Bill Ezinicki

1924-2012

“Wild Bill” Ezinicki, a three-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Toronto Maple Leafs, died on October 11, 2012 at Gloucester, Massachusetts. Born on March 11, 1924 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he always had a passion for sport. Bill Ezinicki began to play organized hockey at ten years old, and at twelve he shot a 99 at the Manitoba Amateur Golf Championship. He also found time to compete in football and soccer. At seventeen, he was recruited by the Oshawa Generals Hockey Club. He was a member of the team that won the Memorial Cup in 1944. Upon graduation from junior hockey, Ezinicki played a few games with the Toronto Maple Leafs before serving 18 months in the army. While stationed at Camp Shilo, he starred on the base’s soccer club.

After demobilization, Bill Ezinicki resumed his professional hockey career with the Leafs farm club at Pittsburgh. During the 1946-47 season, he cracked the starting line up of the Leafs. He played regularly with Toronto for four seasons and was a member of three Stanley Cup teams. After a fallout with club management over golf, he was traded to the Boston Bruins in 1950. Before the start of the 1952-53 season, he was sold to Toronto but did not make the club. In February of 1955, he was sold to the New York Rangers where he finished his NHL career.

A free skating right wing, Ezinicki is best remembered for his bruising bodychecks which he worked hard at to perfect. Not naturally big in stature (5’10” and 170 lbs.), Ezinicki developed his body by weightlifting regularly. In addition, he studied the skating habits of his opponents from the bench to determine when they were most vulnerable. Once on the ice, Ezinicki would locate the puck carrier, execute a wide deceptive turn, and hit him head-on with his upper body. The result was devastating. He was loved by the fans of the teams that he played for and loathed by all others. Rival fans once chanted “Kill Ezinicki” during a junior game in Montreal. Some years later, an angry female Rangers’ fan stabbed him with a hatpin as he skated by. Although his bodychecks were generally considered legal, Ezinicki liked altercations. He led the league in penalties with 145 minutes during the 1948-1949 season and 144 minutes a year later.

Ezinicki’s passion for hockey was only surpassed by his passion for golf. He did everything possible to stretch out the golf season, reporting to training camp on time only twice in eight years of professional hockey. As an amateur he won the 1941 Manitoba Open. He was the runner-up at the 1941 and 1943 Manitoba Amateur Championship, and the 1947 Canadian Amateur Championship. In 1948, he made his professional debut at the Philadelphia Invitational shooting 311, 30 strokes behind the winner. Over the years, Ezinicki played part-time on the PGA Tour, winning a number of lesser tournaments, among them the 1956 New England PGA and the Open titles in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont in 1960, and the Maritime Open in 1965. He also had a second place finish at a Bob Hope Classic. Ezinicki’s best year on the PGA Tour was in 1960.

In 1949, Bill Ezinicki became the pro at Toronto’s New Uplands course. After being traded to the Boston Bruins, he worked as a pro in Cape Cod. Later, he took the job of club pro at the exclusive International Golf Club (Bolton, MA), the longest course in America measuring 8,325 yards. He held the position through the 1980s. In 1986, Bill Ezinicki was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Abridged excerpt from the book “Their Sporting Legacy: The Participation of Ukrainian Canadians and Sport”, W. Sokolyk, 2002.