In the 1964 Stanley Cup Finals, the defending champion Toronto Maple Leafs squared off against the Detroit Red Wings for the second straight year. The Maple Leafs would win the best-of-seven series four games to three to win the Stanley Cup, their third-straight championship.
This series is famous for the courageous play of Bob Baun. In game six of the Finals, he took a Gordie Howe slapshot on his ankle and had to leave play. He returned in overtime and scored the winning goal. Baun also played in game seven despite the pain and only after the series was over, was it revealed that he had broken the ankle.
Until 2008-09 finals, John MacMillian was the only player to play in back-to-back finals with different teams in successive series that pitted the same teams against each other. MacMillian won the Cup with the 1963 Toronto Maple Leafs in a five-game decision over Detroit, and then lost the 1964 Cup final to the Leafs as a member of the Red Wings.
Below is a video clip with great footage from the ’64 Finals.