He was having some headaches. 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. Yet players such as Masterton learned to play hurt. The idea that you persevere goes back to time immemorial. You have come to the ESPN Africa edition, for other ESPN editions, click above. "I was asked to take it off," Boudrias said. 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 knew he was done.. "It is very rare to see that level of swelling in the brain from a single injury," he said. 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. Latest News Born Aug 16 1938 -- Winnipeg, MAN. [16] In that game, a 22 tie, Masterton scored the first goal in Minnesota franchise history. "We lived with the accident for many years but did not talk about it.". If the guy only sees two, you send him back out there because it doesn't matter anyway. John Rosengren is the author of Blades of Glory: The True Story of a Young Team Bred to Win . Masterton left pro hockey after two seasons when it appeared hed never make the NHL. 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. Stay on current site or go to US version. 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.". "He didn't move after that. And in Masterton's case, it probably cost him his life. "It's kind of good to hear that because it takes away some of the 'What if?'" He bore the bruises of that hit and others in subsequent games -- on his left arm, both thighs and, unwittingly, his brain. 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. Typical of the attitude of the day, North Stars coach Wren Blair frowned on the practice. "I knew he was done.". They and many others claim the league could be doing more to protect its players from returning to action too soon. Discuss the NHL, AHL, PHF, IIHF, KHL, and every other hockey league you can think of! "Helmets are great to absorb blunt impact, but when the brain is spinning, helmets don't help the spinning contents slow down," Corry said. Among the new entries was the Minnesota North Stars. 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. Ive never seen a person work so hard. 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. 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. Typical of the attitude of the day, North Stars coach Wren Blair frowned on the practice. Laperrieres brain was bleeding. Boudrias is convinced his insistence on wearing a helmet factored into Blair's decision. He remains the last fatality in any professional team sport involving a direct in-game injury in North America. They thought it took away from the fan experience, masking the identity of players. "We watched his head bounce," Lindgren said. It's always in the back of my mind. It's a fine tribute to a respected player who exhibited those virtues himself, but it's regrettable that it ever came to be. Theres no doubt in my mind about that, Boudrias said. Philadelphia forward Ian Laperriere is one of three final nominees for this years Masterton Trophy despite not playing a single game in 2010-11 as he deals with post-concussion syndrome. "I'd been knocked out myself playing football. This reminded me of Rich Beverly or Peverly for the Stars. 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!". Today his story is nearly forgotten, but for an annual NHL award that bears his name. Yeah was going to say maybe the only death by a player, not in general. Oakland defencemen Larry Cahan and Ron Harris moved in to check Masterton, who wound up falling on the back of his head. While knowledge of concussions has increased dramatically since Masterton died, the warrior-like mindset of professional hockey players is everlasting, he said. Still, it's very hard because I made the play. In 1968, Boudrias was the only North Star who wore a helmet. And it changed hockey forever. [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. 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. 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. It is very rare to see that level of swelling in the brain from a single injury, he said. But he played as though he was, said Muckler. Witnesses . That rotation was a contributing factor in the severity of his injury. That rotation was a contributing factor in the severity of his injury. 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. He was traded the following season to Chicago. But even if they had, he might still have been in the lineup against Oakland. "There's no doubt in my mind about that," Boudrias said. Is his number retired by the Stars? Season. [16], Few NHL players wore helmets in 1968. Thats a philosophy that Scott Masterton views with the ambivalence of both a former competitive athlete and a man left fatherless at the age of 3. 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. Bill Masterton played only 38 games in the NHL, but his memory has left a lasting impression. It took the NHL more than a decade to catch up to Boudrias logic. That was the NHLs code. They carried Masterton off on a stretcher, and an ambulance rushed him to Fairview Southdale hospital, seven miles away. My interpretation is that the seeds of this catastrophic injury were sown days before.. [9] He settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he took a job in contracts administration. You protect your elbows, hips, knees and hands, I figured, why not protect your head? said Boudrias, now 72. 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. In the week before his last game, Masterton had complained to his wife and several teammates about headaches. [16] The Minnesota North Stars pulled his jersey number 19 out of circulation following his death and formally retired it in 1987. 19, a tradition the franchise continued to honor when it moved and became the Dallas Stars. 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. 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. 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." Masterton, who was not wearing a helmet, smacked the back of his head on the ice. . He didn't see the other defender, who caught him with a clean check that knocked him backward. Well I DIEEEED, "Oh really? That was the NHL's code. "It sounded like a baseball bat hitting a ball," teammate Andr Boudrias recalled. 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. Masterton was soft-spoken and modest, a quiet guy with a good sense of humor. 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. Carl Johnson, assistant general manager of Minnesotas farm team in Memphis, said he was told Masterton had blacked out while on line rushes during practice. [16] Legislators in New York considered a law to make their use mandatory,[20] and the NHL voted on and rejected a rule requiring players wear helmets three times by 1971. 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. 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 averaged a goal per game and finished with 49 points in 22 games in 195556 as the Canadiens won the Turnbull Cup. Like Masterton, Laperriere earned an unlikely place in the pros with grit. 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. Those closest to Masterton concur he was suffering from a brain injury before he stepped on to the ice that night, as does a medical expert who reviewed an autopsy report obtained by the Star. When Minnesota executives, who had acquired his rights, invited him to a tryout, Masterton relished the second chance. Only a handful of NHL players wore them at the time, including Masterton's teammate, Boudrias. And in Mastertons case, it probably cost him his life. We lived with the accident for many years but did not talk about it.. 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. "He was a team man off the charts.". 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. [21], Some players began to wear helmets following Masterton's death,[16] but adoption was slow. 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. 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. RIP Bill Masterton. When he had headaches early on, we wouldnt have had him on the ice, he said. Or Richard Zednik who came close after his neck was cut by a skate and he lost a lot of blood. 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. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. He had kept fit by playing on a barnstorming amateur team, the St. Paul Steers, and with the U.S. national team. John Rosengren is the author of Blades of Glory: The True Story of a Young Team Bred to Win. (Or was she paralyzed). 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. Yet that might not actually be the case. [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. He speaks with the authority of an athlete accustomed to putting his body at risk. 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. Ive never said this to anyone before, said Wren Blair, Mastertons coach and general manager, now 85. Just that it was beating very irregularly, cause him to pass out/collapse. One of their sticks tangled with Masterton's skates as he slid a pass to his wing, and he lost his balance, pitching forward. 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. They thought it took away from the fan experience, masking the identity of players. If the guy only sees two, you send him back out there because it doesn't matter anyway. The specter of Masterton's death hung over the NHL All-Star Game, which was played in Toronto the next day, Jan. 16, 1968. 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 Minnesota executives, who had acquired his rights, invited him to a tryout, Masterton relished the second chance. Boudrias helped the teams trainer onto the ice to tend to Masterton. You were a yellow belly if you wore a helmet.. "You protect your elbows, hips, knees and hands, I figured, why not protect your head?" Professional Hockey Player. Happened to Jiri Fisher on the Wings bench too. He and others considered it a sign of weakness. 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.". Id been knocked out myself playing football. 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. Typical of the attitude of the day, North Stars coach Wren Blair frowned on the practice. Masterton was soft-spoken and modest, a quiet guy with a good sense of humor. The general public doesnt understand the adrenaline, the passion, the dedication the players have to get out there and perform.. The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. They didnt. "You hold out four fingers. But 37 games later, in the days leading up to the hit that would kill him, there were signs all was not right. Its also the mindset that will shorten their lives and destroy their bodies. We didn't think it was that serious.". It is named after Bill Masterton, the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of injuries suffered during a game. Theres something wrong.. My mother, before she died, talked about it. "Helmets are great to absorb blunt impact, but when the brain is spinning, helmets don't help the spinning contents slow down," Corry said. Men are the way men are.. 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. The NHL's expansion from six to 12 teams in 1967-68 rekindled his mothballed dream. (The trainer) said, Yeah, I notice that too. I said, I wonder if we could have him checked. It was always in the back of his mind.. asked Williamson, who has a photo hanging in his office of Masterton on the stretcher. 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. Boudrias is convinced his insistence on wearing a helmet factored into Blairs decision. While much in hockey has changed since Masterton died, one thing hasnt: Playing hurt is a sacred principle. You stopped elbowing guys in the head, Matt?". Yep, retired by the North Stars and carried over to Dallas. 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. They didn't. [13] He joined the Honeywell Corporation where he worked on the Apollo program. 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. [1] Following a second season in which he recorded 53 points in 30 games, Masterton chose to attend the University of Denver where he was offered a scholarship to play with the Denver Pioneers hockey program. Toronto neurosurgeon and concussion expert Charles Tator reviewed Masterton's autopsy and opined that Masterton had suffered second-impact syndrome, which occurs when a person suffers a second concussion on top of an earlier, untreated concussion. Only a handful of NHL players wore them at the time, including Masterton's teammate, Boudrias. That same year a trophy called the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy was established by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, in his memory. 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. "He was a team man off the charts.". He had been complaining of headaches, said Maniago. 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. permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com. [16] He was attended to by two neurosurgeons and three other doctors. "You protect your elbows, hips, knees and hands, I figured, why not protect your head?" [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. Seven hours later, when the Hennepin County medical examiner performed an autopsy, they discovered the true cause of Masterton's death. They carried Masterton off on a stretcher, and an ambulance rushed him to Fairview Southdale hospital, seven miles away. 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. That was the NHL's code. Talk centered on the divisive topic of helmets. NHL Home Scores Schedule Standings Stats Teams Daily Lines Power Rankings More If the guy only sees two, you send him back out there because it doesn't matter anyway. 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. Playoffs. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Newspapers Limited, 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 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. 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. If I had a slim chance to play, Im going to play.. "[3] However, Masterton's family held no animosity towards the players involved or the game. There is evidence of massive brain swelling . The team doctor soon joined him. 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