Brian Spencer

Brian Roy "Spinner" Spencer (September 3, 1949 – June 3, 1988) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League. He was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fifth round, 55th overall, in the 1969 NHL entry draft, and went on to play for the Maple Leafs, the New York Islanders, the Buffalo Sabres, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Spencer played his first NHL game, televised on Hockey Night in Canada, on December 12, 1970. Ahead of the broadcast, he telephoned his father, Roy, in British Columbia and told him to watch the game, as Spencer was to be interviewed between periods. Instead, a game between the Vancouver Canucks and the California Golden Seals was aired. Infuriated, Roy Spencer drove 135 kilometres (84 mi) to Prince George, the location of the nearest television station, CKPG-TV, then a CBC Television affiliate. On arrival he ordered station staff at gunpoint to broadcast the Maple Leafs game or, failing an available feed, to turn off the hockey broadcast entirely. The station complied. As Roy Spencer left, he was confronted by the RCMP.

Brian Spencer died on June 3, 1988.