Bill Quackenbush
Encyclopedia
Hubert George "Bill" Quackenbush (March 2, 1922 – September 12, 1999) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 professional 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...

 defenceman
Defenceman (ice hockey)
Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...

 who played for the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

 and Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

 in 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...

. During his 14 year career, he was the first defenceman to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, formerly known as the Lady Byng Trophy, is presented each year to the National Hockey League "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability"...

. He won the award after playing the entire 1948–49 season without recording a penalty. The penalty-less season was part of a total of 131 consecutive games he played without being assessed a penalty. Quackenbush, considered to be an elite offensive defenceman during his career, was named to the NHL All-Star Team
NHL All-Star Team
The NHL All-Star Teams were first named at the end of the 1930–31 NHL season, to honor the best performers over the season at each position.Representatives of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote for the All-Star Team at the end of the regular season.The career leaders in citations are...

 five times, played in eight NHL All-Star games and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...

 in 1976.

Following his retirement from professional ice hockey, he spent 18 years as head coach of various teams at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

. Quackenbush coached men's golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, and both the men's and women's ice hockey teams, at various times. He won eight Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

 Championships with the men's golf team and three with the women's ice hockey team.

Early life

Quackenbush was born on March 2, 1922, in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. He was born Hubert George Quackenbush but was given the nickname Bill by his aunt who disliked his given name. He played hockey on outdoor rinks around Toronto during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 as a youth, and was one of the top high school athletes in Canada as a teenager. In addition to hockey, he was a renowned football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

 and soccer player. Quackenbush had an opportunity to play football professionally, but he decided to pursue a career in hockey.

Quackenbush began his junior career playing for the Toronto Native Sons
Toronto Native Sons
The Toronto Native Sons were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1933 until 1942. They played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Prior to moving up to the OHA, the team played in the "Toronto Junior Hockey League." Coached by Harold Cotton, the Native Sons were league...

 of the Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...

. He scored 13 points in 13 games during the 1940–41 season. The following season, he played for the Brantford Lions
Brantford Lions
The Brantford Lions were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association, based in Brantford, Ontario. The Lions played at the Junior A level from 1933-36, and again from 1941-44. In the intermediate years, the played at the Junior B level, from 1936-41, and again from 1944-46.Hockey...

, scoring 34 points in 23 games, and caught the attention of the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

 of 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...

.

Professional career

Quackenbush signed as a free-agent with the Red Wings on October 19, 1942, and played 10 games during the 1942–43 season before breaking his wrist. After recovering from the injury, Detroit assigned him to the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

 where he joined the Indianapolis Capitals
Indianapolis Capitals
The Indianapolis Capitals was an American Hockey League professional ice hockey team based in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1939–1952. The Capitals were a farm team for the Detroit Red Wings. Indianapolis won the Calder Cup in 1942 and 1950...

.
He earned a regular position with the Red Wings during the 1943–44 season, scoring 4 goals and 18 points. In the next two seasons he averaged 21 points while only being assessed an average of 8 penalty minutes and scored a career high 11 goals in 1945–46. The following season
1946-47 NHL season
-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes-Leading goaltenders:...

 he earned his first post-season honour, when he was named a Second Team NHL All-Star
NHL All-Star Team
The NHL All-Star Teams were first named at the end of the 1930–31 NHL season, to honor the best performers over the season at each position.Representatives of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote for the All-Star Team at the end of the regular season.The career leaders in citations are...

. He was also named the Red Wings team MVP. He registered a career high 17 penalty minutes in 1947–48 and was named a First Team All-Star. The season also saw the start of a streak of 131 consecutive games where Quackenbush was not assessed a penalty. It began with the final 5 regular season and 10 playoff games that year, continued through the entire 60 regular season and 11 playoff games during the 1948–49 season, and ended after 45 games of the 1949–50 season. At the conclusion of the 1948–49 season, he was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, formerly known as the Lady Byng Trophy, is presented each year to the National Hockey League "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability"...

, the NHL's annual award for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. He was the first defenceman to win the award, and remains one of only two in NHL history to capture the trophy. Detroit General Manager Jack Adams detested the award and felt that any player who won it did not belong on his team, so he promptly traded Quackenbush. He was sent to the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

 with Pete Horeck
Pete Horeck
Peter Horeck was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was born in Massey, Ontario.He grew up in Capreol, Ontario...

 for Pete Babando
Pete Babando
Peter Joseph Babando born May 10, 1925 in Braeburn-Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania and raised in South Porcupine, Ontario) is a former National Hockey League player who skated for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, and New York Rangers. During six NHL seasons, Babando scored 86...

, Lloyd Durham, Clare Martin
Clare Martin
Clare Majella Martin is a former Australian politician. She is the current CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service . A former journalist, she was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995...

 and Jimmy Peters, Sr.

Quackenbush became a fan favorite upon his arrival in Boston, where his offensive style of play was compared to former Bruin (and fellow Hall of Famer
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...

) Eddie Shore
Eddie Shore
Edward William Shore was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, principally for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League, and the longtime owner of the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League, iconic for his toughness and defensive skill.Shore won the Hart Trophy as the...

. In his first season in Boston, Quackenbush scored 8 goals and 25 points. He continued to stay out of the penalty box
Penalty box
The penalty box is the area in ice hockey, rugby league, rugby union and some other sports where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty, for an offense not severe enough to merit outright expulsion from the contest...

, registering only 4 penalty minutes. However, it marked the first time in three seasons that he was not named to the NHL All-Star Team. The Bruins defence core was depleted by injury in 1950–51, forcing the team to use several first year players. While this resulted in Quackenbush having to play more minutes, including a game where he played 55 minutes, it also gave him the opportunity to play with his brother Max
Max Quackenbush
Maxwell Joseph Quackenbush is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 61 games in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks and Boston Bruins-External links:...

. It was the only time the two played professionally together. He also set a career high in points with 29 and was again named a First Team NHL All-Star. Over the next five seasons Quackenbush hovered around the 20 point mark and was never assessed more than 8 penalty minutes in a year.

Quackenbush retired following the 1955–56 season, having accumulated only 95 penalty minutes over 774 games. This averaged out to seven seconds a game, one of the lowest in NHL history for a player at any position. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...

 in 1976.

Personal

Following his NHL career, Quackenbush worked as a manufacturer's agent while attending night school at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. At Northeastern, he earned an Associate's degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...

 in engineering. Quackenbush also became an assistant coach at Northeastern.

In 1967, he became the head coach for Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

's men's ice hockey team, a position he would hold for six seasons. His best season was his first in 1967–68, when the Tigers posted a 13–10–0 record. It was the highest win total for Princeton since 1935–36. However, his success with the men's ice hockey team would not last; Priceton won no more than five games for their next five seasons. His worst campaign was in 1970–71, when Princeton had two 11 game losing streaks and a 1–22–0 overall record. Because of this, Quackenbush stepped down as the head coach in 1973. In 1969 he began coaching the Princeton Men's golf team. He enjoyed much greater success with the golf team leading them to eight Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

 championships. In 1978 Princeton started a Women's Ice Hockey team
Princeton Tigers women's ice hockey
The Princeton Tigers women's ice hockey team represents Princeton University.-History:On November 24, 1979, the Princeton Tigers played their first varsity game against the University of Pennsylvania. In winter of 1982, Princeton would snap the Cornell Big Red women's ice hockey program's string of...

, and Quackenbush was asked to coach them. He was still coaching the golf team but decided to accept the additional position and led them to three consecutive Ivy League championships between 1982 and 1984. Quackenbush retired from coaching in 1985, after which he moved to Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

, where he lived for several years before moving to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 in 1997.

He married Joan Kalloch and the couple had three sons, Bruce, Scott and Todd. At the time of his passing, Quackenbush also had seven grandchildren. He died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

 and complications from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

 on September 12, 1999, at Chandler Hall Hospice in Newtown, Pennsylvania
Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Newtown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,248 at the 2010 census. It is located just west of the Trenton, New Jersey metropolitan area, and is part of the larger Philadelphia metropolitan area. It is entirely surrounded by Newtown Township, from which...

, at the age of 77.

Playing style

Quackenbush was an offensive defenceman who carried the puck up the ice, making use of his stick handling, passing skills and ability to read the play. Over the course of his career, he was considered one of the elite rushing defenceman in the NHL. He was a solid checker, but relied more on positioning and discipline than physical play. This is evident by his low yearly average of penalty minutes and the fact that he was assessed only one major penalty throughout his NHL career.

Defensively he made use of poke checks
Checking (ice hockey)
Checking in ice hockey is any one of a number of defensive techniques. It is usually not a penalty.- Types :There are various types of checking:...

 to take the puck from his opponents and excelled at getting to lose pucks and clearing them out of the defensive zone. He was adept at keeping opposing forwards from creating offense from behind the net.

Awards and honours

  • Lady Byng Trophy (1949)
  • Three time NHL First Team All-Star (1948, 1949, 1951)
  • Two time NHL Second Team All-Star (1947, 1953)
  • Eight time NHL all-star game participant (1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954)
  • Honored Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame (1976)

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...

Team League GP G
Goal (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to...

A
Assist (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal...

Pts
Point (ice hockey)
Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one...

PIM
Penalty (ice hockey)
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...

GP G A Pts PIM
1940–41 Toronto Native Sons
Toronto Native Sons
The Toronto Native Sons were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1933 until 1942. They played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Prior to moving up to the OHA, the team played in the "Toronto Junior Hockey League." Coached by Harold Cotton, the Native Sons were league...

OHA
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...

13 4 9 13 0
1941–42 Brantford Lions
Brantford Lions
The Brantford Lions were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association, based in Brantford, Ontario. The Lions played at the Junior A level from 1933-36, and again from 1941-44. In the intermediate years, the played at the Junior B level, from 1936-41, and again from 1944-46.Hockey...

OHA 23 5 29 34 16 7 2 4 6 8
1942–43
1942–43 NHL season
-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes-Leading goaltenders:...

Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

NHL
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...

10 1 1 2 4
1942–43
1942–43 AHL season
The 1942–43 AHL season was the seventh season of the American Hockey League. Seven teams played 56 games each in the schedule, while an eighth team, the New Haven Eagles ceased operations 32 games into the season, in January 1943. The Buffalo Bisons won the F. G...

Indianapolis Capitols AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

37 6 13 19 0 7 0 1 1 6
1943–44 Detroit Red Wings NHL 43 4 14 18 6 2 1 0 1 0
1943–44
1943–44 AHL season
The 1943–44 AHL season was the eighth season of the American Hockey League. Six teams played in a 54 game schedule. The Cleveland Barons won the F. G...

Indianapolis Capitols AHL 1 1 0 1 0
1944–45 Detroit Red Wings NHL 50 7 14 21 10 14 0 2 2 2
1945–46 Detroit Red Wings NHL 48 11 10 21 6 5 0 1 1 0
1946–47 Detroit Red Wings NHL 44 5 17 22 6 5 0 0 0 2
1947–48 Detroit Red Wings NHL 58 6 16 22 17 10 0 2 2 0
1948–49 Detroit Red Wings NHL 60 6 17 23 0 11 1 1 2 0
1949–50 Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

NHL 70 8 17 25 4
1950–51 Boston Bruins NHL 70 5 24 29 12 6 0 1 1 0
1951–52 Boston Bruins NHL 69 2 17 19 6 7 0 3 3 0
1952–53 Boston Bruins NHL 69 2 16 18 6 11 0 4 4 4
1953–54 Boston Bruins NHL 45 0 17 17 6 4 4 0 0 0
1954–55 Boston Bruins NHL 68 2 20 22 8 5 0 5 0 0
1955–56 Boston Bruins NHL 70 3 22 25 4
NHL totals 774 62 222 284 95 80 2 19 21 8
  • All statistics taken from NHL.com

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK