Toronto Maple Leafs legend Bobby Baun, who scored 1964 Stanley Cup goal, dead at 86

Bobby Baun, a hard-nosed defenceman who entered hockey lore by helping the Toronto Maple Leafs to the 1964 Stanley Cup on a broken leg, has died at the age of 86.

Bobby Baun, a hard-nosed defenceman who entered hockey lore by helping the Toronto Maple Leafs to the 1964 Stanley Cup on a broken leg, has died at the age of 86.

Born Sept. 9, 1936, in Lanigan, Sask., as Robert Neil Baun, he played 17 seasons in the NHL.

The NHL Alumni Association announced his death on Tuesday, but the cause of death was not released.

While weighing in at a “hefty 10 pounds-plus” at birth, he was not a big man fully grown. But Baun would go on to earn the nickname Boomer for his big hits.

The five-foot-nine 175-pounder collected 37 goals, 187 assists and 1,489 penalty minutes in 964 regular-season games from 1956 to 1973. He added three goals, 12 assists and 171 penalty minutes in 96 playoff games.

Baun won Stanley Cups with the Leafs in 1962, ’63, ’64 and ’67. But it was in the 1964 final against Detroit that he reached legendary status.

With the Leafs trailing 3-2 in the series, Baun _ who had been in the penalty box for two of Detroit’s goals _ was stretchered off the ice with 13:15 remaining in the third period of Game 6 after blocking a Gordie Howe shot just above the ankle while killing a penalty.

“It was numb then and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong,” Baun said in an interview after the game. “And then when I went into the faceoff with Gordie Howe, I just heard a snap and it caved in underneath me. And I tried to get up and there was no way I could put any weight on it.