Bill Cleary
Encyclopedia
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.
n 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.
He was named to the NCAA Ice Hockey 50th Anniversary team, chosen as the U.S. Hockey Player of the Decade (1956–66), and inducted into both the International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame
and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
. In 1996 he was selected as one of the "100 Golden Olympians" by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Sports Illustrated
named him the 33rd best athlete of the 20th century in the state of Massachusetts
.
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.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
) is a former United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player, coach
Coach (ice hockey)
Coach in ice hockey is the person responsible for directing the team during games and practices, prepares strategy and decides which players will participate in games....
, and athletic administrator. He played on the U.S. hockey team that won the 1960 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics
At the 1960 Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley, California, United States, one ice hockey event was held: men's Ice Hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. Games were held at Blyth Arena.Canada, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and...
gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
, and is a notable Belmont Hill alumnus.
Career
Cleary was an All-AmericaAll-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n college hockey
College hockey
College hockey refers to ice hockey played between colleges with their teams composed of enrolled students. College hockey is played in Canada and the United States, though leagues outside of North America exist....
player at Harvard University
Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...
, where he still holds several records, including most points in a single season (89). Taking a year away from college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
, he won a silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
as a member of the U.S. ice hockey team at the 1956 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey at the 1956 Winter Olympics
At the 1956 Winter Olympics held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, one ice hockey event was held: men's ice hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. For World Championships Pool B matches were also played between GDR, Norway and Belgium in Berlin...
, after turning down a professional-contract offer from the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
. At the 1959 World Ice Hockey Championships
1959 World Ice Hockey Championships
The 1959 Ice Hockey World Championships were held between March 5 and March 15, 1959 in Prague and Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.- Group 1 :- Group 2 :- Group 3 :- Final Round :- Consolation Round :...
, he won the IIHF directorate award for best forward. At the 1960 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics
At the 1960 Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley, California, United States, one ice hockey event was held: men's Ice Hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. Games were held at Blyth Arena.Canada, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and...
, in Squaw Valley, California
Squaw Valley, California
Squaw Valley, California may refer to:*Squaw Valley, Fresno County, California, census-designated place located in Fresno County, California*Squaw Valley, Placer County, California, community in Placer County, California and host of the 1960 Winter Olympics...
, he won a gold medal with the U.S. team that upset the heavily favored Soviet team.
He was named to the NCAA Ice Hockey 50th Anniversary team, chosen as the U.S. Hockey Player of the Decade (1956–66), and inducted into both the International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame
IIHF Hall of Fame
The IIHF Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which was established by the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1997, when 30 individuals were inducted at the world championships in Helsinki...
and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
United States Olympic Hall of Fame
The United States Olympic Hall of Fame is an honor roll of the top American Olympic athletes.The Hall of Fame was established by the United States Olympic Committee in 1979; the first members were inducted in 1983. Between 1992 and 2003, the Hall of Fame went dormant, with no induction of new...
. In 1996 he was selected as one of the "100 Golden Olympians" by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
named him the 33rd best athlete of the 20th century in the state of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Cleary went on to coach hockey at Harvard for over twenty years, leading them to the NCAA National Championship
NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship
The annual NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship tournament determines the top men's ice hockey team in NCAA Division I and Division III. The semi-finals and finals of the Division I Championship are branded as the Frozen Four, a passing nod to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship - known...
in 1989. At Harvard he coached three Hobey Baker Award
Hobey Baker Award
The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player.It is named for hockey player and World War I veteran Hobey Baker, who played collegiately at Princeton University and learned the game at St...
winners (Scott Fusco
Scott Fusco
Scott Michael Fusco is a retired ice hockey player, who attended the Belmont Hill School. He won the Hobey Baker Award in 1986 while playing for Harvard. He was also a member of the American 1984 Winter Olympics ice hockey team...
, Mark Fusco
Mark Fusco
Mark Edward Fusco is a retired professional ice hockey player who appeared in 80 NHL regular season games for the Hartford Whalers in 1984–85. As an amateur, Fusco won the Hobey Baker Award in 1983 while playing for the Harvard University men's ice hockey team...
and Lane MacDonald
Lane MacDonald
B. Lane MacDonald is a retired ice hockey player. Born in Tulsa as the son of former NHL player Lowell MacDonald, Lane was a prep star at the University School of Milwaukee, and grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
) as well as many National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(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
ECAC Hockey League
ECAC Hockey is one of the five NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conferences that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This relationship ended in...
and a mentor to several successful college coaches, including 1987 CCHA Coach of the Year Val Belmonte
Val Belmonte
Val Belmonte is an American former ice hockey coach, player and executive. He has also served as a sports official and university athletics director. He played for the University of Illinois Chicago , followed by an 18-year college coaching career...
. 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
Varsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
sports teams. He retired in 2000.
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.See also
- Harvard Crimson men's hockey
- List of college men's ice hockey coaches with 300 career wins