[15] He received treatment on the ice and in the dressing room before being rushed to Fairview-Southdale Hospital.[3]. 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. You stopped elbowing guys in the head, Matt?". 1/2 Minnesota North Stars F Bill Masterton was tragically lost on this day in 1968, 2 days after having struck his head on Met Center ice. John Rosengren is the author of Blades of Glory: The True Story of a Young Team Bred to Win. He cherished his son, Scott, 3, and daughter, Sally, 1. In the week before his last game, Masterton had complained to his wife and several teammates about headaches. 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. It got deathly quiet.". 19, a tradition the franchise continued to honor when it moved and became the Dallas Stars. . 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. They carried Masterton off on a stretcher, and an ambulance rushed him to Fairview Southdale hospital, seven miles away. 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. I think he had a (pre-existing) cerebral brain hemorrhage.. I know that in our training camp he got hit hard a couple of times. 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. 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. Ive never seen a person work so hard. She, too, believes something else was wrong with Masterton that night, something that explains why the routine bodycheck left him unconscious even before he hit the ice. "I knew he was done.". "His eyes were gray at the time -- it was like a horror picture," Boudrias says. said Masterton's son, Scott, now 50. You hold out four fingers. We didnt think it was that serious.. Deadline decisions: What will Avs, Kraken and others do? I knew he was done.. My mother, before she died, talked about it. My interpretation is that the seeds of this catastrophic injury were sown days before.. Bills son Scott Masterton, now 46 with four children of his own, also believes that his fathers fate was sealed long before the night when the final blow was dealt. 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. Masterton was caught in an awkward collision that sent his head slamming backwards onto the ice. And in Masterton's case, it probably cost him his life. Corry believes Masterton's death could have been prevented -- and would be today. 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. 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] Some 30 hours after his fall, on January 15, Masterton died without ever regaining consciousness. 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. Only a handful of NHL players wore them at the time, including Mastertons teammate, Boudrias. Newspapers Limited, 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 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. It was kind of one of those things where I asked the question but I knew what he was going to do. A college standout with the Denver Pioneers, Masterton was a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship teams in 1960 and 1961, was twice an NCAA All-Star and was the most valuable player of the 1961 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. 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. What happened in the days leading up to that fatal moment in Minneapolis, when Masterton played his 38th and final NHL game, has been largely a mystery. They thought it took away from the fan experience, masking the identity of players. 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. 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. When Masterton's head struck the ice at Met Center, there was no skull fracture, but his brain swelled very quickly, evidenced by his dilated pupils and elevated blood pressure -- which pointed to a previous head injury. "You know the diagnosis of a concussion back in those days?" When Masterton's head struck the ice at Met Center, there was no skull fracture, but his brain swelled very quickly, evidenced by his dilated pupils and elevated blood pressure -- which pointed to a previous head injury. 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. When Minnesota executives, who had acquired his rights, invited him to a tryout, Masterton relished the second chance. The question flashed up on the big screen: What if Ian didnt believe in sacrifice?. They carried Masterton off on a stretcher, and an ambulance rushed him to Fairview Southdale hospital, seven miles away. Ron Harris was haunted for many years by his role in Masterton's death: "It bothers you the rest of your life. Masterton wasnt big. Masterton, who was not wearing a helmet, smacked the back of his head on the ice. Usually Masterton is described as the first death caused directly by an on-ice incident to differentiate from Morenz dying of complications. A ritual unfolded every Saturday evening in the small Masterton home in Winnipegs East Kildonan neighbourhood: brothers Bill and Bob took a bath, slipped into pajamas and sat together in front of a tiny electric fireplace while listening to Foster Hewitt on the radio. 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 . [16] He played two seasons with the St. Paul Steers between 1964 and 1966. He died from a coronary embolism caused by blood clots from his damaged leg, so related but not directly because of the injury (he had a heart attack before the coronary embolism). Corry does not think the amount of swelling would have been caused from the singular impact at Met Center. That was the NHL's code. If the guy only sees two, you send him back out there because it doesnt matter anyway., Masterton was an unfortunate victim of the ignorance of his time. He didn't see the other defender, who caught him with a clean check that knocked him backward. Yet players such as Masterton learned to play hurt. The usual story is just as has unfolded here, that they can even talk a bit after that final hit and then they lapse into a coma, Tator said. 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. The Hennepin County medical examiner found evidence of a previous injury on the left side of Mastertons skull on the temporal region of the brain. Bill Masterton, the only player to die from injuries suffered during an NHL game, might not have died in vain. Helmets are great to absorb blunt impact, but when the brain is spinning, helmets dont help the spinning contents slow down, Corry said. 19, a tradition the franchise continued to honor when it moved and became the Dallas Stars. He and others considered it a sign of weakness. said Masterton's son, Scott, now 50. He cherished his son, Scott, 3, and daughter, Sally, 1. He bore the bruises of that hit and others in subsequent games on his left arm, both thighs and, unwittingly, his brain. They felt it caused what was otherwise viewed as a clean, albeit hard, bodycheck to turn fatal. The Montreal Canadiens, which owned his rights, traded them to Minnesota. Masterton was soft-spoken and modest, a quiet guy with a good sense of humor. His face is blood red, almost purple. Theres something wrong.. 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. Boudrias is convinced his insistence on wearing a helmet factored into Blair's decision. He died two days later. -- Bill Masterton, the only player to die from injuries suffered during an NHL game, might not have died in vain. Its also the mindset that will shorten their lives and destroy their bodies. 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. Republication or distribution of this content is Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? . He finished with a master's 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. 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. [17] Masterton became a naturalized American citizen, allowing him to join the United States National Team in 196667. Boudrias helped the team's trainer onto the ice to tend to Masterton. "He didn't move after that. When Bill Mastertons limp body collapsed to the ice on Jan. 15, 1968, the Minnesota North Stars centre appeared to be the victim of an innocuous hit. "He played that game standing up," Williamson said. "[10], Turning to professional hockey after graduating with an engineering degree,[9] Masterton signed a contract with the Montreal Canadiens in 1961. "He played that game standing up," Williamson said. "I was asked to take it off," Boudrias said. But four neurologists cleared him to play after the spot disappeared. That was the NHL's code. He and others considered it a sign of weakness. 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. [16] He was attended to by two neurosurgeons and three other doctors. The NHL's expansion from six to 12 teams in 1967-68 rekindled his mothballed dream. "You protect your elbows, hips, knees and hands, I figured, why not protect your head?" said Boudrias, now 72. That honour followed the franchise when it relocated south to become the Dallas Stars. 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.". 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. "We didn't really know concussions in those days," said Bush, now 86. Awareness about brain injuries and how to treat them has come a long way since then. 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. "His eyes were gray at the time -- it was like a horror picture," Boudrias says. Such is the legacy of the only man who died because of injuries caused in an NHL game. 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. And in Masterton's case, it probably cost him his life. Boudrias helped the team's trainer onto the ice to tend to Masterton. This reminded me of Rich Beverly or Peverly for the Stars. 4 pick Puljujarvi to Canes, Chasing history in Boston: The numbers behind the Bruins' wild 2022-23 season, McDavid, then who? to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about [9] He settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he took a job in contracts administration. A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Masterton played two seasons of junior hockey with the St. Boniface Canadiens in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL). ' said Mastertons son, Scott, now 50. Fifty years ago on Jan. 15, 1968 Minnesota North Stars rookie center Bill Masterton died from a head injury suffered 30 hours earlier in a home game against the Oakland Seals. "[Masterton] probably had some earlier swelling going on, so if he got a second injury, it would be catastrophic.". They had total control.. Died Jan 15 1968 [Age 29] Height 6.00 -- Weight 185 [183 cm/84 kg] Regular Season. Just that it was beating very irregularly, cause him to pass out/collapse. Its a badge of honour, he said. Bill Masterton is the only man to die of injuries sustained in a National Hockey League (NHL) game. We watched his head bounce, Lindgren said. "We didn't really know concussions in those days," said Bush, now 86. 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. Masterton is credited with the scoring the first goal by a Minnesota franchise in the NHL. "[3] However, Masterton's family held no animosity towards the players involved or the game. It got deathly quiet.". 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. I looked at him and said, What are you going to do? because he was just starting a young family, said Bob. 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 leagues first casualty. Typical of the attitude of the day, North Stars coach Wren Blair frowned on the practice. Bill Masterton played only 38 games in the NHL, but his memory has left a lasting impression. His parents, brother, wife and two children were at his side. We lived with the accident for many years but did not talk about it.. 2023 John Rosengren. 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