Baun dies at 86, scored OT goal with broken ankle in 1964 Final
Defenseman was 4-time NHL champion for Maple Leafs
ByNHL.com @NHLdotcom
Bob Baun, a four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Toronto Maple Leafs, died Tuesday. He was 86.
The defenseman, who played 964 regular-season games for the Maple Leafs, Oakland Seals and Detroit Red Wings from 1956-1973, is best known for scoring in overtime of Game 6 of the 1964 Stanley Cup Final while playing on a fractured ankle. The goal gave the Maple Leafs a 4-3 win against the Red Wings. The Maple Leafs won the Cup in Game 7.
"The Toronto Maple Leafs are deeply saddened by the passing of Bob Baun, whose enduring legacy of remarkable resilience includes his iconic overtime game-winning goal during a Stanley Cup final despite playing with a broken leg," Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said. "Bob possessed unquestionable toughness and incredible pride in being a Toronto Maple Leaf. His inspirational presence continues to embody the heart of the game. He will be greatly missed by the team and its fans. Our thoughts are with Bob's loved ones during this difficult time."
Baun was injured blocking a shot from Red Wings forward Alex Delvecchio at 13:15 of the third period and carried off the ice. His right leg heavily taped and frozen with a hypodermic needle, Baun skipped a puck through traffic at 1:43 of OT to force Game 7.
"I couldn't figure what was wrong," Baun told author Kevin Shea for the 2010 book "Toronto Maple Leafs: Diary of a Dynasty, 1957-1967. "Then when I went into the face-off with Gordie Howe, I heard a snap, and it caved in underneath me. I tried to get up but there was no way I could put any weight on it. My leg just turned to cream cheese. It was the most unusual thing I ever had happen to me.
"I kept the ankle in ice for two days right after [Game 6], through to game time [of Game 7]," he said. "I never came out of an ice bucket. You know, that was more pain than the leg itself."
Baun was plus-2 in Game 7, a 4-0 victory that gave the Maple Leafs their third consecutive Stanley Cup championship. His ankle was later placed in a cast for six weeks.
"You don't think I'm going to miss the last chapter over something like this, do you?" Baun said.
Nicknamed "Boomer," Baun had 224 points (37 goals, 187 assists) over 17 seasons, winning the Cup with Toronto in 1962, 63, 64 and 67. He had 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 96 Stanley Cup Playoff games, his five points (two goals, three assists) in the 1964 playoffs, second on Toronto behind Allan Stanley's seven.
"The National Hockey League mourns the passing of Bob Baun, a pillar of the dynastic Toronto Maple Leafs defense who won the Stanley Cup four times," the League said in a statement. "Baun's overtime goal in Game 6 of the 1964 Final, scored while playing on a fractured ankle, is renowned as one of the most legendary displays of physical resilience in hockey history. The NHL sends its condolences to the Baun family and to his many fans in Toronto and throughout the hockey world."
