The song's lyrics describe the mysterious disappearance of Barilko, who scored the
Stanley Cup-clinching goal for the Leafs over
Montreal Canadiens in the
1951 cup finals. Four months and five days later, Barilko departed on a fishing trip in a small, single-engine airplane with friend and dentist, Henry Hudson. The song's lyrics and title also reference a military cap, which became known as a 50 mission cap, and crush cap during
World War II. The "fifty mission cap" or "crush cap" was just a standard issue military
peaked cap, still widely used by modern military forces. These were worn by both fighter pilots and bomber crews. The terms "50 mission cap" and "crush cap" came from the look these caps gained after much wear. The wire crown stiffener was removed to allow the top of the hat to "crush" so headphones could be worn in the cockpit. The aged and worn look of the cap was thus a status symbol, and according to Downie the intended theme in the lyrics was that junior pilots would work their caps in to look like fifty mission caps, "so as to appear that you had more experience than you really did". The line "I stole this from a hockey card" references card No. 340 from the 1991 NHL Pro Set hockey card series, which tells the story of Bill Barilko. ==Impact==