniago, to celebrate Maniagos 29th birthday. Ive never said this to anyone before, said Wren Blair, Mastertons coach and general manager, now 85. (Or was she paralyzed). "It is very rare to see that level of swelling in the brain from a single injury," he said. He had kept fit by playing on a barnstorming amateur team, the St. Paul Steers, and with the U.S. national team. Masterton was soft-spoken and modest, a quiet guy with a good sense of humor. Boudrias helped the team's trainer onto the ice to tend to Masterton. That dream carried him through junior hockey in his hometown of Winnipeg and three years at the University of Denver, where he was an All-American and led the Pioneers to the 1961 NCAA championship, but the dream stalled after two years of minor league hockey in the Montreal Canadiens' organization. I looked at him and said, What are you going to do? because he was just starting a young family, said Bob. Thats what men did. The following season, Blair traded Boudrias, who had scored the second-most points for the team in its first season, citing a drop in his production. One of their sticks tangled with Masterton's skates as he slid a pass to his wing, and he lost his balance, pitching forward. Ive never thought that it had anything to do with that hit. So has NHL protocol, initiated in 2011, which has spotters to flag potentially concussed players and bans those from returning to games in which they were injured. States the autopsy report: There was a blow to the left temple in a game some days prior to the fatal injury and the deceased is said to have complained of headaches in the left temporal region.. Like many Canadian boys growing up in the '50s, Masterton listened to Saturday night radio broadcasts of "Hockey Night in Canada" and dreamed of Foster Hewitt making the call: "Masterton shoots, he scores!". He cherished his son, Scott, 3, and daughter, Sally, 1. It took the NHL more than a decade to catch up to Boudrias logic. And he got hit a few games very hard at the NHL level. A team of doctors at the hospital treated Masterton with steroids and diuretics, but the swelling in his brain was so swift and severe that they decided against operating. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free), Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. [11] The new team's coach and general manager, Wren Blair, had scouted Masterton while he played with the US Nationals and purchased his NHL playing rights from the Canadiens. [10] Led by Jean Bliveau and Henri Richard, the Canadiens were extremely deep at center, so Masterton was assigned to the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens of the Eastern Professional Hockey League. He's also convinced a helmet would have saved Masterton's life. He played that game standing up, Williamson said. The underlying cause of his death almost 50 years ago elevates awareness about the risks of undiagnosed concussions -- and the NHL's responsibility to address them. Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. Laperrieres brain was bleeding. Almost 30 hours later, Bill Masterton was dead at the age of 29. The rarely told story behind the death of Bill Masterton -- the only NHL player to die from an injury suffered during a game -- highlights the risks and league culpability of concussions. I saw Bills head after he was just checked from behind and it just looked like his eyes were in the back of his head, she said. The question flashed up on the big screen: What if Ian didnt believe in sacrifice?. We didn't think it was that serious.". "We watched his head bounce," Lindgren said. [11], Masterton suffered a severe internal brain injury during the first period of Minnesota's January 13, 1968, game against the Oakland Seals at the Met Center. He had been checked hard into the glass -- less yielding in those days -- two weeks earlier in a game against the Boston Bruins. The team also retired his No. The underlying cause of his death almost 50 years ago elevates awareness about the risks of undiagnosed concussions -- and the NHL's responsibility to address them. Corry does not think the amount of swelling would have been caused from the singular impact at Met Center. [12], Faced with little opportunity to make the Montreal roster,[3] Masterton left the professional game to complete his master's degree at the University of Denver. Bob Masterton remembers his brother telling him about the NHL offer over dinner. john@johnrosengren.net|612-926-8835. Masterton had not told the North Stars' coach, Wren Blair, about his headaches, but Blair had thought something might be amiss and commented to the team trainer, "I wonder if we could have him checked," according to the Toronto Star, which first reported this story on May 28, 2011. His eyes were gray at the time it was like a horror picture, Boudrias says. They carried Masterton off on a stretcher, and an ambulance rushed him to Fairview Southdale hospital, seven miles away. Despite several efforts to mandate their use, it was 11 years before the NHL made them compulsory for all new players beginning in the 197980 season. Carol, who was watching the game from the stands, and Masterton's parents, who were listening to the game from their home in Winnipeg, rushed to his bedside at the hospital. "You protect your elbows, hips, knees and hands, I figured, why not protect your head?" He didnt move after that. Corry confirmed the opinion of Dr. Charles Tator, a Toronto neurosurgeon quoted in the Toronto Star article, who also said Masterton showed signs of "second-impact syndrome." "It's kind of good to hear that because it takes away some of the 'What if?'" But even if they had, he might still have been in the lineup against Oakland. Throughout his college career, right through to his training camp in Memphis, Masterton wore a helmet, a rarity in an age when head protection was dismissed by players and management alike. Masterton wasnt big. Despite several efforts to mandate their use, it was 11 years before the NHL made them compulsory for all new players beginning in the 1979-80 NHL season . "He was a team man off the charts.". In 1968, Boudrias was the only North Star who wore a helmet. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. You know the diagnosis of a concussion back in those days? asked Williamson, who has a photo hanging in his office of Masterton on the stretcher. A helmet obviously would not have hurt Masterton, but it might not have been enough to spare his life, given the nature of his injury and the fact he had not healed from a recent concussion. "He played that game standing up," Williamson said. Masterton was not a marquee player, but he was a skilled playmaker who was willing to work in the corners and be a team player. Masterton had not told the North Stars' coach, Wren Blair, about his headaches, but Blair had thought something might be amiss and commented to the team trainer, "I wonder if we could have him checked," according to the Toronto Star, which first reported this story on May 28, 2011. When the brain hasn't healed completely from a previous injury, a subsequent blow can cause the type of sudden and severe swelling found in Masterton's brain. ", Masterton was an unfortunate victim of the ignorance of his time. The Professional Hockey Writers Association proposed -- and the league immediately approved -- the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy to be awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the virtues of perseverance, courage and sportsmanship that Masterton displayed. One of their sticks tangled with Masterton's skates as he slid a pass to his wing, and he lost his balance, pitching forward. "[Masterton] probably had some earlier swelling going on, so if he got a second injury, it would be catastrophic.". Murray Williamson, who coached both amateur teams Masterton played for, remembered a night in Rochester, Minnesota, when Masterton backed into a radiator in the dressing room and singed his rear end. We were not allowed to wear helmets, said J.P. Parise. Masterton had worn a helmet when he played college hockey in Denver because NCAA regulations required players to wear them, but he did not wear one as a professional. "When he had headaches early on, we wouldn't have had him on the ice," he said. Realizing he was already gone, Masterton's parents, who had flown in from Winnipeg after they heard of the incident, and his wife, Carol, made the decision to remove Masterton from life support.
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