A piece of hockey history is on the auction block — a signed stick owned by Bill Barilko, the Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman who scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in overtime in 1951.
The National Hockey League’s website shows Barilko, born in Timmins, Ont., played 252 games in his career. He spent all of his five seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
For many, Barilko’s goal against the Montreal Canadiens on April 21, 1951 is one of hockey’s most celebrated. It was also Barilko’s last, as in August of the same year, he died when a plane he was in went down while on a fishing trip to James Bay. The Leafs didn’t win another Cup until 1962. Six weeks after that win, the crash site and Barilko’s body were located.
His story inspired The Tragically Hip song Fifty-Mission Cap.
The game-issued stick from the 1950-51 season is being auctioned off by Miller and Miller Auctions based out of New Hamburg, Ont. Benjamin Pernfuss is the consignment director in the sports category at Miller and Miller and called it a “unique find.”
“It’s one of those items that gives you a rush when you hold it in your hand, just knowing that you’re touching a piece of history,” Pernfuss told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo’s The Morning Edition.
“Every day, I’m in different people’s collections and seeing items and it’s not every day that I see something I haven’t seen before. But this is one of those items and it really brought me a lot of joy to source it and and offer for sale.”
LISTEN | The radio call from 1951 when Bill Barilko won the Leafs the Cup:
After mysteriously vanishing, the Toronto Maple Leafs wouldn’t win another Stanley Cup until Barilko’s remains were found 11 years later.
The stick is stamped number five, which indicates it was issued to Barilko because that was his number for the 1950-51 season. The stick is taped for game use in a way that matches Barilko’s style and there are puck marks and lower hand grip wear, which could indicate the stick was likely used in a game, although Miller and Miller Auctions is unable to confirm that.
The stick was made by Love & Bennett, a hockey stick supplier for the team, and the company’s name is stamped on the stick.
Pernfuss says the stick includes Barilko’s signature and several other identifiable signatures including: Turk Broda, Ted Kennedy, Joe Klukay, Cal Gardner, Fleming Mackell, Ray Timgren, Howie Meeker, Harry Watson, Bill Juzda, Sid Smith, Max Bentley, Al Rollins and Tod Sloan.
Miller and Miller Auctions notes the signatures of Rollins and Sloan also help date the stick to the 1950-51 season.
Miller and Miller Actions had put an estimate for the stick at between $3,000 and $5,000, but Pernfuss says because it’s so rare, “the sky is the limit.”
“There’s not a lot of his memorabilia out there and the stick was owned by Barilko and signed by him as well. So it’s a significant piece and a rare item in hockey history,” Pernfuss says.
The online auction closes Sunday evening.
LISTEN | A piece of Maple Leafs hockey history goes up for auction:
Toronto Maple Leafs player Bill Barilko’s hockey stick is on the auction block at Miller and Miller Auctions in New Hamburg. Benjamin Pernfuss, the consignment director in the sports category, talks to us about the history behind the stick and why it’s a hot commodity for the auction.