Bobby Leach: The Man Who Took on Niagara (and Lost to an Orange Peel)
On July 25, 1911, British-born stuntman Bobby Leach became the second person ever to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, following Annie Edson Taylor’s historic feat a decade earlier. His barrel—a custom steel drum—was launched from the American side of the river after Canadian authorities banned the stunt.
When Leach’s barrel disappeared into the mist, it was local riverman William “Red” Hill Sr. and his crew who fought the lower rapids to recover it. Inside they found Bobby alive but broken: both kneecaps fractured, several ribs shattered, and his jaw broken. He spent about five to six months in hospital before touring the world with his battered barrel and story (en.wikipedia.org, unrememberedhistory.com).
Leach later returned to Niagara Falls, where he opened a pool hall on Bridge Street and became a local celebrity. In 1920, he even attempted to swim the Lower Niagara Gorge’s whirlpool rapids, a feat so punishing that he joked it knocked his teeth out—and once again, it was Red Hill Sr. who rescued him when the current overpowered him.
But Bobby’s end was stranger than his stunts. In early 1926, while on a speaking tour in Auckland, New Zealand, he slipped on an orange peel on Queen Street, broke his leg, and developed a severe infection. Surgeons amputated, but complications set in, and he died at Mater Misericordiae Hospital on April 28, 1926, at the age of 69. He is buried in Hillsborough Cemetery, where a simple plaque reads:
“In loving memory of Bobby Leach. World famous by his trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Died 28th April aged 69 years. R.I.P.”
Why His Story Endures:
He embodied the spirit of early 20th-century daredevilry.
His story intertwines with Niagara legend Red Hill Sr., the “Master Hero of Niagara.”
And his death is a reminder: sometimes it’s not the great leaps that take us down, but the smallest slips.
After going over Niagara Falls, Bobby Leach spent six months in the hospital with shattered knees, broken ribs, and a fractured jaw.