Bob Gassoff
Encyclopedia
Robert Allen Gassoff was a professional ice hockey
player. He played four seasons in the NHL
for the St. Louis Blues
. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on the country property of his friend and team-mate Garry Unger
near Gray Summit, Missouri
; his number 3 was subsequently retired by the Blues.
. 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.
Gassoff's brother, Brad
, was also an NHL hockey player.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player. He played four seasons in the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
for the St. Louis Blues
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade...
. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on the country property of his friend and team-mate Garry Unger
Garry Unger
Garry Douglas "Iron Man" Unger is a former professional ice hockey centre who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1967 until 1983.- Playing career :...
near Gray Summit, Missouri
Gray Summit, Missouri
Gray Summit is a census-designated place in Franklin County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,640 at the 2000 census. Also called Gray's Summit, it was founded by Daniel Gray of New York who built a hotel here in 1845. This community was the highest point on the Missouri Pacific...
; his number 3 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 200 acre (0.809372 km²) 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 did not 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, MissouriVilla Ridge, Missouri
Villa Ridge is a census-designated place in Franklin County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2.417 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Villa Ridge is located at ....
. 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.
Gassoff's brother, Brad
Brad Gassoff
Howard Bradley "Gasser" Gassoff , is a retired NHL, WCHL, and CHL player.Gassoff spent most of his career in the CHL with the Tulsa Oilers and the Dallas Black Hawks...
, was also an NHL hockey player.