Bill Quackenbush

Hubert George "Bill" Quackenbush (March 2, 1922 in Toronto, Ontario - September 12, 1999) was a Canadian professional defenceman who played for the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League. His career spanned fourteen years (1942–56), the first seven with Detroit and the remainder with the Bruins.

Bill was the pre-eminent offensive defenceman of his era. He won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1949, the first defenceman to do so. He played the entire 1948–49 season (and a total of 138 consecutive games across three seasons) without recording a penalty. Quackenbush was a three-time first team and two-time second team All Star. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976.

After his NHL career, he coached college hockey at Princeton University, leading the Princeton men's team to one of their best seasons in 1967–68, a 13–10–1 campaign that included winning the ECAC Christmas tournament championship. He later led the Princeton women's Ice Hockey team to three consecutive Ivy League championships in 1982–84.

Quackenbush died of pneumonia on September 12, 1999 at Chandler Hall Hospice in Newtown, Pennsylvania at the age of 77.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1940–41	Toronto Native Sons	OHA-Jr.		13	4	9	13	0		—	—	—	—	—
1941–42	Brantford Lions	OHA-Jr.		23	5	29	34	16		7	2	4	6	8
1942–43	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		10	1	1	2	4		—	—	—	—	—
1942–43	Indianapolis Capitals	AHL		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	Indianapolis Capitals	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	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	5	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

Head coaching record

Men's

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Princeton Tigers (ECAC Hockey) (1967–1973)
1967–68	Princeton	13–10–1	13–9–1	8th	ECAC Quarterfinals
1968–69	Princeton	5–19–0	5–18–0	16th
1969–70	Princeton	5–17–1	5–15–1	14th
1970–71	Princeton	1–22–0	1–20–0	17th
1971–72	Princeton	5–18–0	5–14–0	t-14th
1972–73	Princeton	5–18–0	3–18–0	16th
Princeton:		34–104–2	32–94–2
Total:		34–104–2

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)
• In 2023 he would be named one of the top 100 Bruins players of all time.

Gallery

Coach George Boucher, Milt Schmidt, Jack Gelineau and Bill Quackenbush prior to an exhibition game, October 1949. Note the 25th anniversary jerseys from the previous season.

Gordie Howe with goalie Chuck Rayner and Bill Quackenbush, 4th NHL All-Star Game, October 8, 1950.

Brothers Max and Bill Quackenbush in the Bruins home jerseys worn in the 1950-51 season.

Maurice Richard scores the winning goal in Game 7 of the 1952 Semi-finals, April 8, 1952.

External Links

• Bill Quackenbush's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Buddy O'Connor

Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1949

Succeeded by Edgar Laprade