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Bob Gassoff played 4 NHL seasons, all with the St. Louis Blues. While standing only 5’10” and weighing only 195 pounds, Gassoff established himself as one of the NHL’s premier tough guys. In 1975-76, Gassoff amassed 306 penalty minutes.
Gassoff's most celebrated fight was with Dave "Tiger" Williams in 1974-75 in which he bloodied the Tiger and received a match penalty. Gassoff fought all comers, once challenging the entire Philadelphia Flyers bench. Former Teammate Gary Unger once said of him, "I remember playing against the Flyers, and Don Saleski and Dave Schultz kept taking runs at our smaller players. Bobby came on the ice and blasted Saleski with a hit at mid-ice, and as Saleski laid there, Bobby just looked down at him, daring him to get up. Saleski never did."
On Memorial Day weekend, 1977, the Blues team gathered for a post-season party at Garry Unger’s farm near Gray Summit, Missouri. On May 27, Gassoff was riding one of the farm's motorcycles and collided with a vehicle on a road near the farm. Not wearing a helmet, Gassoff died instantly at age 24. Teammate Bernie Federko once said that "Bobby was irreplaceable" and former defense partner Bruce Affleck stated that Gassoff was without peer as an enforcer. "He was the toughest player I’ve ever seen," said Affleck.
Gassoff’s # 3 was subsequently retired by the Blues. Signature is a 10.
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