A Decade After This NHL Star Disappeared, A Chopper Pilot Spotted The Wreckage Of A Plane

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It was summer 1951 in Ontario, Canada, and one of the nation’s most celebrated ice hockey stars was heading home after a fishing adventure in the province’s northern wilderness. But somewhere en route, his plane simply disappeared. For more than ten years, the missing Bill Barilko’s fate remained a mystery. And then a helicopter pilot, flying over the area where the star was last seen, spots something strange on the ground below.

William Barilko – known as Bill – was born on March 25, 1927, to a family of Ukrainian extraction in Timmins, a small town in Ontario, Canada. At the time, the province was a prosperous area, with gold mines and attendant industries offering employment despite the Great Depression. However, life was not always easy for Barilko and his two siblings, brother Alex and sister Anne.

This was due to the fact that Barilko’s father had sadly died when the children were young, and his mother Faye struggled to raise them alone. And even though Barilko began playing ice hockey as a boy, nothing in his early efforts suggested that he would excel at the sport. In fact, he was initially assigned the role of goaltender as his skating skills left a lot to be desired.

However, standing around in goal did not appeal to the handsome young Barilko. Instead, he was changed to defense, and it was in that position that he began to shine. Turning out for his home Timmins Air Cadets team, he was soon earning praise from the local press. Later, as a teenager, Barilko found his way south to Los Angeles, California, where he played for the Hollywood Wolves side.

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►Image credits:

#watchjojo

[aiHappiness]

my 50 mission cap! RIP Bill Barlilko and RIP Gord Downie immoralizing this story forever, as a die hard Leafs fan born 1977 this is as close to a fairy tale in life to me as any story ever told. Thank you pro-set 90's hockey card for me first discovering this story and of course the Tragically Hip

A GREAT CANADIAN LEGEND and STORY

[linda]

3:33 The five seconds when you're not being eaten alive by mosquitos or blackflies ...anyone from northern Ontario knows what I'm talking about, lol.

[Laffy]

Felt like the guy on movie Air plane, hung myself while listening to this guy.

[ScooBdont]

At 5:41 if video the narrator says 78, 000 square feet of the wilderness had been searched. I’m pretty sure he was supposed to say 78, 000 square miles of wilderness had been searched.

[jacobcouckuyt]

The biggest surprise of the video is hearing that the leafs actually won the Stanley cup.... multiple times.

[greatestevershea]

🎵Mother knows best, listened to your mother🎵

[carl]

I just wanted to know what happend, not his life's story

[daroofa]

5:40 I think that should be square miles or kilometers not feet.

[Richard-wtuz]

Is this when there were only 6 teams lol

[martytruelove]

Thanks to The Tragically Hip, most Canadians know this story.

[sailingsolar]

The big problem with mothers who worry all the time is unless they die first, all their worrying is deemed justified when anything happens Doesn't mean the worrying is ever justified but fools will insist it is.

[DARKhorses]

Wow no helmets for hockey back in those days. 😲

[highrevs]

Would not to ask this guy a question. I don’t have time for an answer

[vickinoeske]

His poor loved ones who never had an answer. Maybe now Bill will rest in peace.

[Iam_Dunn]

Yeah, every Canadian knows this story from a Tragically Hip song... :)

[rollandcright]

Most Canadians know this story: "50 mission cap" by The Tragically Hip.

[dj]

Why do we have to hear his entire life history. He was in a plane, it was lost and crashed. Someone found it 10 years later. End of story.

[lucasdunk]

I’m not a hockey fan, but this whole video is rather interesting

[breando]

Jesus, enough with the irrelevant waffle, get to the point.

[keeperofthebonessean]

Ckeck out The Tragically Hip song "50 Mission cap"