- Bill Masterton
Infobox Ice Hockey Player
position = Centre
height_ft = 6
height_in = 0
weight_lb = 185
played_for =Minnesota North Stars
nationality = USA
nationality_2 = Canada
birth_date = birth_date|1938|8|16
death_date = death_date_and_age|1968|1|15|1938|8|16
death_place = Minneapolis, MN, USA
birth_place =Winnipeg , MB, CAN
career_start = 1967
career_end = 1968William "Bill" Masterton (
August 13 , 1938 –January 15 , 1968) was a Canadian-born centre in theNational Hockey League (NHL).Early life and career
A native of
Winnipeg, Manitoba , Masterton was signed by theMontreal Canadiens soon after he came out of theUniversity of Denver in 1961., where he was an All-American. He bounced around the minor leagues before retiring in 1963 in order to work for theHoneywell Corporation inMinneapolis and played as an amateur for the United States National team (Masterton became an American citizen in 1967). The North Stars picked him up before their inaugural season in 1967. He scored the first goal in North Stars history onOctober 11 , 1967. [ [http://www.northstarshockey.com/clip2.htm Masterton Dream ] ]Death
On
January 13 , 1968, four minutes into a game against theOakland Seals at theMet Center , Masterton was carrying the puck into the Seals' zone. Shortly after completing a pass to teammateWayne Connelly , he was checked by Oakland'sLarry Cahan and Ron Harris and fell backwards onto the ice head-first. The force of the back of his head hitting the ice caused blood to gush from his mouth and nose. Before Masterton lost consciousness, a teammate who rushed to his aid heard him murmur, "Never again. Never again." [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837760,00.html First Fatality - TIME ] ]Masterton sustained a massive brain hemorrhage that damaged the
pons . The injury was so severe that doctors were unable to perform surgery, and Masterton died two days later without ever regaining consciousness. [ [http://www.northstarshockey.com/clip1.htm Masterton Tragedy ] ]His death would result in more intense lobbying for hockey players to wear helmets, which were uncommon in North American professional hockey at that time. Helmets were mandated for the
1979–80 NHL season .Masterton's #19 jersey has never been worn again by any player on the North Stars/Stars franchise, and it was officially retired in 1987, six years before the North Stars left Minnesota. [ [http://stars.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=NHLPage&bcid=sta_history-retired Dallas Stars - Team ] ]
The
Bill Masterton Trophy is named in his honour. The trophy is awarded for dedication, sportsmanship, and perseverance. [ [http://www.northstarshockey.com/bmtwins.htm Bill Masterton Trophy ] ] [ [http://www.nhl.com/trophies/masterton.html NHL.com - Trophies ] ]Bill Masterton attended Miles MacDonell Collegiate in Winnipeg, where he was the male athlete of the year at the school in 1955. In 1968, his family created a scholarship in his honour for MacDonell students.
Awards & Achievements
*Turnbull Cup
MJHL Championship (1956)
*NCAA National Championships (1958, 1960, & 1961)
*WCHA First All-Star Team (1960 & 1961)
*NCAA West First All-American Team (1960 & 1961)
*NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team (1961)
*NCAA Championship Tournament MVP (1961)
*“Honoured Member” of theManitoba Hockey Hall of Fame ee also
*
List of ice hockey players who died during their playing career References
External links
*
*legendsofhockey|13562
* [http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/honoured/players.html?category=9&id=139 Bill Masterton's biography] at [http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/index.html Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame]
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