Bill Ezinicki obit

Wild Bill Ezinicki Passes Away

 

He was not on the list.

Three time Stanley Cup champion Wild Bill Ezinicki has passed away. He was 88 years old.

Ezinicki was a Claude Lemieux-like player with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1947, 1948 and 1949. The Winnipeg native was a key player in Oshawa's Memorial Cup win in 1944, as well.

A hard hitting checker who played bigger than his actual size, Ezinicki played a total 368 games over parts of 9 NHL seasons. He scored 79 goals and 184 points while accumulating over 700 minutes in penalties.

Stan Fischler described Ezinicki in his 1975 Hockey Encyclopedia as follows:

"Wild Bill Ezinicki had sinewy arms and a body that bulged from daily weightlifting. He had a passion for free skating that was outdone only by his passion for bodychecking. He also had a passion for tape, winding reams of it around his stick and around his knees and legs until they bulged grotesquely."

That's not exactly the normal memory of a hockey player. But the 5'10" 170lb powder keg was not exactly a normal player. Hence the nickname "Wild Bill."

He was far from the biggest player on the ice but he played as if he was. He happily flung his body at any player in an opposing sweater. It made him adored in Toronto but made him an easy to hate villain everywhere else. Legend has it a woman in New York once jammed a hat pin into Ezinicki's backside as he bent over for a faceoff.

Hated as he may have been, he had the respect of his peers.

"He's a tough little guy," said Montreal's Ken Reardon, about as tough a NHL player as there ever was. "But he's definitely not dirty. He can check and pester you and sometimes hurt you, and he can make you made, but he's not dirty. Because he's short, he can hurt. Those low bodychecks of his enable him to throw his shoulder into your stomach."

I'm not sure if Reardon's famed teammate Rocket Richard respected Ezinicki nearly as much. The two had a heated rivalry, which once saw the Rocket club the Leafs agitator over the head with his stick, resulting in 8 stitches.

Undoubtedly that hurt, but Ezinicki may have made $40 for his troubles. Fischler said Ezinicki had taken out a policy that paid him $5 for every stitch resulting from a hockey injury!

Ezinicki also had a few wars with Detroit's bad boy Terrible Ted Lindsay. Ezinicki once suffered 19 stitches and broken teeth at the hands (and stick) of Lindsay. All in a days work for Wild Bill Ezinicki.

Ezinicki left Toronto in 1950, playing a couple of seasons in Boston and later reappearing with the Rangers in New York. In retirement he settled near Boston and became a notable golf champion and pro. He once reached the finals of the Canadian Amateur Golf Championship.

Ezinicki became a professional golfer after retiring from hockey. He was head professional at The International in Bolton, Massachusetts. He won several tournaments in the New England region including four state opens in 1960. He was elected to the New England section of the PGA Hall of Fame in 1997.

Ezinicki, a long-time resident of Bolton, Massachusetts, died at the age of 88 on October 11, 2012.

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season                        Playoffs

Season Team   League GP       G         A         Pts       PIM     GP       G         A         Pts       PIM

1941–42          Winnipeg Rangers      MJHL  2          3          0          3          0          —        —        —        —            —

1942–43          Oshawa Generals        OHA   16        21        10        31        21        10        13        10        23            26

1942–43          Oshawa Generals        M-Cup —        —        —        —        —        11        17        6          23            33

1943–44          Oshawa Generals        OHA   25        38        25        63        33        11        13        3          16            49

1943–44          Oshawa Generals        M-Cup —        —        —        —        —        10        12        11        23            34

1944–45          Toronto Maple Leafs   NHL    8          1          4          5          17        —        —        —        —            —

1944–45          Toronto Army Shamrocks       TIHL   1          1          2          3          10        —        —        —            —        —

1945–46          Toronto Maple Leafs   NHL    24        4          8          12        29        —        —        —        —            —

1945–46          Pittsburgh Hornets      AHL    27        9          12        21        23        —        —        —        —            —

1946–47          Toronto Maple Leafs   NHL    60        17        20        37        93        11        0          2          2            30

1947–48          Toronto Maple Leafs   NHL    60        11        20        31        97        9          3          1          4            6

1948–49          Toronto Maple Leafs   NHL    52        13        15        28        145      9          1          4          5            20

1949–50          Toronto Maple Leafs   NHL    67        10        12        22        144      5          0          0          0            13

1950–51          Boston Bruins NHL    53        16        19        35        119      6          1          1          2          18

1950–51          Pittsburgh Hornets      AHL    13        6          3          9          24        —        —        —        —            —

1951–52          Boston Bruins NHL    28        5          5          10        47        —        —        —        —        —

1951–52          Pittsburgh Hornets      AHL    16        4          9          13        53        11        3          1          4            67

1952–53          Pittsburgh Hornets      AHL    41        15        13        28        115      7          0          3          3            8

1954–55          Ottawa Senators          QHL    18        5          6          11        39        —        —        —        —            —

1954–55          Vancouver Canucks    WHL   15        5          2          7          50        —        —        —        —            —

1954–55          New York Rangers      NHL    16        2          2          4          22        —        —        —        —            —

1956–57          Sudbury Wolves          NOHA 19        5          4          9          32        12        1          9          10            29

NHL totals       368      79        105      184      713      40        5          8          13        87