Bill Mosienko

It is said that everyone gets 15 minutes of fame. Bill Mosienko only had 21 seconds.

Bill Mosienko holds an amazing NHL record that likely will never be matched. On March 23, 1952, Mosienko scored three goals in a 21 second time frame! And legend has it he actually missed what should have been an easy goal just afterwards, thus preventing him from scoring 4 goals in less than one minute! All three goals were assisted by Gus Bodnar, and they came in the third period helping the Hawks get by Lorne Anderson and the New York Rangers by a final score of 7-6.

The following day's issue of the New York Times suggests Rangers fans at Madison Square Gardens were immediately appreciative of this display of greatness.

"The crowd of 3,254 cheered Mosienko with a volume that seemed to come from twice that number when the record breaking accomplishment was announced," and that "Anderson might have stopped Mosienko on the Hawk star's first shot, an open thrust from the center alley. But the second and third shots were neatly executed, and could have fooled any goalie in the league."

"That record will never be broken. Never," suggested Hall of Fame teammate Bill Gadsby. "It was just fantastic, it was damn near the same play off the face-off each one. He could really skate. he could really fly and he scored those three goals. I mean, it was unbelievable just to watch it!"

Obviously Mosienko was quite pleased with the feat.

"It was quite an accomplishment, I hope (the record) stays. After I scored the third goal, Jim Peters skated up to me and told me to keep the puck because I had set a new record. I was very happy and proud. It was like being on cloud nine."

His achievements have been overshadowed, for better or worse, by that amazing performance, but he was much more than just the answer of an excellent trivia question. A Hall of Fame player, Mosienko was a talented and solid right winger on the "Pony Line" with the brothers Bentley, Max and Doug. Together they were one of the greatest lines in hockey history.

In his 14 year career spent exclusively with the Chicago Blackhawks, Mosienko tallied 258 goals and 282 assists. He was the recipient of the Lady Byng Trophy in 1945 as the most sportsmanlike player. Although he and the "Pony Line" made Chicago a true Stanley Cup contender for many seasons, the two time All Star never did have his named engraved on the Stanley Cup.

After retiring, the Manitoba native went home to Winnipeg where he operated Billy Mosienko Lanes, a bowling alley, for many years.