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| 1973 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Bob Gassoff
Selected in third round
No.
48 overall by St. Louis Blues
Born April 17, 1953.
Died May 27, 1977
 | Position:
Defense
Height: 5-11 Weight: 190
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Medicine Hat (WCHL)
Birthplace: Quesnel, British Columbia (Canada)
Hometown:
Quesnel, British Columbia |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1970-71 |
Vernon | BCJHL | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | -- | | 1971-72 |
Medicine Hat | WCHL |
64 | 1 |
16 | 17 |
314 | | 1972-73 |
Medicine Hat | WCHL |
68 | 11 |
51 | 62 |
388 |
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PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
WCHL Penalty Minutes Leader: 1972-73 (Medicine Hat) (388 PIM)
WCHL Playoffs Penalty Minutes Leader: 1973 (Medicine Hat) (152)
Miscellaneous: Set WCHL/WHL record (since broken) for penalty minutes in
season with 388 PIM in 1972-73. ... Set WCHL/WHL record (since broken) for
penalty minutes in playoffs with 152 in 1973. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: January 23, 1974 (St. Louis at
Pittsburgh)
Numbers: 3 (St. Louis) (number retired)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Status: Died four years into pro career. |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years | Teams | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | | 1974-1977 |
St. Louis | 245 |
11 | 47 | 58 |
866 |
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| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS | | Years | Teams | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | | 1975-1977 |
St. Louis | 9 | 0 | 1 |
1 | 16 |
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NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
St. Louis MVP: 1976-77
St. Louis Most Improved Player: 1974-75
St. Louis Records:
Most penalty minutes in one season (306 PIM in 1975-76)
St. Louis Penalty Minutes Leader: 1974-75 (222), 1975-76 (306), 1976-77
(254)
Miscellaneous: St. Louis retired Gassoff's No. 3 less than five months
after his death on Oct. 1, 1977, making him the first player in franchise
history to have his number retired. The Blues also dedicated their 1977-78
season to his memory.
The Death of Bob Gassoff: Gassoff was killed in a motorcycle accident
on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in 1977. He and his pregnant wife,
Diane, had been invited to a postseason barbecue at teammate Garry Unger's
200-acre farm near Gray Summit, Mo. At roughly 6 p.m., Gassoff joined several
others in riding motorcycles around Unger's property. Unger would later say he
remembered wondering if it was a good idea for Gassoff to ride the motorcycle
because he had been drinking and didn't have any riding experience. Gassoff
drove out of Unger's property on a gravel road that merged into to a winding
road leading up a hill to Villa Ridge, Mo. Gassoff wasn't wearing a helmet and
had no license plate on his motorcycle, so he decided to take a short run up
the hill and come right back. On his way back down the hill, he collided
head-on with a car driven by a man named Douglas Klekamp. The crash killed
Gassoff, although Klekamp walked away uninjured. In October 1977, Gassoff's
widow filed a $3 million lawsuit against Unger, his wife, and Klekamp, whom
the suit alleged was one of Unger's employees running an errand for the
Ungers. Unger describes Gassoff's
death as one of the most devastating moments of his life, and it played a
major role in Unger's decision to embrace Christian fundamentalism. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams: Denver (WHL); Denver (CHL)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
WHA Draft Pick: 1973 (by Minnesota,
No. 33 overall in Round 3)
WHL Penalty Minutes Leader: 1973-74
(Denver) (301 PIM)
Miscellaneous: In 1977, the CHL created a new
award and named it the Bob Gassoff Trophy in his memory. The trophy, which
honored the league's most improved defenseman, was presented to the league by
the St. Louis Blues organization.
Personal: Older brother of former
minor leaguer Ken Gassoff and former NHL player Brad Gassoff. ... Father of
former college player and minor-leaguer Bob Gassoff Jr., born two months after
Gassoff's death. |
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SNAPSHOT '73 | | Total Selected: |
168 | | Forwards: |
103 | | Defense: |
53 | | Goaltenders: |
12 | | Major Junior: |
131 | | College Players: |
28 |
| Canadian: |
151 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
3 | | USA Citizens: |
14 | | U.S.-Born: |
14 |
| European: |
0 |
| Reached NHL: |
70 |
| Won Stanley Cup: |
8 | | Hall of Fame: |
3 |
| All-Star Game: |
13 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
3 |
| Olympians: |
4 |
| Picks Traded: |
35 |
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