asked Williamson, who has a photo hanging in his office of Masterton on the stretcher. "He didn't move after that. But even if they had, he might still have been in the lineup against Oakland. [26] High schools in Bloomington, where the North Stars played their games, also award scholarships in Masterton's name. They carried Masterton off on a stretcher, and an ambulance rushed him to Fairview Southdale hospital, seven miles away. He served as captain on that team and was considered its most valuable player. and when he got hit the second time, he had that head whip and when that happens, you can go unconscious in that split second before you fall.. Masterton was soft-spoken and modest, a quiet guy with a good sense of humor. 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. Blair, in charge of the North Stars, came calling. Yet players such as Masterton learned to play hurt. Ken Lindgren, a fan watching the play about 10 rows up in the stands just above the blue line, can still visualize the impact. It is named after Bill Masterton, the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of injuries suffered during a game. Corry believes Masterton's death could have been prevented -- and would be today. [21], Some players began to wear helmets following Masterton's death,[16] but adoption was slow. 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. "We watched his head bounce," Lindgren said. They thought it took away from the fan experience, masking the identity of players. "What killed this man was second-impact syndrome.". He and others considered it a sign of weakness. Bill Masterton died from head injuries he suffered in a National Hockey League game in 1968, sparking a long-running debate over helmets, which were finally made mandatory 11 seasons later. Even as Walter Bush, one of the North Star owners, saw him lying motionless on the ice, he did not think Masterton had sustained a concussion. "I am convinced he had some type of concussion beforehand," said Dr. Jesse Corry, a specialist in neurocritical care at the John Nasseff Neuroscience Specialty Clinic in St. Paul who studied the autopsy report. He was 29.. Thirty hours later, he was dead in hospital. "You hold out four fingers. But even if they had, he might still have been in the lineup against Oakland. "What killed this man was second-impact syndrome.". That rotation was a contributing factor in the severity of his injury. My interpretation is that the seeds of this catastrophic injury were sown days before.. When Minnesota executives, who had acquired his rights, invited him to a tryout, Masterton relished the second chance. He said prior to the start of the 196768 season that being able to play in Minnesota was key as he would have been unlikely to consider an offer with any other team. He remains the last fatality in any professional team sport involving a direct in-game injury in North America. 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. It's a fine tribute to a respected player who exhibited those virtues himself, but it's regrettable that it ever came to be. "You hold out four fingers. 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." "[16] By mid-season, Masterton had scored 4 goals and 12 points in 38 games. He cherished his son, Scott, 3, and daughter, Sally, 1. 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. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution "It's kind of good to hear that because it takes away some of the 'What if?'" 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. 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. 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. Died Jan 15 1968 [Age 29] Height 6.00 -- Weight 185 [183 cm/84 kg] Regular Season. We didn't think it was that serious.". [3], Masterton played three seasons in Denver between 1958 and 1961, appearing in a total of 89 games, scoring 66 goals and 196 points in that time. He bore the bruises of that hit and others in subsequent games -- on his left arm, both thighs and, unwittingly, his brain. 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. Masterton told his friend that he had been having migraines. [16] The Minnesota North Stars pulled his jersey number 19 out of circulation following his death and formally retired it in 1987. We were not allowed to wear helmets, said J.P. Parise. The season started with promise: Masterton scored the first goal in North Stars history. 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!". Theres something wrong.. 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. He made the North Stars and scored the first goal in franchise history. My mother, before she died, talked about it. His eyes were gray at the time it was like a horror picture, Boudrias says. "[10], Turning to professional hockey after graduating with an engineering degree,[9] Masterton signed a contract with the Montreal Canadiens in 1961. 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. It got deathly quiet.". [16] Masterton was the first player to sign with Minnesota,[11] agreeing to a two-year contract. Awareness about brain injuries and how to treat them has come a long way since then. Masterton told his friend that he had been having migraines. Only a handful of NHL players wore them at the time, including Masterton's teammate, Boudrias. 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] probably had some earlier swelling going on, so if he got a second injury, it would be catastrophic.". Seven hours later, when the Hennepin County medical examiner performed an autopsy, they discovered the true cause of Mastertons death. [23], A later analysis by the Toronto Star in 2011 suggested that the "macho" attitude of the NHL in that era, as well as Masterton's aggressive playing style, played a significant role in his death. In 1968, Boudrias was the only North Star who wore a helmet. 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 and many others claim the league could be doing more to protect its players from returning to action too soon. 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. "This is an urgent matter," UMC CEO Bill Masterton said. Had to do cpr on him right next to the bench in the tunnel. "What killed this man was second-impact syndrome.". "He didn't move after that. Ken Lindgren, a fan watching the play about 10 rows up in the stands just above the blue line, can still visualize the impact. But 37 games later, in the days leading up to the hit that would kill him, there were signs all was not right. [19] They soon concluded that the injury was too severe for surgery to be a viable option. After Mastertons death, the North Stars set up a scholarship fund in his name. One of their sticks tangled with Mastertons skates as he slid a pass to his wing, and he lost his balance, pitching forward. "It is very rare to see that level of swelling in the brain from a single injury," he said. Didn't he break his leg then die from complications as a result of it. The irony is that perseverance probably killed Bill Masterton. [13] Masterton's Minnesota teammates, who were playing a game in Boston on the 14th, were informed that he had been removed from life support in the dressing room in what was ultimately a 92 loss to the Bruins. 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. "I'd been knocked out myself playing football. He averaged a goal per game and finished with 49 points in 22 games in 195556 as the Canadiens won the Turnbull Cup. [7] Masterton served as team captain for 196061,[8] and was named the most valuable player of the 1961 national championship as he led Denver to a second consecutive title. 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!. https://www.hockey-reference.com/awards/masterton.html. "We lived with the accident for many years but did not talk about it.". That was the NHL's code. 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. "We watched his head bounce," Lindgren said. His parents, brother, wife and two children were at his side. Talk centered on the divisive topic of helmets. In 1968, Boudrias was the only North Star who wore a helmet. ", Masterton was an unfortunate victim of the ignorance of his time. Only player death* Brittanie Cecil died while watching a game in 2002. It's a fine tribute to a respected player who exhibited those virtues himself, but it's regrettable that it ever came to be. He's also convinced a helmet would have saved Masterton's life. Deadline decisions: What will Avs, Kraken and others do? 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. He and others considered it a sign of weakness. 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. That's what men did. Men are the way men are.. 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. [12], Faced with little opportunity to make the Montreal roster,[3] Masterton left the professional game to complete his master's degree at the University of Denver. rights reserved. "There's no doubt in my mind about that," Boudrias said. 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. "We lived with the accident for many years but did not talk about it.". Republication or distribution of this content is And in Masterton's case, it probably cost him his life. He made the North Stars and scored the first goal in franchise history. "[3] However, Masterton's family held no animosity towards the players involved or the game. 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). Masterton, who was not wearing a helmet, smacked the back of his head on the ice. ' said Mastertons son, Scott, now 50. Typical of the attitude of the day, North Stars coach Wren Blair frowned on the practice. 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. "I'd been knocked out myself playing football. Bill Masterton is stretchered off the ice after being hit in a game against the Oakland Seals in 1968. But four neurologists cleared him to play after the spot disappeared. Discover the real story, facts, and details of Bill Masterton. It took the NHL more than a decade to catch up to Boudrias' logic. [16] He is the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of an injury suffered on the ice. "[Masterton] probably had some earlier swelling going on, so if he got a second injury, it would be catastrophic.". While knowledge of concussions has increased dramatically since Masterton died, the warrior-like mindset of professional hockey players is everlasting, he said. 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. The team also retired his No. He settled in Minneapolis with his high school sweetheart, Carol, and they adopted two children, Scott and Sally. Laperrieres brain was bleeding. I know that in our training camp he got hit hard a couple of times. 4 pick Puljujarvi to Canes, Chasing history in Boston: The numbers behind the Bruins' wild 2022-23 season, McDavid, then who? 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. 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. Bill Masterton, the only player to die from injuries suffered during an NHL game, might not have died in vain. The team doctor soon joined him. the Story Of Hockey History Bill Masterton a unforchanate hit that lead to his death Boudrias helped the team's trainer onto the ice to tend to Masterton. 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. He's also convinced a helmet would have saved Masterton's life. I don't think his heart completely stopped. Oakland defencemen Larry Cahan and Ron Harris moved in to check Masterton, who wound up falling on the back of his head. "He didn't move after that. 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. 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. He sees both nobility and short-sightedness in the demands placed on hockeys most devoted players. 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. [16], Few NHL players wore helmets in 1968. 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