A month before his famous “broken leg goal,” Bob Baun scored another game winner against the Detroit Red Wings. On March 22, 1964, the Toronto defenceman contributed a goal and an assist at Detroit Olympia, helping the Maple Leafs finish their regular season with a 4–1 victory over the team they would eventually face for the Stanley Cup.
Highlights
Toronto defeated Detroit 4–1 at Detroit Olympia on March 22, 1964.
Baun scored the winner at 2:09 of the second period.
Carl Brewer assisted on Baun’s fourth goal of the season.
Baun also assisted on Dave Keon’s 23rd goal.
Frank Mahovlich scored Toronto’s other two goals.
Pat Rupp made 26 saves in his only NHL appearance.
A month later, Baun scored his legendary overtime winner in the Stanley Cup Final.
Baun put Toronto ahead for good at 2:09 of the second period, scoring his fourth goal of the season with an assist from fellow blueliner Carl Brewer. Later in the period, he helped set up Dave Keon’s 23rd goal of the campaign. Frank Mahovlich supplied Toronto’s other two goals as the defending champions headed into the playoffs with a convincing road win.
Offensive contributions like these were uncommon for Baun, whose reputation rested largely on his defensive work and punishing physical play. He scored just 37 goals in 964 regular-season NHL games, adding three more in 96 playoff appearances. Of his four career game-winning goals across the regular season and playoffs, three came during 1963–64: two in the regular season and one that became part of hockey folklore.
That playoff winner came on April 23, 1964, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. With Toronto facing elimination, Baun was carried off the ice after blocking a Gordie Howe shot that injured his right ankle. He returned and beat Terry Sawchuk just 1:43 into overtime, giving the Leafs a 4–3 victory and tying the series at three wins apiece. Baun also played in Toronto’s 4–0 Game 7 victory, helping secure the club’s third consecutive Stanley Cup despite the fracture.
The March meeting had featured a much less familiar name in Detroit’s crease. Pat Rupp stopped 26 of Toronto’s 30 shots in what proved to be his only NHL appearance. Loaned to the Red Wings by the Philadelphia Ramblers of the Eastern Hockey League, Rupp faced Mahovlich, Keon and an unexpectedly productive Baun in his lone opportunity at hockey’s highest level.
Rupp later enjoyed championship success with the Dayton Gems, winning consecutive Turner Cups in 1969 and 1970. He also shared the IHL’s James Norris Memorial Trophy with teammate John Adams in 1968–69. His brief NHL career intersected with a memorable stretch for Baun: a rare regular-season scoring contribution followed a month later by one of the most celebrated goals in Maple Leafs history.
Top Shelf Trivia: The Toronto Maple Leafs
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