Murray Balfour was a member of the famed "Million Dollar Line" for Chicago and a playoff hero, but his life was tragically cut short by cancer when he was only 28. After Balfour was traded to Chicago from Montreal for cash in 1959, he was put on a line with two stars earning sizable salaries, Bobby Hull and Billy Hay, and the troika was dubbed the Million Dollar Line.
It was Balfour who paid back the Habs in the 1960-61 Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring in triple overtime in the third game of the semifinal series. The Hawks won the Stanley Cup that year, although Balfour, who outscored his flashier linemates in the playoffs, had to watch the final game from the hospital after crashing into the Detroit net and breaking his arm in the fifth game.
The next year he had an eight-inch steel rod inserted from his wrist to his elbow to support the arm, though it didn't slow down the rugged winger. Balfour was traded to the Boston Bruins in 1964 but complained of constant fatigue. He was sent down to the minors and continued to have health problems. Exploratory surgery in 1965 revealed a tumor in his lung that was inoperable. He died less than eight weeks later.
