Bill Hunter
Encyclopedia
William Dickenson Hunter, CM
(May 5, 1920 – December 16, 2002) was a Canadian
hockey
player, general manager
and coach
. Hunter was involved in hockey
, football
, baseball
, softball
and curling
but he is best known for founding the Western Hockey League
, being a key player in the upstart World Hockey Association
and for his efforts to bring professional hockey to previously overlooked Western Canadian
cities, especially in Edmonton and (unsuccessfully) in Saskatoon.
who as of 2004 had won 12 national junior titles. Hunter then attended Notre Dame College
in Wilcox, Saskatchewan
from 1938 to 1940, where he managed the college baseball team.
Following the outbreak of World War II
Hunter left school to join the Royal Canadian Air Force
and served for about four years as a pilot based in England
. Hunter flew Beauforts
, Spitfires
and Hurricanes
before returning to Saskatoon in 1944 where he worked briefly for CFQC Radio before opening Hunter's Sporting Goods in North Battleford the following year.
Between 1945 and 1949 Hunter coached and managed hockey teams in North Battleford, Regina
, Moose Jaw
and Yorkton
. It was during these years that Hunter was nicknamed "Wild Bill" following a dispute with a referee. Hunter did not like the nickname especially at first, but it stuck with him for the rest of his life.
In 1950 Hunter founded the first curling bonspiel
to be held on artificial ice, the Quaker Car Curling Bonspiel. He also managed and coached the Saskatoon Quakers hockey club until 1952. From 1953 to 1955 he owned, managed and coached the Medicine Hat
Tigers.
in 1966, but by then Hunter was arguing that the competitive structure of the game in Western Canada was putting the region at a disadvantage to stronger leagues in Ontario and Quebec. Each Western province still had its own junior league while Hunter believed the West needed a single elite junior league to compete effectively.
Following a dispute with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League
president and with the support of several other owners, Hunter formed the Western Canadian Hockey League (now the Western Hockey League) in 1967 with Hunter becoming the first chairman of the WCHL board. The new "Outlaw League" was not welcomed by everyone with open arms and it would be a few years before the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
allowed its champion to compete for the Memorial Cup, but it soon proved too strong for the provincial leagues to ignore and they soon stopped competing for the trophy. By 1972 the Memorial Cup's modern round-robin format was established—since then the WHL has won the Memorial Cup more times than any other league.
was expanding but it was not interested in Hunter's proposal for an expansion franchise to play in Edmonton. Hunter offered to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins
but this proposal was also rebuffed. In 1971, Hunter was introduced to Gary Davidson and Dennis Murphy, two American
promoters who were interested in establishing a rival league. The World Hockey Association started play the following year with Hunter as owner, general manager and, by the halfway point, head coach of the Alberta Oilers, who were renamed the Edmonton Oilers
the following season.
Although the Oilers were a mediocre team on the ice, they were among the fledgling league's most financially stable franchises, especially after the completion of Northlands Coliseum in 1975. By the time the Oilers had joined the NHL in 1979, Hunter had sold the team to Nelson Skalbania
, who in turn sold the franchise to Peter Pocklington
.
The Blues were eventually sold to Harry Ornest, who kept the franchise in St. Louis, where it remains to this day.
However, Hunter's efforts did not prove completely fruitless, as the city eventually built Saskatchewan Place
in 1988, although many Saskatonians felt the location chosen for the facility was inferior to the site Hunter had proposed for his centre. Following his death, the City of Saskatoon renamed a street near Saskatchewan Place after Hunter. He is considered a hero in Saskatchewan sports history. Following his death in 2002, Saskatoon hosted the IIHF Championships in 2009.
tournaments in Saskatoon before investing in the San Diego Gulls hockey club in 1990. He remained somewhat active in the 1990s, helping to organize the Flexi-Coil curling cashspiel in his hometown before his health began to fail. He was awarded the Order of Canada
in 2000 and was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
Hunter died of cancer
in Edmonton on December 16, 2002, and is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery
.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(May 5, 1920 – December 16, 2002) 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...
hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
player, general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
and coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
. Hunter was involved in 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...
, 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...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
and curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
but he is best known for founding the Western Hockey League
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
, being a key player in the upstart World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
and for his efforts to bring professional hockey to previously overlooked Western Canadian
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
cities, especially in Edmonton and (unsuccessfully) in Saskatoon.
Early years
Hunter was born in Saskatoon, the first of ten children and founded his first competitive sports team when he was 18. Hunter's Saskatoon Dukes football club eventually became the Saskatoon HilltopsSaskatoon Hilltops
The Saskatoon Hilltops are a Canadian Junior Football team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Hilltops play in the six-team Prairie Football Conference, which itself is part of the Canadian Junior Football League and competes annually for the national title known as the Canadian Bowl. The team...
who as of 2004 had won 12 national junior titles. Hunter then attended Notre Dame College
Notre Dame College
Notre Dame College, also known as Notre Dame College of Ohio or simply NDC, is a Catholic, coeducational, liberal arts college in South Euclid, Ohio, USA. Established in 1922 as a women's college it has been coeducational since January 2001...
in Wilcox, Saskatchewan
Wilcox, Saskatchewan
Wilcox is a small village in Saskatchewan, Canada. Located approximately 41 kilometers south of Regina, Wilcox is best known for being the home of the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a boarding school for students in grades 9-12. The village is also home to the Notre Dame Hounds ice hockey...
from 1938 to 1940, where he managed the college baseball team.
Following the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Hunter left school to join the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
and served for about four years as a pilot based in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Hunter flew Beauforts
Bristol Beaufort
The Bristol Beaufort was a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber....
, Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
and Hurricanes
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
before returning to Saskatoon in 1944 where he worked briefly for CFQC Radio before opening Hunter's Sporting Goods in North Battleford the following year.
Between 1945 and 1949 Hunter coached and managed hockey teams in North Battleford, Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
, Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Moose Jaw is a city in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada on the Moose Jaw River. It is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians. It is best known as a retirement and tourist city that serves as a hub to the hundreds of small towns...
and Yorkton
Yorkton, Saskatchewan
Yorkton is a city located in southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada, near the Manitoba border. Founded and incorporated in 1882 by a group of settlers from Ontario, it has grown to 15,038 residents as of the 2006 census. The city is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Orkney No. 244 and the Rural...
. It was during these years that Hunter was nicknamed "Wild Bill" following a dispute with a referee. Hunter did not like the nickname especially at first, but it stuck with him for the rest of his life.
In 1950 Hunter founded the first curling bonspiel
Bonspiel
A bonspiel is a curling tournament, traditionally held outdoors on a frozen freshwater loch. The word comes from the Scottish Gaelic and means league match . Though not mandatory, curling teams involved in bonspiels often wear theme costumes...
to be held on artificial ice, the Quaker Car Curling Bonspiel. He also managed and coached the Saskatoon Quakers hockey club until 1952. From 1953 to 1955 he owned, managed and coached the Medicine Hat
Medicine Hat, Alberta
Medicine Hat, known to locals as "The Hat", is a city of 61,097 people located in the southeastern part of the province of Alberta, Canada. It is enclaved within Cypress County along with the nearby Town of Redcliff, although neither is part of the county....
Tigers.
The Birth of the WHL
By 1965 Hunter was owner, general manager and coach of the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Oil Kings won the Memorial CupMemorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...
in 1966, but by then Hunter was arguing that the competitive structure of the game in Western Canada was putting the region at a disadvantage to stronger leagues in Ontario and Quebec. Each Western province still had its own junior league while Hunter believed the West needed a single elite junior league to compete effectively.
Following a dispute with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League
Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior A ice hockey league under Hockey Canada, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years of age or younger, the SJHL's 12 teams play in two divisions: the Bauer and Sherwood conferences...
president and with the support of several other owners, Hunter formed the Western Canadian Hockey League (now the Western Hockey League) in 1967 with Hunter becoming the first chairman of the WCHL board. The new "Outlaw League" was not welcomed by everyone with open arms and it would be a few years before the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey play in Canada from 1914 until 1994 when it merged with the Canadian Hockey Association or Hockey Canada....
allowed its champion to compete for the Memorial Cup, but it soon proved too strong for the provincial leagues to ignore and they soon stopped competing for the trophy. By 1972 the Memorial Cup's modern round-robin format was established—since then the WHL has won the Memorial Cup more times than any other league.
The Birth of the Edmonton Oilers and the WHA
Following the establishment of what would become the WHL Hunter turned his efforts toward professional hockey. The NHLNational 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...
was expanding but it was not interested in Hunter's proposal for an expansion franchise to play in Edmonton. Hunter offered to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
but this proposal was also rebuffed. In 1971, Hunter was introduced to Gary Davidson and Dennis Murphy, two American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
promoters who were interested in establishing a rival league. The World Hockey Association started play the following year with Hunter as owner, general manager and, by the halfway point, head coach of the Alberta Oilers, who were renamed the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
the following season.
Although the Oilers were a mediocre team on the ice, they were among the fledgling league's most financially stable franchises, especially after the completion of Northlands Coliseum in 1975. By the time the Oilers had joined the NHL in 1979, Hunter had sold the team to Nelson Skalbania
Nelson Skalbania
Nelson M. Skalbania is a Canadian businessman from Vancouver, British Columbia best known for signing a 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky to the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association....
, who in turn sold the franchise to Peter Pocklington
Peter Pocklington
Peter Hugh Pocklington is a Canadian entrepreneur.He made his initial fortune as the owner of one of the largest auto dealerships in Canada, and later took over a meat packing company involved in a high-profile labour strike....
.
The "Saskatchewan Blues"
Hunter made one more serious attempt to bring a professional team to Western Canada when in 1983 he offered to purchase the financially struggling St. Louis Blues and move the team to his hometown. The offer raised many eyebrows even in Canada as few thought an NHL team could survive in a relatively small city. Nonetheless, Hunter was able to obtain commitments for 18,000 season tickets as well as for an 18,000 seat arena. This did not prove sufficient for the NHL Board of Governors, who blocked the transaction even though doing so forced the league to take over the team itself.The Blues were eventually sold to Harry Ornest, who kept the franchise in St. Louis, where it remains to this day.
However, Hunter's efforts did not prove completely fruitless, as the city eventually built Saskatchewan Place
Credit Union Centre
Credit Union Centre is an arena, located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Situated near the city's northern entrance, the facility opened in February, 1988 with a seating capacity of around 7,800. It was expanded to 11,330 for the World Junior Hockey Championships in 1990...
in 1988, although many Saskatonians felt the location chosen for the facility was inferior to the site Hunter had proposed for his centre. Following his death, the City of Saskatoon renamed a street near Saskatchewan Place after Hunter. He is considered a hero in Saskatchewan sports history. Following his death in 2002, Saskatoon hosted the IIHF Championships in 2009.
Later years & death
Following his attempt to bring the Blues to Saskatoon, Hunter organized softballSoftball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
tournaments in Saskatoon before investing in the San Diego Gulls hockey club in 1990. He remained somewhat active in the 1990s, helping to organize the Flexi-Coil curling cashspiel in his hometown before his health began to fail. He was awarded the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
in 2000 and was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
Hunter died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in Edmonton on December 16, 2002, and is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Edmonton
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery located at 14611 Mark Messier Trail NW in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The cemetery is owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton and was opened by the Archdiocese in 1954....
.