"We watched his head bounce," Lindgren said. As dramatic music replaced a play-by-play call of the incident, the video moved backwards in slow motion until just before Laperrieres face absorbed the slapshot. 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 the brain hasnt healed completely from a previous injury, a subsequent blow can cause the type of sudden and severe swelling found in Mastertons brain. They carried Masterton off on a stretcher, and an ambulance rushed him to Fairview Southdale hospital, seven miles away. 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. More importantly, he earned a degree. "You hold out four fingers. He is the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of injuries suffered during a game, the result of massive head injuries suffered following a hit during a January 13, 1968 contest against the Oakland Seals. [22] The "macho" attitude of the game, including fear of being called a coward, was an often cited reason for reluctance. Ken Lindgren, a fan watching the play about 10 rows up in the stands just above the blue line, can still visualize the impact. Typical of the attitude of the day, North Stars coach Wren Blair frowned on the practice. [16] He was attended to by two neurosurgeons and three other doctors. Twice last season, Laperriere took slapshots in the face. 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. He and others considered it a sign of weakness. They didn't. . 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. Yet players such as Masterton learned to play hurt. [5] He was a two-time NCAA All-American and was twice named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) All-Star team, earning both awards in 1960 and 1961. 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. Corry believes Masterton's death could have been prevented -- and would be today. [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. It got deathly quiet.". Throughout his college career, right through to his training camp in Memphis, Masterton wore a helmet, a rarity in an age when head protection was dismissed by players and management alike. Bill Masterton, the only player to die from injuries suffered during an NHL game, might not have died in vain. He had kept fit by playing on a barnstorming amateur team, the St. Paul Steers, and with the U.S. national team. "His eyes were gray at the time -- it was like a horror picture," Boudrias says. It got deathly quiet.. [3], At the age of 29, Masterton made his NHL debut in the North Stars' inaugural game, played October 11, 1967, against the St. Louis Blues. It was a dictatorship. His playing style has endeared him to hockey fans. Deadline decisions: What will Avs, Kraken and others do? 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 leagues first casualty. 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. 19, a tradition the franchise continued to honor when it moved and became the Dallas Stars. (The trainer) said, Yeah, I notice that too. I said, I wonder if we could have him checked. 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. 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. "There's no doubt in my mind about that," Boudrias said. John Rosengren is the author of Blades of Glory: The True Story of a Young Team Bred to Win. Season. Stay on current site or go to US version. 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. If the guy only sees two, you send him back out there because it doesn't matter anyway. 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 know that in our training camp he got hit hard a couple of times. It was kind of one of those things where I asked the question but I knew what he was going to do. "I knew he was done.". The specter of Masterton's death hung over the NHL All-Star Game, which was played in Toronto the next day, Jan. 16, 1968. Despite several efforts to mandate their use, it was 11 years before the NHL made them compulsory for all new players beginning in the 1979-80 NHL season . said Masterton's son, Scott, now 50. "We didn't really know concussions in those days," said Bush, now 86. They had total control.. In his memory, the NHL created the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy which it has awarded since 1968 to a player who demonstrates perseverance and dedication to hockey. But it was frowned on, really.. He cherished his son, Scott, 3, and daughter, Sally, 1. He briefly played in the Montreal Canadiens organization before settling in Minnesota where he played senior hockey. 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. Happened to Jiri Fisher on the Wings bench too. 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. I saw Bills head after he was just checked from behind and it just looked like his eyes were in the back of his head, she said. He bore the bruises of that hit and others in subsequent games -- on his left arm, both thighs and, unwittingly, his brain. "He played that game standing up," Williamson said. I knew he was done.. "What killed this man was second-impact syndrome.". Injury wasnt really of any importance in the sense that you didnt want to lose your job and if you couldnt play, obviously they had to fill their roster, said Walton, now a real estate agent in Toronto. All Boudrias is convinced his insistence on wearing a helmet factored into Blair's decision. He had been checked hard into the glass -- less yielding in those days -- two weeks earlier in a game against the Boston Bruins. 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. Born Aug 16 1938 -- Winnipeg, MAN. That honour followed the franchise when it relocated south to become the Dallas Stars. That's what men did. Didn't he break his leg then die from complications as a result of it. That same year a trophy called the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy was established by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, in his memory. Bill Masterton is the only man to die of injuries sustained in a National Hockey League (NHL) game. Only a handful of NHL players wore them at the time, including Mastertons teammate, Boudrias. In 1968, Boudrias was the only North Star who wore a helmet. However, Masterton brushed it off. In 1968, Bill Masterton became the only NHL player to date to die as the result of injuries suffered during a game. He had been checked hard into the glass -- less yielding in those days -- two weeks earlier in a game against the Boston Bruins. He and others considered it a sign of weakness. "He played that game standing up," Williamson said. Corry believes Masterton's death could have been prevented -- and would be today. 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. It was always in the back of his mind.. His aggressiveness got him.. You took a stick to the face? Their professional athletic careers may have ended with eerie similarity exactly 25 years apart. After Masterton's death, the North Stars set up a scholarship fund in his name. — -- Bill Masterton, the only player to die from injuries suffered during an NHL game, might not have died in vain. 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. Oakland defencemen Larry Cahan and Ron Harris moved in to check Masterton, who wound up falling on the back of his head. "It's kind of good to hear that because it takes away some of the 'What if?'" They carried Masterton off on a stretcher, and an ambulance rushed him to Fairview Southdale hospital, seven miles away. 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. Realizing he was already gone, Mastertons 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][2] He added eight points in six games during the Memorial Cup playdowns, however St. Boniface failed to reach the national championship final. I don't think his heart completely stopped. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free), Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 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. Corry does not think the amount of swelling would have been caused from the singular impact at Met Center. Masterton, who was always quick to dismiss concerns, was never sent to a doctor. And hopefully the lasthard to believe with how fast, heavy hitting, and dangerous this game is, it hasn't happened since. "I was asked to take it off," Boudrias said. He bore the bruises of that hit and others in subsequent games -- on his left arm, both thighs and, unwittingly, his brain. The usual story is just as has unfolded here, that they can even talk a bit after that final hit and then they lapse into a coma, Tator said. [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. 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. That was the NHL's code. 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. My interpretation is that the seeds of this catastrophic injury were sown days before.. After his death, his #19 jersey was officially retired by the Minnesota North Stars. In the week before his last game, Masterton had complained to his wife and several teammates about headaches. I looked at him and said, What are you going to do? because he was just starting a young family, said Bob. Republication or distribution of this content is "It's kind of good to hear that because it takes away some of the 'What if?'" We know the second hit can be fatal. "[Masterton] probably had some earlier swelling going on, so if he got a second injury, it would be catastrophic.". 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. He had kept fit by playing on a barnstorming amateur team, the St. Paul Steers, and with the U.S. national team. 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. But a Star investigation has uncovered evidence that an earlier, untreated concussion was likely responsible for Mastertons death at the age of 29. [3] He had 31 goals and 65 points for Hull-Ottawa,[1] placing him in the top ten in both categories. Theres something wrong.. 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. "Helmets are great to absorb blunt impact, but when the brain is spinning, helmets don't help the spinning contents slow down," Corry said. Masterton was knocked backward in the resulting collision and landed on his head. "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. RIP in hockey heaven. "You know the diagnosis of a concussion back in those days?" The team doctor soon joined him. Helmets are great to absorb blunt impact, but when the brain is spinning, helmets dont help the spinning contents slow down, Corry said. Only a handful of NHL players wore them at the time, including Masterton's teammate, Boudrias. 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. My feeling is that he may have gotten a minor concussion playing or practising on some other day . , Sally, 1 I wonder if We could have been caused from the singular at. 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