Bobby Baun

Lore & Background

Baun played junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros, winning the Memorial Cup in 1955 and 1956. He turned professional and played most of the 1956–57 season with the Rochester Americans, the only minor league games of his career, before being called up to the Maple Leafs. Over the next 11 seasons in Toronto, he established himself as one of the hardest and cleanest hitters of his time, though he was not an offensive threat, never scoring more than 20 points in a season. His highest single-season goal total was eight in 1959–60.

Baun's most famous moment came in game six of the 1963–64 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings on April 23, 1964. Having fractured his ankle earlier in the game, he returned in overtime and scored the game-winning goal to even the series at 3-3. The Leafs won the next game 4–0 to secure their third consecutive Stanley Cup. Baun developed a reputation for understanding the business side of the NHL before the players' union existed, and other players sought his contract advice, which eroded his relationship with general manager Punch Imlach. After a holdout in 1965–66, Baun got a raise but Imlach never forgot. Injuries further dimmed Imlach's enthusiasm; in 1966–67 Baun broke a toe, was replaced by Larry Hillman, and saw little ice time during the Leafs' 1967 Cup victory, refusing to participate in the celebrations.

Left unprotected in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, Baun was selected by the Oakland Seals. The team struggled badly, finishing with the worst record in the league. Baun asked to be traded back to an Original Six team, and Oakland dealt him to the Detroit Red Wings in May 1968. After two years in Detroit, he was placed on waivers early in the 1970–71 season, claimed by the Buffalo Sabres, and immediately traded to the St. Louis Blues. Baun refused to report and nine days later was traded back to the Maple Leafs for Brit Selby. He helped Jacques Plante record a 1.88 goals against average in 1970–71. In the fifth game of the 1972–73 season, a neck injury from a hit by Mickey Redmond ended his NHL career at age 36.

Reader's Guide

Bobby Baun's legacy is defined by his toughness and his iconic overtime goal on a broken ankle in the 1964 Stanley Cup Finals, a moment he himself said affected his life the most. Beyond his playing career, he demonstrated a keen understanding of the business side of hockey, advising other players on contracts before the players' union existed, though this strained his relationship with Leafs general manager Punch Imlach. After retiring, Baun became head coach of the Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association, but the team finished with the worst record in the league in 1975–76. He returned to farming, owning 800 hectares near Pickering, and also owned three Tim Horton's donut franchises, claiming to have sold Horton on the drive-through concept. Baun organized an NHL alumni association in the 1980s and investigated the NHL's pension plan, which paid him only $7,622 a year after 17 seasons, though he received little support from other players and eventually gave up. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in 2007 and inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Did You Know?

• Baun scored the game-winning goal in overtime of game six of the 1964 Stanley Cup Finals while playing on a fractured ankle.
• Baun owned three Tim Horton's donut franchises and claimed to have sold Tim Horton on the drive-through concept.
• After 17 NHL seasons, his pension was only $7,622 a year.