The North Stars retired his jersey number 19, an honour that followed the franchise when it later relocated to Dallas, Texas. I wouldnt do it.. "He didn't move after that. "Helmets are great to absorb blunt impact, but when the brain is spinning, helmets don't help the spinning contents slow down," Corry said. "He didn't move after that. He died two days later. 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. They thought it took away from the fan experience, masking the identity of players. Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com, Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the. permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com. . On that fatal night at Met Center on Jan. 13, 1968, the Minnesota North Stars center, playing against the Oakland Seals, carried the puck across the blue line and cut to the right while Seals defensemen Larry Cahan and Ron Harris closed in. He finished with a masters degree in business at Denver and landed a job at the Minneapolis-based technology company Honeywell, where he worked in the financial department for the Apollo project, married his high school sweetheart and started a family, adopting a son and a daughter. Ken Lindgren, a fan watching the play about 10 rows up in the stands just above the blue line, can still visualize the impact. He didnt see the other defender, who caught him with a clean check that knocked him backward. This reminded me of Rich Beverly or Peverly for the Stars. He remains the last fatality in any professional team sport involving a direct in-game injury in North America. If anyone is wondering his story here's a short video TSN did on him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh_uLi6Bf7s and here is a list of the previous winners of the trophy named after him. [3] The impact of the hit caused him to lose consciousness before he hit the ice; according to some accounts, he briefly came to and muttered, "Never again, never again" before passing back out. Even as Walter Bush, one of the North Star owners, saw him lying motionless on the ice, he did not think Masterton had sustained a concussion. It honours perseverance and dedication to hockey. 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. 1891 views | original sound - avalon 13.5K .mzrdo "I Got A Plan" Bills Death | #fyp #rdr1 #billwilliamson #johnmarston For my iTunes documentary, "The California Golden Seals Story" - I interviewed three witnesses to the tragic sequence of events that led to the death of Minn. He averaged a goal per game and finished with 49 points in 22 games in 195556 as the Canadiens won the Turnbull Cup. While knowledge of concussions has increased dramatically since Masterton died, the warrior-like mindset of professional hockey players is everlasting, he said. "[11] The force of the impact caused Masterton to bleed from his nose, ears, and mouth. NHL trade grades: Kane deal to Rangers earns high marks for one side, NHL trade tracker: Latest deals, rumors and grades, Rangers clear hurdles, get Kane from Blackhawks, Oilers bulk up defense, secure Predators' Ekholm, Leafs win Schenn sweepstakes, trade for veteran, Leafs deal Sandin to Capitals for Gustafsson, pick, Wild add depth, acquire Johansson from Capitals, NHL suspends Rangers' Miller for spitting incident, Oilers trade ex-No. 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 bore the bruises of that hit and others in subsequent games -- on his left arm, both thighs and, unwittingly, his brain. Seven hours later, when the Hennepin County medical examiner performed an autopsy, they discovered the true cause of Masterton's death. Still, he returned to play following lost teeth, hundreds of stitches and even the discovery of a spot on his brain visible on a CAT scan. For the 1979-80 season, the league finally made helmets mandatory for new players -- allowing those who signed professional contracts prior to June 1, 1979, the option not to wear them -- but it would be 18 years before every NHL player complied. 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. When the brain hasnt healed completely from a previous injury, a subsequent blow can cause the type of sudden and severe swelling found in Mastertons brain. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh_uLi6Bf7s, https://www.hockey-reference.com/awards/masterton.html. He's also convinced a helmet would have saved Masterton's life. (The trainer) said, Yeah, I notice that too. I said, I wonder if we could have him checked. . Oakland defencemen Larry Cahan and Ron Harris moved in to check Masterton, who wound up falling on the back of his head. Carol referred to the incident as a fluke, saying that it could have happened to anyone. He's also convinced a helmet would have saved Masterton's life. John Rosengren is the author of Blades of Glory: The True Story of a Young Team Bred to Win . said Boudrias, now 72. Bill Masterton's death sparked a long-running debate in hockey about the merits of wearing helmets, as few NHL players did so in that time. Masterton was caught in an awkward collision that sent his head slamming backwards onto the ice. "He was a team man off the charts.". Death 20 Feb 2002 (aged 86) New Zealand. But he played as though he was, said Muckler. We lived with the accident for many years but did not talk about it.. . [18], "Because he had a habit of giving everything he had for every second he was on the ice, Bill was the type of player who didn't have to score a lot of goals to help a club. [16] He was attended to by two neurosurgeons and three other doctors. It is very rare to see that level of swelling in the brain from a single injury, he said. 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. Only NHL Player To Die On Ice Bill John Masterton Https://Tedtalkshockey.com - YouTube 0:00 / 6:28 #Numberonetrending #NHL #Nationalhockeyleague Only NHL Player To Die On Ice Bill John. We didn't think it was that serious.". [19] He carried the puck up the ice at full speed, passing it off as two Seals defenders, Larry Cahan and Ron Harris, converged on him. "I am convinced he had some type of concussion beforehand," said Dr. Jesse Corry, a specialist in neurocritical care at the John Nasseff Neuroscience Specialty Clinic in St. Paul who studied the autopsy report. It took the NHL more than a decade to catch up to Boudrias' logic. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. "I wouldn't do it.". While much in hockey has changed since Masterton died, one thing hasnt: Playing hurt is a sacred principle. The specter of Mastertons death hung over the NHL All-Star Game, which was played in Toronto the next day, Jan. 16, 1968. We are the premier subreddit to talk everything hockey! But that has not happened fast enough for a group of more than 120 ex-NHL players, including Bernie Nicholls, Mike Peluso and Steve Payne, who are suing the league in a class-action suit for putting their neurological health at risk despite knowing the violent play involved. He cherished his son, Scott, 3, and daughter, Sally, 1. [16] In that game, a 22 tie, Masterton scored the first goal in Minnesota franchise history. 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. said Masterton's son, Scott, now 50. Among the new entries was the Minnesota North Stars. Yet that might not actually be the case. They and many others claim the league could be doing more to protect its players from returning to action too soon. The team also retired his No. [26] High schools in Bloomington, where the North Stars played their games, also award scholarships in Masterton's name. Masterton told his friend that he had been having migraines. Its also the mindset that will shorten their lives and destroy their bodies. Boudrias is convinced his insistence on wearing a helmet factored into Blair's decision. 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. My interpretation is that the seeds of this catastrophic injury were sown days before.. In a quiet moment, Masterton made a rare admission to Maniago: He was struggling with the effects of a head check into the glass during a recent game. And in Masterton's case, it probably cost him his life. To order During the season, several players and coaches recalled seeing Masterton black out during rushes in practice. "He was a team man off the charts.". Latest News Seven hours later, when the Hennepin County medical examiner performed an autopsy, they discovered the true cause of Masterton's death. Today his story is nearly forgotten, but for an annual NHL award that bears his name. Typical of the attitude of the day, North Stars coach Wren Blair frowned on the practice. 19, a tradition the franchise continued to honor when it moved and became the Dallas Stars. 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. "There's no doubt in my mind about that," Boudrias said. "It's kind of good to hear that because it takes away some of the 'What if?'" His eyes were gray at the time it was like a horror picture, Boudrias says. But my brother was the worker and he had the ethic that you need to make the NHL.. It's a fine tribute to a respected player who exhibited those virtues himself, but it's regrettable that it ever came to be. ", Masterton was an unfortunate victim of the ignorance of his time. "He played that game standing up," Williamson said. He starred at the University of Denver from 1957-61, helping the Pioneers win three national collegiate titles and earning tournament MVP honours his senior year. Only a handful of NHL players wore them at the time, including Masterton's teammate, Boudrias. Ken Lindgren, a fan watching the play about 10 rows up in the stands just above the blue line, can still visualize the impact. When Minnesota executives, who had acquired his rights, invited him to a tryout, Masterton relished the second chance. That injury was compounded by the age-old hockey code that preaches shake-it-off-and-get-back-out-there resilience in the face of pain, serious injury, even brain trauma. That's what men did. john@johnrosengren.net|612-926-8835. . The NHLs expansion from six to 12 teams in 1967-68 rekindled his mothballed dream. After reviewing the document, Dr. Charles Tator, a Toronto neurosurgeon and concussion expert, believes Masterton suffered second impact syndrome, a rare occurrence where a second concussion happens on the heels of a first concussion that never healed, causing rapid and severe brain swelling. 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.". [15] However, Masterton's death sparked an immediate debate on whether their use should be compulsory. Since Masterton was off balance at the time he got checked (cleanly; there was no penalty called), his brain twisted inside of his skull before his head struck the ice. "There's no doubt in my mind about that," Boudrias said. Helmets are great to absorb blunt impact, but when the brain is spinning, helmets dont help the spinning contents slow down, Corry said. [21] It was 11 years before the NHL finally mandated the use of helmets by all players entering the league beginning in the 197980 season. Bill Masterton is the only man to die of injuries sustained in a National Hockey League (NHL) game. 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. Nor did he see evidence of CTE, the progressive degenerative disease found posthumously in the brains of nearly 87 of 91 NFL players who suffered multiple blows to the head. The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy was created in 1968 under the trusteeship of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and is presented annually to the "National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey". — -- Bill Masterton, the only player to die from injuries suffered during an NHL game, might not have died in vain. 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. They and many others claim the league could be doing more to protect its players from returning to action too soon. At 1:55 a.m. on Jan. 15, 1968 almost 30 hours after he struck his head on the ice Bill Masterton died at the age of 29. During the same season, just a few months later, he was flying up open ice with the puck and was sandwiched by 2 California Seals. 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!". asked Williamson, who has a photo hanging in his office of Masterton on the stretcher. He didn't see the other defender, who caught him with a clean check that knocked him backward. "I knew he was done.". ' said Mastertons son, Scott, now 50. But a Star investigation has uncovered evidence that an earlier, untreated concussion was likely responsible for Mastertons death at the age of 29. After Mastertons death, the North Stars set up a scholarship fund in his name. and when he got hit the second time, he had that head whip and when that happens, you can go unconscious in that split second before you fall.. 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