Four-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman Bob Baun has passed away, per an announcement from the NHL Alumni Association. He was 86 years old.
Born in Lanigan, Saskatchewan, in 1936, Baun got his start in hockey in Toronto in his teens. He worked his way up through the junior ranks with the Toronto Marlboros before eventually earning an NHL deal with the Maple Leafs at age 20 in 1956-57. He played in just 20 games during that season, maintaining his rookie status. His first full-time campaign was the following season, where he recorded ten points in 67 games and added 91 penalty minutes, finishing fifth in the 1958 Calder Trophy voting. Over the next few seasons, he became one of the NHL’s most respected defensemen, known for hard but clean hits and stout defensive play, earning the nickname “Boomer.”
The 1960s saw Baun win four Cups in a six-year span with the Maple Leafs, becoming a large part of the last Toronto core to win a championship. It was his third Cup win in 1964, though, that’s cemented Baun in NHL lore. Down 3-2 in the Final series against the Detroit Red Wings, Baun sustained a broken ankle in Game 6 but would leave the game just briefly. He returned on the broken ankle when overtime began and scored just his third career playoff goal in 61 games at the time to tie the series. Toronto would win Game 7 in shutout fashion, 4-0, taking home their third straight Stanley Cup.
Baun would play for many more seasons, finally being forced to retire during the 1972-73 campaign at age 36 after he sustained a broken neck on a hit five games into the season. He finished his NHL career with 224 points and 1,489 penalty minutes in 964 games across 17 seasons, also making brief pit stops with the Oakland Seals and Red Wings.
He was also an influential force off the ice, leading the charge for increased player wages at the dawn of the expansion era and even attempted to organize an alumni association in the years after his retirement, looking to investigate what he believed were issues in the NHL’s pension plan at the time. He received little support from players at the time, but an independent audit later confirmed his suspicions.
Baun’s grandson, Kyle Baun, had a brief professional career in the 2010s that included a five-game stint with the Chicago Blackhawks.
We at PHR extend our deepest condolences to Baun’s family, friends, and former teammates.
Take it easy Boomer. RIP
Heartfelt condolences to the Baun family on Bob’s passing.
As a Red Wing fan, I remember Bobby Baun playing with a broken ankle, R.I.P. Bobby!
Baun playing on that broken ankle is one of the greatest Hockey stories of all time.
One of the best shutdown defensemen of his day … or any other. Old time hockey, indeed. Rest well, Boomer.
The legend!! RIP boomer, thanks for the memories.
I really hope the leafs have a special night planned this season dedicated to boomer.
A lot of players felt the wrath of one of his patented hip checks.
Hell yeah. Over fifty years since I saw him play, and I can still picture that wide-plant stance he had. Him and Johnny Bucyk, they could’ve have held clinics on how-to.
Brian Glennie was another who threw devastating open ice hits.