William "Bill" Goldsworthy (August 24, 1944 in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada - May 29, 1996) was a NHL ice hockey player. Goldsworthy's NHL career began with the Bruins in 1964 where he had trouble cracking the line-up. Goldsworthy was quoted to be "excited at being traded to the then expansion Minnesota North Stars" whom he played with from their inaugural season of 1967 until 1977 where he electrified the Met Center crowds and made his name known through goal-scoring and the invention of the "Goldy Shuffle" which became the Goldsworthy trademark post-goal celebration name. Bill ended his career with the New York Rangers in 1978. He played in 4 NHL All Star Games (1970, 1972, 1974, 1976). Goldsworthy was a part of Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series that beat the Russians.
Goldsworthy played 771 career NHL games, scoring 283 goals (267 with the North Stars) and 258 assists for 541 points. His best offensive season was the 1973-74 season with the Minnesota North Stars (where Goldsworthy spent most of his career playing for) when he set his career high in points with 74, and goals with 48, that was a team record for 8 seasons until Dino Ciccarelli broke Goldy's mark. Goldsworthy was the first NHL player from an expansion team to top 250 goals. His #8 jersey was retired by the North Stars on Feb. 15, 1992, just over a year before the team moved to Dallas. Today his #8 hangs in the rafters at Reunion Arena in Dallas besides Neal Broten retired #7 and Bill Masterton #19.
Goldsworthy died in 1996 from complications with AIDS at the age of 51 that in an interview with the Pioneer Press in February of 1995 Goldsworthy was noted as saying: "I was diagnosed with AIDS in November 1994 that stemmed from drinking and promiscuity." "There's a stigma that comes with AIDS that makes you think it's something that only happens in the homosexual community and to drug abusers who use dirty needles," Goldsworthy said. "It's more than that."
"He was a fun-loving guy, unpredictable, we always used to say, 'Goldy's just being Goldy.' That's just the way he was. You never knew what he was going to do or say. He was a very warm person, a good friend. He was a very colorful, charismatic guy that had great speed and strength and a great shot." "It was very unpredictable what he was going to do. He was one of the first real charismatic Minnesota athletes that we had." Lou Nanne
1962-63 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA Unavailable
1963-64 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 56 21 47 68 0
1964-65 Boston Bruins NHL 2 0 0 0 0
1965-66 Oklahoma City Blazers CPHL 22 2 5 7 65 2 1 0 1 4
1965-66 Boston Bruins NHL 13 3 1 4 6
1966-67 Oklahoma City Blazers CPHL 11 4 1 5 14
1966-67 Buffalo Bisons AHL 22 9 11 20 42
1966-67 Boston Bruins NHL 18 3 5 8 21
1967-68 Minnesota North Stars NHL 68 14 19 33 68 14 8 7 15 12
1968-69 Memphis South Stars CHL 6 4 0 4 6
1968-69 Minnesota North Stars NHL 68 14 10 24 110
1969-70 Minnesota North Stars NHL 75 36 29 65 89 6 4 3 7 6
1973-74 Minnesota North Stars NHL 74 48 26 74 73
1976-77 Minnesota North Stars NHL 16 2 3 5 6
1976-77 New York Rangers NHL 61 10 12 22 43
1977-78 New York Rangers NHL 7 0 1 1 12
1977-78 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 4 1 2 3 4
1977-78 Indianapolis Racers WHA 32 8 10 18 10
1978-79 Edmonton Oilers WHA 17 4 2 6 14 4 1 1 2 11
WHA Totals 49 12 12 24 24 4 1 1 2 11
NHL Totals 771 283 258 541 793 40 18 19 37 30
Bill Goldsworthy Photo - 1