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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. The station complied, but as Roy
Spencer left the station, he was confronted by the
278:
His offensive production declined as he took on the role of a checking forward with the
Penguins. Spencer's last NHL season came in 1978–79 when he played seven games for Pittsburgh. He then finished his playing career in the
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303:, 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
299:, 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 and a move to
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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.
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Los
Angeles Times: "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", June 1, 2010.
263:. His hustle, aggressive play, and hitting ability were things the fans admired. Spencer developed into a solid two-way player, and participated in the
209:. 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
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255:. Spencer had his best offensive production in a Sabres uniform when he scored 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 1974–75. Spencer played well in
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After hockey, Spencer submerged himself in a life of alcohol and violence. In 1987, he was charged with kidnapping and murder and faced the
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Spencer was survived by five children from two marriages, and his twin brother, Byron.
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IMDB page for "Gross
Misconduct" (1993) - a Canadian TV movie based on Spencer's life
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In 1999, Spencer's daughter and grandson were killed in a car accident in
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was aired instead. Infuriated, Roy
Spencer drove 135 kilometres (84 mi) to
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283:(Binghamton, Springfield and Hershey) and retired after the 1979–80 season.
1444:"'I Absolutely Froze': The Night 'Spinner' Spencer's Dad Attacked The CBC"
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Players:The
Ultimate A-Z Guide of Everyone Who Has Ever Played in the NHL
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Spinning Out of
Control, The Brian Spencer Story at The Hockey Writers
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Brian
Spencer was drafted in the fifth round, 55th overall by the
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Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
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244:. After a brief stand-off Roy Spencer was shot and killed.
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with the Sabres, who were ultimately defeated by the
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and was extremely popular with the fans at Buffalo's
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People from the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako
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Biographical information and career statistics from
1415:"What really happened to Brian 'Spinner' Spencer?"
1517:. O'Brien, James P. 1994, Retrieved 17 Nov. 2006.
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1515:Penguin's Profiles: Pittsburgh's Boys of Winter
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89:185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
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315:Gross Misconduct: The Life of Spinner Spencer
1472:Hockey's Tough Guys: Brian "Spinner" Spencer
213:to tell him to watch the game that night on
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335:Gross Misconduct: The Life of Brian Spencer
247:After several seasons with Toronto and the
19:For the American field hockey player, see
165:(September 3, 1949 – June 3, 1988) was a
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173:player who played ten seasons in the
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1541:The Internet Hockey Database
21:Brian Spencer (field hockey)
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175:National Hockey League
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564:Swift Current Broncos
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1179:Pittsburgh Penguins
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207:1969 NHL Entry Draft
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275:in September 1977.
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261:Memorial Auditorium
203:Toronto Maple Leafs
191:Pittsburgh Penguins
183:Toronto Maple Leafs
147:Toronto Maple Leafs
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118:Toronto Maple Leafs
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62:(1988-06-03)
60:June 3, 1988
1571:1988 deaths
1566:1949 births
1352:NHL totals
476:Regina Pats
333:in Canada,
327:Atom Egoyan
297:Rick Martin
223:versus the
1560:Categories
1539:, or
1535:, or
1531:, or
1492:References
323:Paul Gross
171:ice hockey
114:Played for
43:1949-09-03
137:NHL draft
98:Left wing
1389:See also
1309:1979–80
957:1973–74
560:1968–69
472:1967–68
368:Playoffs
235:(then a
177:for the
167:Canadian
94:Position
52:, Canada
1529:NHL.com
1427:July 5,
1265:1979–80
1218:1978–79
1175:1978–79
1130:1977–78
1087:1976–77
1044:1975–76
1001:1974–75
915:1973–74
870:1972–73
827:1971–72
784:1971–72
741:1970–71
698:1970–71
651:1969–70
604:1969–70
516:1968–69
426:1967–68
382:League
329:into a
301:Florida
257:Buffalo
233:CKPG-TV
205:in the
71:Florida
1508:
375:Season
197:Career
86:Weight
78:Height
73:, U.S.
1401:Notes
568:WCHL
525:WCHL
480:WCHL
379:Team
287:Death
1506:ISBN
1448:wbur
1429:2011
1367:634
1317:AHL
1274:AHL
1182:NHL
1139:NHL
1094:NHL
1051:NHL
1008:NHL
965:NHL
922:NHL
879:NHL
849:115
834:CHL
791:NHL
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748:CHL
720:115
705:NHL
677:186
540:120
436:WCHL
420:PIM
242:RCMP
189:and
143:1969
109:Left
105:Shot
57:Died
37:Born
1500:by
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1364:223
1361:143
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1332:23
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1228:AHL
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806:65
735:17
661:CHL
630:12
614:NHL
555:14
495:12
452:27
417:Pts
404:PIM
399:Pts
281:AHL
1562::
1504:,
1446:.
1417:.
1370:37
1358:80
1347:—
1320:30
1304:—
1289:0
1259:—
1241:14
1232:39
1212:—
1197:0
1169:—
1151:20
1148:11
1142:79
1124:0
1106:29
1103:15
1100:14
1097:77
1081:4
1063:39
1060:26
1057:13
1054:77
1038:8
1026:16
1020:41
1017:29
1014:12
1011:73
995:—
980:4
968:13
952:—
934:21
931:16
925:54
909:—
891:38
888:24
885:14
882:78
864:—
846:14
837:20
821:—
794:36
778:—
760:14
751:23
717:24
714:15
708:50
692:—
674:32
671:19
668:13
665:66
645:—
598:—
583:—
537:48
534:29
531:19
528:53
510:—
483:23
467:—
449:23
446:10
443:13
440:34
408:GP
385:GP
337:.
307:.
193:.
185:,
181:,
69:,
1450:.
1431:.
1379:6
1376:5
1373:1
1344:—
1341:—
1338:—
1335:—
1329:4
1326:4
1323:0
1301:—
1298:—
1295:—
1292:—
1286:2
1283:1
1280:1
1277:9
1256:—
1253:—
1250:—
1247:—
1238:9
1235:5
1209:—
1206:—
1203:—
1200:—
1194:0
1191:0
1188:0
1185:7
1166:—
1163:—
1160:—
1157:—
1145:9
1121:0
1118:0
1115:0
1112:6
1078:1
1075:0
1072:1
1069:9
1035:4
1032:4
1029:0
992:—
989:—
986:—
983:—
977:5
974:2
971:3
949:—
946:—
943:—
940:—
928:5
906:—
903:—
900:—
897:—
861:—
858:—
855:—
852:—
843:7
840:7
818:—
815:—
812:—
809:—
803:6
800:5
797:1
775:—
772:—
769:—
766:—
757:8
754:6
732:1
729:1
726:0
723:6
711:9
689:—
686:—
683:—
680:—
642:—
639:—
636:—
633:—
627:0
624:0
621:0
618:9
595:—
592:—
589:—
586:—
580:—
577:—
574:—
571:—
552:4
549:1
546:3
543:4
507:—
504:—
501:—
498:—
492:3
489:2
486:1
464:—
461:—
458:—
455:—
414:A
411:G
394:A
389:G
45:)
41:(
23:.
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