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Title: Demystifying The Tragically Hip’s “Fifty Mission Cap”
Source:
Hip Museum
URL Source: http://www.hipmuseum.com/fifty.html
Published: Feb 1, 2010
Author: Unknown
Post Date: 2015-07-01 10:57:25 by Orwellian Nightmare
Keywords: Hockey, Music
Views: 1296
Comments: 2
Fifty Mission Cap references "Fifty Mission Cap" really does tell a story that Gord Downie picked up from a hockey card. The card in question was either this 1952 original by Parkhurst: Or this 1991/1992 commemorative card produced by Pro Set: These particular pieces of nostalgia recount the winning goal, tragic end and resulting curse that revolved around Bill Barilko and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1951. During the summer following Barilko's April 21, 1951 Stanley Cup winning goal against les Canadiens, the 24-year-old's plane crashed near Cochrane, Ontario. His body could not be immediately located in the dense Northern Ontario brush. After his disappearance in death, the World Champion Leafs experienced an 11 year losing streak in a six team league. Some suspected that the mighty Leafs were cursed against the Cup until Bill's body could be found. However, if any curse existed, it was actually the reverse of that popular interpretation: Bill was cursed to remain undiscovered until his Leafs could win again. On April 22nd 1962, the Leafs finally did win another Stanley Cup. Roughly seven weeks later, Barilko's remains were discovered by a pilot flying over an area about 100km north of Cochrane. Incidentally, the Toronto Maple Leafs were the last team to hoist the original cup. It was retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame and replaced by an updated version during the off-season. The Tragically Hip participated in a centre-ice ceremony held by the Leafs to honour Barilko. The club has also made Barilko's #5 one of only two permanently retired numbers. "...my fifty mission cap, I worked it in Fifty mission caps were given to elite bomber pilots of the allied airforces during World War II. And if you think a hat is the military equivalent to a tooth brush at Halloween, you'd be right. Risk your life fifty times during the most devastating war in history: score yourself a nifty fashion accessory. Of course, the caps served more as morale-boosting status symbols than rewards. Pilots with fifty mission caps were revered, and allowed to shun military protocol and work-them-in or dirty them up in order to add to their mystique. You can see a reproduction of an American fifty mission cap here. In the mid-Nineties, a Canadian garment company began producing burgundy and blue toques with crests that resembled the NHL logo (which the Hip had already successfully co-opted by that point) which read "Mission: 1950." I found one in a Bi-Way bargain bin and it was a good enough "Fifty Mission Cap" for me. Cory Graff, who works at the Seattle Museum of Flight has this to add: "The WWII Army Air Corps hats were issued to the officers. Each officer had it as part of his uniform. Fighter pilots (the guys who became aces) were officers, but usually preferred leather helmets, stowing their cap during flight. As a result, it stayed relatively pristine, stiff, and high—like the one seen in that link on your site. For the officers in the bombers, it was different. Commonly when you see a photo of a Boeing B-17 crew or a Consolidated B-24 crew, you’ll see a bunch of crewmen gunners (Sergeants and airmen and stuff like that) in some serious puffy leather and cold weather gear. And four guys with those hats are the officers. They were Lieutenants, mostly. They were the pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, and navigator. They commonly were in the nose of the plane where it was relatively warm (relatively) and wore the hats while flying. When the flyer was first issued the hat, it was stiff and high but over time, the ear phones the bomber crewmen would wear (and sometimes flak helmets) would crush the hat down. Some guys took out the lining inside to make wearing the earphones more comfortable and, as a side bonus, it accelerated the breakdown process. Of course, having the “50 mission crush” look to your hat was the sign of a veteran flyer. Fifty missions was a heck of a lot, your chances of living through even 25 bomber missions over Europe were pretty low. Anyway, soon, everyone was doing it—not just the bomber guys, but new guys, fighter pilots, and stateside nobodies. It was a real fashion thing. But here’s the little detail that might be important to part of the song… It was cool to have the sides of your hat all smashed. But it was very uncool to have the front droop down or collapse. As a result, many of these guys put in a piece of cardboard or a playing card on the inside in the front to keep it all going upward. So this hockey card (doing a bit of time travel I guess) is worked into the front of the 50 mission cap as a stiffener." Extra Credit: Although not mentioned in the song, a well known live version of 50MC contains Gord Downie ranting about the Filles Du Roi. Since I've been asked about this, here goes: The Filles Du Roi or "Daughters of the King" were the young women, mostly orphans in the custody of the Catholic church, sent to Quebec by Louis XIV to populate the nation. This policy worked like gangbusters. Over 98% of les filles married upon arrival, and New France demonstrated the highest rate of growth in the western world. From the time the policy began in 1663 until the time of British conquest in 1760, the population of New France increased 23 times over. If France itself had grown at the same rate that Canada did, it would have had a population of 400 million in 1760, and over 2 billion in 1960. And you wondered what people did before television...
(3 images)
"...Bill Barilko disappeared that summer,
he was on a fishing trip.
The last goal he ever scored
won the Leafs the cup.
They didn't win another until 1962,
the year he was discovered.
I stole this from a hockey card,
I keep tucked up under..." 
to look like that."
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#1. To: Orwellian Nightmare (#0)
True in the US Army Air Force,but not in the USMC. The USMC had some NCO fighter pilots. Not sure about the Navy,but they are so uptight and anal,they probably didn't allow enlisted swine to operate fighters. Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority? (Ron Paul,2012)
The Navy had some enlisted pilots. In 2008 they started a program to put enlisted into a pilot program, but make them warrant officers if they become pilots. The program was axed in 2011.
Fighter pilots (the guys who became aces) were officers,
#2. To: sneakypete, Orwellian Nightmare (#1)
Not sure about the Navy,but they are so uptight and anal,they probably didn't allow enlisted swine to operate fighters.
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