Bill Chadwick | |
|---|---|
 Chadwick, c. 1973 | |
| Born | William Leroy Chadwick (1915-10-10)October 10, 1915 Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 24, 2009(2009-10-24) (aged 94) |
| Occupation(s) | FormerNHLreferee Broadcaster |
| Honors | Hockey Hall of Fame (1964) |
William Leroy "The Big Whistle" Chadwick (October 10, 1915 – October 24, 2009) was the first US-bornreferee to serve in theNational Hockey League (NHL). Despite being blind in his right eye, his on-ice officiating career spanned the greater part of the 1940s and 1950s, during which he pioneered the system of hand signals for penalties which is now used in allhockey games internationally. He later was a popular broadcaster for theNew York Rangers on radio and television.
Born inManhattan, New York City, he attendedJamaica High School. While playing as acenter for a Metropolitan Amateur Hockey League All-Star team atMadison Square Garden in 1935, he was struck in the right eye by an errantpuck during a line change against a team fromBoston. Even though thedoctors atManhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital weren't able to restore vision to his right eye, he continued to play the sport with theNew York Rovers of theEastern Amateur Hockey League.[2]
Chadwick was encouraged to become a referee by his former Rovers' coach,Tommy Lockhart.[3] His first experience as an on-ice official was in a Rovers game in March 1937, when he substituted for the scheduled referee who was stuck in asnowstorm. His work in the amateur circuit caught the attention of then-NHL presidentFrank Calder, who hired him as the league's first American-born linesman in 1939. The first professional match Chadwick worked was between theMontreal Canadiens andNew York Americans at The Garden.[2]
After one year of service in the NHL, he was promoted to referee, eventually becoming the first one to use hand signals during games in the early 1940s. The system he developed was adopted by the NHL in 1956, one year after his retirement. During his fifteen seasons as a referee, he worked over 900 regular season contests and a record 42Stanley Cup Finals matches 13 of them series deciders. He became the fifth on-ice official, the first American-born, to be inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame in 1964.[2]
He has been elected to both theHockey Hall of Fame and theUnited States Hockey Hall of Fame. Chadwick spent 14 seasons as a hockey color commentator both on radio and television for theNew York Rangers. From 1967–72, he worked on radio withMarv Albert, and in 1972 moved to television broadcasts onWOR-TV, Channel 9, and theMSG Network. His 1972–73 partner wasSal Marchiano, and from 1973 to 1981 he was paired withJim Gordon.[4]
He died on October 24, 2009, at the age of 94.[5][6][7][8]
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