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'Bashing' Bill Barilko is missing

Broadcast Date: Dec. 31, 1951

The long drought begins after today's exhilarating game. Toronto Maple Leaf "Bashing Bill Barilko" is lifted onto his teammates shoulders after he scores the winning goal for the Stanley Cup. The 24-year-old defenceman has become the Leafs' golden boy – winning four Stanley Cups in the four and a half years he's played in the NHL. But this is Barilko's last game before he mysteriously disappears on a fishing trip, initiating what some believed was a curse on the team.

A massive search and rescue effort scans northern Ontario for any sign of Barilko and the plane he was last seen in. For the next 11 years, the Leafs suffer a long losing streak in their quest for the Cup. In 1962, Barilko's remains are discovered in the plane wreckage hidden by the dense forest. In the same year, Leafs win the Stanley Cup and the apparent curse seems to be lifted.

'Bashing' Bill Barilko is missing

• Many rumours circulated about Barilko's whereabouts. One theory postulated that Soviet agents kidnapped Barilko and took him to the Soviet Union to teach hockey teams the fine art of defence. Another imagined him at the centre of a gold smuggling trade gone wrong. Others believed that he was still alive but suffering from amnesia in the woods.
• The Search and Rescue report cited pilot inexperience and bad weather conditions as the cause of the crash.

• On Oct. 31, 1951, the Toronto Maple Leafs offered a $10,000 reward to the person who located Barilko, dead or alive.
• Barilko's sweater number, #5, was formally retired in 1992. Ace Bailey's #6 is the only other Maple Leaf player whose number has been retired. Only players who have suffered a career-ending injury while a member of the team are eligible for this honour.

Also on April 21:
• 1926: The future Queen Elizabeth II is born in London. Her parents are the Duke and Duchess of York, who become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1936. The younger Elizabeth assumes the throne when her father dies in 1952.
• 1948: William Lyon Mackenzie King sets a record of service as a Commonwealth prime minister: 20 years, 10 months and 10 days. King, who had been prime minister off and on since 1921, retires the following November.


• 1997: The Ontario legislature passes Bill 103 to amalgamate Toronto's six municipalities and Metro government into one "mega-city".

'Bashing' Bill Barilko is missing

Medium: Radio

Program: CBC Radio News Special

Broadcast Date: Dec. 31, 1951

Reporter: Foster Hewitt

Duration: 0:38

Last updated:
Oct. 1, 2008