Bill Cleary (ice hockey)
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men’s ice hockey | ||
Competitor for the  United States |
||
| Gold | 1960 Squaw Valley | Team competition |
| Silver | 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo | Team competition |
William John Cleary, Jr. (born August 19, 1934 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is a former United States ice hockey player, coach, and athletic administrator. He played on the U.S. hockey team that won the 1960 Winter Olympics gold medal, and is a notable Belmont Hill alumnus.
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[edit] Career
Cleary was an All-American college hockey player at Harvard University, where he still holds several records, including most points in a single season (89). Taking a year away from college, he won a silver medal as a member of the U.S. ice hockey team at the 1956 Winter Olympics, after turning down a professional-contract offer from the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens. At the 1959 World Ice Hockey Championships, he won the IIHF directorate award for best forward. At the 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, California, he won a gold medal with the U.S. team that upset the heavily favored Soviet team.[1]
Cleary went on to coach hockey at Harvard for over twenty years, leading them to the NCAA National Championship in 1989. At Harvard he coached three Hobey Baker Award winners (Scott Fusco, Mark Fusco and Lane MacDonald) as well as many National Hockey League (NHL) stars. He compiled a career 324–201–22 record, for a .612 winning percentage.
Cleary was the driving force behind the structure of the ECAC Hockey League and a mentor to several successful college coaches, including 1987 CCHA Coach of the Year Val Belmonte. The Cleary Cup, named in his honor, is awarded to the ECAC's regular-season champion.
After leaving coaching in 1990, Cleary became athletic director at Harvard, where he supervised a program comprising over forty varsity sports teams. He retired in 2000.[2]
[edit] Honors and awards
The Cleary Cup — awarded to the ECAC regular-season champion (the team with the best in-conference record) — is named for Cleary. At present, this team is given the top seed in the ECAC conference tournament (including the first round bye given to the top four seeded teams), but is not given any special consideration in the NCAA tournament.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Barone, Pamela (2010-02-10). "Before the Miracle on Ice: 'Team of Destiny'". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
- ^ "Harvard at a loss; Cleary skates into retirement". Boston Herald. 2000-12-16. p. S37.
- 1934 births
- Living people
- American ice hockey forwards
- Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey players
- Ice hockey people from Massachusetts
- Ice hockey players at the 1956 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 1960 Winter Olympics
- International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame inductees
- Lester Patrick Trophy recipients
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States
- Olympic ice hockey players of the United States
- Olympic medalists in ice hockey
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States
- People from Cambridge, Massachusetts
- United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
- Medalists at the 1956 Winter Olympics
- Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics
