My Fifty Mission Cap

My clock-radio is set to activate the radio instead of the heart-attack inducing screech most alarms come equipped with, so the first thing I was aware of this morning was the sudden blare of the Tragically Hip, six inches from my ear. “Guh!”

"…the last goal he ever scored
won the Leafs the Cup
They didn't win another ‘till 1962,
the year…he was…DISCOVERED…"

Fifty Mission Cap. Why are they always playing that song, I wondered.

While I shaved, the DJ reminded me why they were spinning the tune.

On this date, in 1962, the body of Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Bill Barilko was found amid the wreckage of the airplane he disappeared in eleven years earlier during a fishing trip.

Just like the song says, Barilko’s last, and best-known act as a Toronto Maple Leaf was to score the winning goal in overtime against the Montreal Canadiens to clinch the Stanley Cup, on April 21, 1951.

As final sporting moments go, Barilko’s goal rates Pantheon inclusion in the Last Act Hall of Fame.

Rest in peace, Bill. Flying into history as a twenty-three year old champ for all time.