Bill "Goldie" (also "Harpo") Goldthorpe (born June 20, 1953[1]) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player.
"[2] In his checkered eight-year career (1973–1980, 1983–1984), Goldthorpe played for ten minor league teams and four World Hockey Association squads; along the way, he racked up 1,132 penalty minutes in just 194 professional games.
During his professional career, Goldthorpe would play for numerous teams in the minors, and a total of 36 games in the World Hockey Association.
He was generally only used as an enforcer, but occasionally showed he had some skill as well; with the San Diego Hawks, Goldthorpe scored 13 goals and 28 points in 39 games (and led the league with 267 penalty minutes).
He was given tryouts by both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins and appeared in exhibition contests, but never played a regular-season NHL game.
Goldthorpe has said that the producers were thinking about putting him in the film, but he was not offered a role after he was charged with assault and broke a bottle in the dressing room when Paul Newman's brother visited.
(In Goldie's usual subtle style, the player threatens to "bury (Gordie's) entire family in the desert!"