Brian Spencer
| Brian Spencer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
September 3, 1949 Fort St. James, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Died |
June 3, 1988 (aged 38) Riviera Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Toronto Maple Leafs New York Islanders Buffalo Sabres Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| NHL draft |
55th overall, 1969 Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| Playing career | 1969–1980 | ||
Brian Roy "Spinner" Spencer (September 3, 1949 – June 3, 1988) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and Pittsburgh Penguins.[1]
Career
Brian Spencer was drafted in the fifth round, 55th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1969 NHL amateur draft. On December 12, 1970, when Spencer was called up to play with the Leafs in what was his first NHL game on television, he telephoned his father Roy in British Columbia to tell him to watch the game that night on Hockey Night in Canada. Spencer was to be interviewed between periods of the game. However, a game featuring the Vancouver Canucks versus the California Golden Seals was aired instead. Infuriated, Roy Spencer drove 135 kilometres (84 mi) to Prince George, where the closest TV station, CKPG-TV (then a CBC Television affiliate), is located. When he arrived, he ordered station staff, at gunpoint, to broadcast the Maple Leafs game or, if no feed was available, to turn off the hockey entirely.[2] The station complied, but as Roy Spencer left the station, he was confronted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. After a brief stand-off Roy Spencer was shot and killed.[3][4]
Death
After hockey, Spencer submerged himself in a life of alcohol and violence. In 1987, he was charged with kidnapping and murder in Florida and faced the death penalty.[5] Family and friends, including ex-teammates, gathered around him and tried to help. A former teammate from the Sabres, Rick Martin, tried to help by testifying as a character witness at his trial. The jury returned a not guilty verdict in March 1988 and Spencer vowed to change his life. Despite the acquittal, Spencer's life continued to spiral out of control. Three months later, Spencer died under similar circumstances to his father; he was fatally shot in a robbery following a crack cocaine purchase in Riviera Beach, Florida.[6]
Spencer was survived by five children from two marriages, and his twin brother, Byron.
Gross Misconduct: The Life of Spinner Spencer
In 1989, Martin O'Malley authored the biography Gross Misconduct: The Life of Spinner Spencer. The book was adapted in 1993, by Paul Gross, for the Canadian TV movie Gross Misconduct (a.k.a. Gross Misconduct: The Life of Spinner Spencer).[7] It was directed by Atom Egoyan, who later called it one of the turning points of his career.[8]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1967–68 | Calgary Centennials | WCHL | 34 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Regina Pats | WCHL | 23 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Estevan Bruins | WCHL | 53 | 19 | 29 | 48 | 120 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 14 | ||
| 1968–69 | Swift Current Broncos | WCHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 66 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 186 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 50 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 115 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | ||
| 1970–71 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 23 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 36 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 20 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 115 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | New York Islanders | NHL | 78 | 14 | 24 | 38 | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | New York Islanders | NHL | 54 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 13 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 73 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 77 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 1975–76 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 77 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 70 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1976–77 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 77 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 55 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1977–78 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 79 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Binghamton Dusters | AHL | 39 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 30 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 553 | 80 | 143 | 223 | 634 | 37 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 29 | ||||
See also
Notes
- ↑ "What really happened to Brian 'Spinner' Spencer?". The Buffalo News. July 2, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
- ↑ Waleik, Gary (7 August 2020). "'I Absolutely Froze': The Night 'Spinner' Spencer's Dad Attacked The CBC". WBUR-FM.
- ↑ "Fabulous Forum: Sports Legend Revealed: A father of an NHL player held up a TV station to force them to show his son's game". Los Angeles Times. 2010-06-01.
- ↑ Hockey's Tough Guys: Brian "Spinner" Spencer
- ↑ Sports Illustrated: "The Case Against Brian Spencer: One woman's testimony could mean a death sentence for a former hockey player accused of murder", May 11, 1987.
- ↑ "Ex-NHL Player, Brian Spencer, Is Shot and Killed in Florida". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ Dwyer, Victor (1993-03-01). "Hockey's Hell-Raiser: Spinner Spencer battled on and off the ice". Maclean's. Retrieved 2026-05-12 – via paulgross.org.
- ↑ Egoyan, Atom (17 November 1999). "Atom Egoyan". The A.V. Club (Interview). Interviewed by Tobias, Scott. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
References
- Players:The Ultimate A-Z Guide of Everyone Who Has Ever Played in the NHL by Andrew Podnieks, ISBN 0-385-25999-9
- Penguin's Profiles: Pittsburgh's Boys of Winter. O'Brien, James P. 1994, Retrieved 17 Nov. 2006.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- IMDB page for "Gross Misconduct" (1993) - a Canadian TV movie based on Spencer's life
- Spinning Out of Control, The Brian Spencer Story at The Hockey Writers
- 1949 births
- 1988 deaths
- 1988 murders in the United States
- Binghamton Dusters players
- Buffalo Sabres players
- Calgary Centennials players
- Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Canadian ice hockey left wingers
- Canadian people murdered abroad
- Deaths by firearm in Florida
- Estevan Bruins players
- Hershey Bears players
- Ice hockey people from British Columbia
- New York Islanders players
- People acquitted of murder
- People from the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- Regina Pats players
- Springfield Indians players
- Swift Current Broncos players
- Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks
- Toronto Maple Leafs players
- Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players
- Unsolved murders in Florida
- 20th-century Canadian sportsmen