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This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/23/2023
Bill Barilko Signed 1947 Maple Leafs vs Black Hawks Maple Leaf Gardens Original 13 Signature Program. Barilko’s signature is very rare, they do not come up for sale on the resale market very often and is highly sought-after by collectors due to their scarcity.
This extremely rare Original Maple Leaf Gardens Sports Magazine and Official Programme is dated from the game Saturday, December 6th 1947 where the Maple Leafs defeated the visiting rival Chicago Black Hawks 12-5 at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Maple Leafs would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year. The 1948 Stanley Cup Finals was a best-of-seven series between the Detroit Red Wings and the defending champion Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs won the series in four straight games to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
This very rare program has been signed in pencil. Howie Meeker is pictured on the front cover and has also signed in pencil. The most sought-after signature on this program is that of Bill Barilko, but it is also signed by 12 other players that we are able to identify. The signatures that have been identified are: Bill Barilko, Howie Meeker, Ted Kennedy, Max Bentley, Doug Bentley, Gus Bodnar, Bill Gadsby, Bill Ezinicki, Norman Robert "Bud" Poile, Gaye Stewart, Alex Kaleta, Johnny Gottselig, Ernie Dickens. There are 2 unknown signatures that we cannot identify.
Condition: The program certainly shows its age and is very delicate. The cover is no longer attached to the rest of the program. The balance of the program is still in-tact and in original form, just the program is detached from the cover. See the image of where the cover is separate from the program as well as the BRITISH & AMERICAN MOTORS yellow ad which is the back of the signed cover where you can see the indentations from the pencil signatures coming through on the reverse side. The cover has tears, rips, creases and some small areas missing. It is not in mint shape, but for a highly coveted collectible like this and given its age of over 75 years old, it is in fair condition and the Barilko signature shows very nicely. The program has been scored on the game sheet in the centre gatefold.
We have endeavored to describe, detail and photograph this item as precisely as possible, but please note, due to its age and delicate nature there is likely other markings and details that are not specifically detailed.
Authentication & Provenance: We acquired this prized collectible from a lady whose grandfather acquired this program and signatures directly in-person and attended the game on Dec. 6, 1947 and it has since been passed down. This item will come with a letter from AJ Sports attesting to the details outlined above and that we authenticate the signatures that have been identified.
William "Bashin' Bill" Barilko played his entire National Hockey League career for the Maple Leafs. Over five seasons, Barilko won the Stanley Cup four times in 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1951 where he scored the Cup winning goal vs the Canadiens. Barilko died in August 1951 in a floatplane crash during a fishing trip to Quebec. Barilko's #5 was retired by the Leafs. He was the subject of the 1993 hit single "Fifty Mission Cap" by The Tragically Hip. "Fifty Mission Cap" is about Barilko's death and the Leafs' subsequent Stanley Cup drought.
Here are the famous lyrics from that legendary Hip song "Fifty Mission Cap":
Bill Barilko disappeared that summer, He was on a fishing trip, The last goal he ever scored, Won the Leafs the cup, They didn't win another till nineteen sixty two, The year he was discovered, I stole this from a hockey card, I keeped tucked up under