Robert Allen Gassoff (April 17, 1953 – May 29, 1977) was a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player, born in Quesnel, British Columbia. From an early age he was passionate about hockey, playing first on a rink on the family farm on the Quesnel Hydraulic Road and then on a variety of local junior leagues. He played four seasons in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

for the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on the country property of his friend and teammate

Garry Unger Garry Douglas Unger (born December 7, 1947) is a former professional ice hockey centre who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1967 until 1983. Playing career Unger set an NHL record by playing 914 consecutive games in the regu ...

near Gray Summit, Missouri; his number three was subsequently retired by the Blues.

Motorcycle accident

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 farm near Gray Summit, Mo. At roughly 6:00 p.m., Gassoff joined several others in riding motorcycles around Unger's property. Unger later said that he remembered wondering if it was a good idea for Gassoff to ride the motorcycle because he had been drinking and did not have any riding experience. Gassoff drove out of Unger's property on a gravel road that merged into a winding road leading up a hill to

Villa Ridge, Missouri Villa Ridge is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,636 at the 2010 census, up from 2,417 at the 2000 census. History A post office called Villa Ridge h ...

. Gassoff was not wearing a helmet and had no license plate on his motorcycle and 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, and 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.

Family

Gassoff's parents, Albert and Denise, were staunch supporter of his interest in hockey and encouraged him from a very early age. Gassoff's brother,

Brad Brad may refer to: * Brad (given name), a masculine given name Places * Brad, Hunedoara, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania * Brad, a village in Berești-Bistrița Commune, Bacău County, Romania * Brad, a village in Filipeni, Bacău, Romania * ...

, was also an NHL hockey player. His brother Ken, born October 9, 1954, was drafted by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

in the 1974 NHL amateur draft and by the Houston Aeros in the

1974 WHA Amateur Draft The 1974 WHA Amateur Draft was the second amateur draft held by the World Hockey Association. The first two rounds of the draft were conducted in secret in February and only graduating junior players (born in 1954) were eligible for selection. The ...

. Gassoff's son Bob Gassoff Jr. (born two months after the fatal motorcycle accident in 1977) eventually also became a hockey player, briefly playing minor league professional hockey for the

Peoria Rivermen (ECHL) The Peoria Rivermen were an professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They played in Peoria, Illinois, United States, at the Carver Arena. The team replaced a team of the same name that had played in the higher budget International Hockey Leagu ...

after a four year college hockey career with the University of

Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey The Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Earning varsity status in 1922, the program has competed in 100 seasons. Between 1959 and 1981, the ...

team. He became a

Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...

after retiring from hockey.

Tributes

Following his death, the Bob Gassoff Trophy was created to be presented annually to the most improved

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

in the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

(CHL).Bob Gassoff Trophy award winners at hockeydb.com
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Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

*
Story of his accident
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gassoff, Bob 1953 births 1977 deaths Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cariboo people Denver Spurs players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Medicine Hat Tigers players Minnesota Fighting Saints draft picks Motorcycle road incident deaths National Hockey League players with retired numbers Road incident deaths in Missouri St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players Vernon Vikings players