Athletes Who Sadly Died During Competition

"It sounded like a baseball bat hitting a ball." That was how NHL player André Boudrias described moment his teammate Bill Masterton's head cracked against solid ice. As ABC detailed, it was 1968. Masterton was playing for the Minnesota North Stars. He was also living his dream. As a kid he longed to play hockey on a Canadian team, and when the NHL expanded in the late 1960s, Masterton got his shot.

It seemed like the cherry on an immaculate sundae. Masterton had married his high school sweetheart and adopted two children. He played amateur hockey and joined the U.S. team, and finally he got noticed by the Canadians. He even scored the first goal ever recorded for the North Stars. Masterton took nasty hits and experienced migraines, but he played anyway. Back then a concussion was something that gave you double-vision while you were playing, not a reason to stop playing. In fact, helmets were optional and spurned by most hockey players as a "sign of weakness."

When Masterton's skull bounced off the unforgiving ice, it was totally unprotected. An opposing player's stick had tripped him up, and a second adversary knocked him off his feet. After Masterton landed, his eyes reportedly looked gray. Rapid brain swelling prevented surgery, and nearly 30 hours after his disastrous fall, 29-year-old Masterton was pronounced dead.

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