Brian Roy "Spinner" Spencer (September 3, 1949 – June 3, 1988) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player who played ten seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

and

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

Career

Brian Spencer was drafted in the fifth round, 55th overall by the

in the 1969 NHL Entry 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 British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

to tell him to watch the game that night on ''

Hockey Night in Canada ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') is a long-running program of broadcast ice hockey play-by-play coverage in Canada. With roots in pioneering hockey coverage on private radio stations as early as 1923, ...

''. Spencer was to be interviewed between periods of the game. However, a game featuring the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

versus the

California Golden Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967–68 NHL season, 1967 to 1975–76 NHL season, 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oa ...

was aired instead. Infuriated, Roy Spencer drove to Prince George, where the closest TV station,

CKPG-TV CKPG-TV ( analogue channel 2) is a television station in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, affiliated with Citytv. The station is owned by Pattison Media, and maintains studios on 3rd Avenue (near Winnipeg Street) in Prince George; its tr ...

(then a

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

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

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

. After a brief stand-off Roy Spencer was shot and killed. After several seasons with Toronto and the

, Spencer was acquired by the

. 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 Buffalo and was extremely popular with the fans at Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium. His hustle, aggressive play, and hitting ability were things the fans admired. Spencer developed into a solid two-way player, and participated in the

1975 Stanley Cup Finals The 1975 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1974–75 season, and the culmination of the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Buffalo Sabres and the defending champion Philad ...

with the Sabres, who were ultimately defeated by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

, 4 games to 2. He was, however, traded to the

in September 1977. 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 AHL (Binghamton, Springfield and Hershey) and retired after the 1979–80 season.

Death

After hockey, Spencer submerged himself in a life of alcohol and violence. In 1987, he was charged with kidnapping and murder and faced the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

.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.
/ref> Family and friends, including ex-teammates, gathered around him and tried to help. A former teammate from the Sabres,

Rick Martin Richard Lionel Martin (; ; July 26, 1951March 13, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who played in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1982. He featured in the 1975 Stanley ...

, 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

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, 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 Riviera Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, which was incorporated on September 29, 1922. Due to the location of its eastern boundary, it is also the easternmost municipality in the Miami metropolitan area. In the 2020 ...

. Spencer was survived by five children from two marriages, and his twin brother, Byron. A book on Brian's life ''Gross Misconduct: The Life of Spinner Spencer'', written by

Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American politician who served as the 17th commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was th ...

, was adapted in 1993 by

Paul Gross Paul Michael Gross (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian actor, film and television director, screenwriter, playwright, and producer. He rose to fame for his lead role as RCMP Constable Benton Fraser on the popular Canadian television series '' ...

and directed by

Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan (; ; born July 19, 1960) is an Armenian Canadians, Armenian-Canadian filmmaker. One of the most preeminent directors of the Toronto New Wave, he emerged during the 1980s and made his career breakthrough with ''Exotica (film), Exotica ...

into a made-for-television film in Canada, ''Gross Misconduct: The Life of Brian Spencer''. In 1999, Spencer's daughter and grandson were killed in a car accident in Oklahoma.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Notes

References

* ''Players:The Ultimate A-Z Guide of Everyone Who Has Ever Played in the NHL'' by Andrew Podnieks, * ''Penguin's Profiles: Pittsburgh's Boys of Winter''. O'Brien, James P. 1994, Retrieved 17 Nov. 2006.

External links

*
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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Brian 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 People murdered in Florida 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 the United States 20th-century Canadian sportsmen