Fred Shero

Fred Alexander Shero (October 23, 1925 - November 24, 1990) was a Canadian professional player and coach. His son Ray Shero serves as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Playing career
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he attended the University of Manitoba and served in the Royal Canadian Navy in World War II. In 1945, he played for the navy team Winnipeg HMCS Chippewa, the 1944-45 Manitoba Senior Playoffs winners. He played three seasons (1947–48, 1948–49, and 1949–50) with the New York Rangers.



Coaching career
He was the coach of the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers. He was the coach of the Flyers when they won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975. Through the start of the 2007-08 NHL season, he remains the winningest coach in Flyers history with 308 wins, plus 48 more in playoff competition. He was the coach of the New York Rangers when they reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1979.

In 1974, he won the Jack Adams Award for NHL Coach of the Year. In 1980, he was a co-recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy awarded for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.

Before leading his team to a clinching Game 6 victory in the 1974 Stanley Cup final, the teams first-ever Stanley Cup, Fred Shero wrote his most famous motivational line on the team's blackboard: "Win together today, and we walk together forever."

He died of stomach cancer on November 24, 1990 at the age of 65.

In a 1999 Philadelphia Daily News poll, he was selected as the city’s greatest professional coach/manager, beating out legends such as Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics, Dallas Green of the Philadelphia Phillies, Dick Vermeil and Greasy Neale of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Billy Cunningham and Alex Hannum of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Awards & Achievements

 * EAHL First All-Star Team (1947)
 * Calder Cup (AHL) Championships (1953, 1954, & 1970)
 * WHL Championship (1956)
 * AHL Second All-Star Team (1954)
 * AHL Coach of the Year (1970)
 * Stanley Cup Championships (1974 & 1975)
 * Lester Patrick Trophy Winner (1980)
 * “Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame