Bobby Baun

Lore & Background

Baun played junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros from 1952 to 1956, winning the Memorial Cup in 1955 and 1956. He played most of the 1956–57 season with the Rochester Americans, the Toronto Maple Leafs affiliate, and was called up to the Leafs during that season. He played in Toronto for the next 11 seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967. 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 best-of-seven series at 3-3. The Leafs won the next game 4–0 to secure their third consecutive Stanley Cup championship. Baun was left unprotected in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft and selected by the Oakland Seals. He was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in May 1968, then claimed by the Buffalo Sabres in 1970–71, who traded him to the St. Louis Blues. Baun refused to report and nine days later was traded back to the Maple Leafs for Brit Selby. His NHL career ended at age 36 after a neck injury from a hit by Mickey Redmond in the fifth game of the 1972–73 season.

In Their Own Story

The air in Maple Leaf Gardens smelled of sweat, stale beer, and desperation as the clock wound down on Game 6. The score was deadlocked at 2-2 against Detroit when a slapshot screamed toward Baun’s left ankle with a sickening crack. He collapsed in agony, but after being treated on the bench during intermission, he limped back onto the ice for overtime, his leg wrapped in heavy tape and a cast. The crowd fell silent, then erupted as he skated with a limp that defied physics. Minutes later, he received a pass near the blue line, wound up with his good leg, and fired a shot past the Detroit goalie. The arena exploded; Baun simply raised his stick, a grimace of pain mixed with triumph.

Reader's Guide

Baun was one of the hardest and cleanest hitters of his time. He was not considered an offensive threat as a defenceman, never scoring more than 20 points in a season in the NHL. His highest single-season goal total was eight in 1959–60. He developed a reputation for understanding the business side of playing in the NHL before there was a players' union. After retiring as a player, he ran a cattle farm, then was hired as head coach of the Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association for the 1975–76 season, finishing with the worst record in the league. He also owned three Tim Hortons donut franchises and worked as a car salesman, hotel/restaurant owner, real estate agent, and insurance company manager. In the 1980s, he organized an NHL alumni association and investigated the NHL's pension plan, which paid him only $7,622 a year after 17 NHL seasons. He received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology on June 1, 2007, and was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Did You Know?

• Baun scored the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the 1964 Stanley Cup Finals with a fractured ankle, but the goal tied the series, not clinched the championship.
• His nickname was 'Boomer', not 'Bullet Bobby'.
• He played for the Oakland Seals, Detroit Red Wings, and Buffalo Sabres, not just the Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues.
• Baun's pension after 17 NHL seasons was only $7,622 a year.
• He once saved enough money by age 15 to buy a Cadillac, after polishing apples for three days for Cub Scout Apple Day.