He speaks with the authority of an athlete accustomed to putting his body at risk. You protect your elbows, hips, knees and hands, I figured, why not protect your head? said Boudrias, now 72. Yet that might not actually be the case. In 1968, Boudrias was the only North Star who wore a helmet. The idea that you persevere goes back to time immemorial. You would get traded if you did. Discover the real story, facts, and details of Bill Masterton. "It is very rare to see that level of swelling in the brain from a single injury," he said. He was having some headaches. Masterton told his friend that he had been having migraines. In 1967, Mastertons nearly forgotten hope of playing in the NHL re-emerged with the leagues expansion from six to 12 teams. Prior concussion was a factor in Bill Masterton's death, Wyshynski's NHL trade deadline tiers: From elite game-changers to bargain beauties, NHL trade deadline guides for all 32 teams: Players, picks in play, cap space, team status. 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." They thought it took away from the fan experience, masking the identity of players. "I'd been knocked out myself playing football. TikTok video from That Stars Fan (@hockey_unpaused): "Bill Masterton is the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of an injury suffered on the ice. "It sounded like a baseball bat hitting a ball," teammate Andr Boudrias recalled. 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. They didn't. 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." Bill Masterton is stretchered off the ice after being hit in a game against the Oakland Seals in 1968. Died Jan 15 1968 [Age 29] Height 6.00 -- Weight 185 [183 cm/84 kg] Regular Season. 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. [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 didn't move after that. Seven hours later, when the Hennepin County medical examiner performed an autopsy, they discovered the true cause of Masterton's death. Boudrias helped the team's trainer onto the ice to tend to Masterton. Masterton, who was not wearing a helmet, smacked the back of his head on the ice. 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. Boudrias helped the teams trainer onto the ice to tend to Masterton. Masterton left pro hockey after two seasons when it appeared hed never make the NHL. "[10], Turning to professional hockey after graduating with an engineering degree,[9] Masterton signed a contract with the Montreal Canadiens in 1961. People said I was crazy, but Im like, They brought me here to show the young guys the right way, said the 37-year-old Laperriere, who had signed with Philly before the 2009-10 season. He died two days later. My feeling is that he may have gotten a minor concussion playing or practising on some other day . 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. According to several of Masterton's teammates, wearing a helmet was frowned upon in the NHL of that era; at least one North Star who wore a helmet during a game was traded after the season. They carried Masterton off on a stretcher, and an ambulance rushed him to Fairview Southdale hospital, seven miles away. 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 not a marquee player, but he was a skilled playmaker who was willing to work in the corners and be a team player. They didn't. The NHL's 1967 expansion offered an opportunity to play for the newly founded North Stars, for whom he scored the first goal in the franchise's history. Masterton told his friend that he had been having migraines. He had been checked hard into the glass -- less yielding in those days -- two weeks earlier in a game against the Boston Bruins. That was the NHLs code. 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. Longtime NHL coach John Muckler, who was then the coach of the Stars' second-tier farm team, the Memphis South Stars, believed that Masterton may have suffered a brain injury as early as training camp. 19, a tradition the franchise continued to honor when it moved and became the Dallas Stars. [15] However, Masterton's death sparked an immediate debate on whether their use should be compulsory. 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. Masterton, who was always quick to dismiss concerns, was never sent to a doctor. 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. He and others considered it a sign of weakness. The hit was considered clean but the back of Masterton's head hit the ice hard and he died after being rushed to the hospital. 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 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. When Minnesota executives, who had acquired his rights, invited him to a tryout, Masterton relished the second chance. [15] He received treatment on the ice and in the dressing room before being rushed to Fairview-Southdale Hospital.[3]. He's also convinced a helmet would have saved Masterton's life. He cherished his son, Scott, 3, and daughter, Sally, 1. His aggressiveness got him.. They and many others claim the league could be doing more to protect its players from returning to action too soon. [15], After taking a year off from hockey in 1964, Masterton regained his amateur status so that he could play senior hockey in the United States Hockey League. William Masterton (August 13, 1938 January 15, 1968) was a Canadian American professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota North Stars in 196768. "He was a team man off the charts.". 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. "I knew he was done.". 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.". "I was asked to take it off," Boudrias said. Didn't he break his leg then die from complications as a result of it. After his death, his #19 jersey was officially retired by the Minnesota North Stars. He bore the bruises of that hit and others in subsequent games -- on his left arm, both thighs and, unwittingly, his brain. 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. Usually Masterton is described as the first death caused directly by an on-ice incident to differentiate from Morenz dying of complications. Corry does not think the amount of swelling would have been caused from the singular impact at Met Center. All We didnt really know concussions in those days, said Bush, now 86. He remains the last fatality in any professional team sport involving a direct in-game injury in North America. We are the premier subreddit to talk everything hockey! [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. We lived with the accident for many years but did not talk about it.. One of their sticks tangled with Mastertons skates as he slid a pass to his wing, and he lost his balance, pitching forward. And in Mastertons case, it probably cost him his life. [16] He was attended to by two neurosurgeons and three other doctors. 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. He bore the bruises of that hit and others in subsequent games -- on his left arm, both thighs and, unwittingly, his brain. He sees both nobility and short-sightedness in the demands placed on hockeys most devoted players. The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star While Masterton was originally thought to have suffered a fatal brain injury while being checked on the ice, later analysis of the case revealed evidence of second-impact syndrome and . [27], Masterton was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1985,[28] and named to the NCAA's 50th anniversary team in 1997. It got deathly quiet.. 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. 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. The team also retired his No. Masterton was knocked backward in the resulting collision and landed on his head. 19, a tradition the franchise continued to honor when it moved and became the Dallas Stars. Since 1968, Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is voted to player who "best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship & dedication to hockey" pic.twitter.com/CU2adCoSaV Dave Stubbs (@Dave_Stubbs) January 15, 2020 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. "[11] The force of the impact caused Masterton to bleed from his nose, ears, and mouth. 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. Did n't he break bill masterton death video leg then die from complications as a result of it back of his head the. I 'd been knocked out myself playing football to honor when it moved and became the Dallas Stars honor. The dressing room before being rushed to Fairview-Southdale hospital. [ 3 ] the fan experience, masking identity... 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