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The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

     The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded at the end of each season to the National hockey League player who in the opinion of the members of the 26 chapters of the Professional Hockey Writer' Association (PHWA) exemplifies the qualities of "perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey." A grant from the PHWA in the amount of $2,500 is then presented annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund in the name of trophy winner. A typical winner of the award is a player that has suffered a serious injury or other physical hardship and then returned to once again play the spirited brand of hockey that they were known for.

      The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy was created in honor of the late Bill Masterton who played for the Minnesota North Stars during the 1967-68 NHL season. Bill Masterton died on January 15th, 1968 after suffering a head injury as a result of a fall during a game on January 13th against the Oakland Seals at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

     The details surrounding Bill's death are open to interpretation today as even back then Sports Writers and those in attendance at the game have differing viewpoints and takes on what happened. The most common is that Bill carried the puck into the Seals defensive zone during the first period of the game and made a back-hand pass to teammate Wayne Connelly, then in contact with a defending player he either slipped or was tripped. Regardless which version of the event is true, Bill Masterton fell backwards and slammed the back of his head hard against the ice. He was taken off the ice unconscious on stretcher and transported to nearby hospital. Bill Masterton never regained consciousness' and subsequently died from his injury two days later.

     William J. (Bill) Masterton  fact sheet highlights.

• Was a 29 year old rookie center with the newly founded Minnesota North Star NHL Franchise and one of the first two players to officially sign a contract with the new club.

• His North Star nickname was Bat.

• Prior to signing with the North Stars played junior hockey for the St. Boniface Canadiens in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League in 1956-57.

• Entered Denver University in 1957.

• Named to NCAA All-American Team in 1960 and 1961.

• In 1961 scored 24 goals and had 56 assists in leading the DU Pioneers to the NCAA Hockey Championship.

• Played for the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens of the Eastern Professional Hockey League in 1961-62

• Finished 6th in league scoring (82 points) while playing for the Cleveland Barron of the American Hockey League in 1962-63.

• Returned to Denver University following the 1962-63 season and earned a Masters Degree in Finance in 1964.

• Played on the U.S. National team 1966-67

• Played 38 games with the North Stars and recorded 4 goals and 8 assists.

• In 1997 Bill Masterton was named to the NCAA All-Time Team along with Tony Amonte, Lou Angotti, Red Berenson, Bill Cleary, Tony Hrkac, Paul Kariya, John Matchetts, John, Mayasich, Jim Montgomery, Tom Rendall, Phil Sykes, Chris Chelios, Bruce Driver, George Konik(Denver University teammate ), Dan Lodboa, Keith Magnuson, Marc Behrend, Ken Dryden, and Chris Terreri.

Past Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy Winners