Last month, the banners of Toronto Maple Leafs legends were taken down from the rafters of the Air Canada Centre in preparation for upcoming centennial celebrations.
But on Wednesday, one banner was returned to its place in the rafters: Bill Barilko.
Every time The Tragically Hip perform their hit song Fifty Mission Cap at the Toronto rink, the spotlight shines on the banner of Barilko—the late Leafs legend behind the famous song.
Here are those legendary lyrics—though most Canadians can probably recite them by memory:
Bill Barilko disappeared, that summer (in 1951)
He was on a fishing trip (on a plane)
The last goal he ever scored (in overtime) won the Leafs the Cup.
They didn’t win another ’till 1962, the year he was discovered.
Wednesday’s concert is the first of three shows put on by The Tragically Hip at the ACC as part of their cross-country Man Machine Poem tour. The Canadian band revealed in May that frontman Gord Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, leading many to believe that this would be the iconic group’s final performances.
Once Barilko’s banner is taken down for good, it will be sent to his hometown of Timmins, Ont., as part of the Maple Leafs’ Centennial banner tour. New banners will be raised in honour of each legend later this year.
