Pete Babando, who was born in the Braeburn section of Lower Burrell and scored one of the most dramatic goals in NHL history, died Wednesday at the age of 94.
Babando wrote his name in the history books April 23, 1950 while playing for the Detroit Red Wings against the New York Rangers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. He scored 8 minutes, 31 seconds into the second overtime to give the Red Wings a 4-3 victory. It was his second goal of the game.
He was the first player to score an overtime goal in Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final, and he remains the only player to do so after the first overtime.
4/23/50: #RedWings Pete Babando scores the first-ever Game 7 OT Cup-winning goal to seal Detroit's 4th championship.#TBT by: @DMC_Heals pic.twitter.com/8CIH8vFaLI
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 13, 2017
The goal came off an offensive-zone faceoff. George Gee won the draw back to Babando, who shot and scored through a screen. Detroit captain Ted Lindsay was so jubilant that he lifted the Stanley Cup over his head in celebration and skated along the boards with it, starting a tradition that continues to this day.
“It was just one of those things, I guess,” Babando said in a 2000 interview with the Daily Press in Timmins, Ontario. “I was just in the right place at the right time.
“I was very fortunate just to be playing in the NHL. I can remember as kids, we used to listen to the games on the radio on Saturday night. It was like they were way up here, and we were down here.”
Babando and his family moved out of Braeburn when he was 5. He eventually settled in South Porcupine, Ontario, where he lived until his death.
Babando had a 20-year career in professional hockey, including six seasons in the NHL from 1947-53.
As a rookie with the Boston Bruins, he scored 23 goals and was runner-up for the Calder Trophy, given annually to the league’s rookie of the year.
He had 86 goals and 159 points in 351 career games with the Bruins, Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and Rangers. He retired in 1967 after spending six seasons with the Clinton Comets of the Eastern Hockey League.
