Princeton University Athletics
Bill Quackenbush Memorial Service Set for Oct. 3
October 05, 1999 | General
Sept. 28, 1999
PRINCETON - Memorial services for H.G. "Bill" Quackenbush, a long-time Princeton University coach and a member of the National Hockey League Hall of Fame, are set for Sunday, Oct. 3 at The Lawrenceville School Chapel at 2 p.m. in Lawrenceville. The family also is establishing a scholarship fund at The Lawrenceville School.
Quackenbush, 77, passed away Sept. 12 in Newtown, Pa., from pneumonia following complications from Alzheimer's Disease. A resident of Lawrenceville, Quackenbush coached three varsity sports at Princeton, men's hockey (1967-73), men's golf (1971-85) and women's hockey (1979-85). He also had managerial responsibilities for Baker Rink and Dillon Gymnasium.
After serving as coach of the women's hockey club team, he became the first varsity coach in Princeton's women's hockey history in 1979 and guided the Tigers to three consecutive Ivy League championships (1982, 1983 and 1984). Quackenbush compiled a 75-32-1 record and has the most wins and highest winning percentage (.699) in the program's history. Quackenbush-coached teams still hold two Ivy League records and are part of a third: most goals in an Ivy season (104 in 1983-84), most consecutive Ivy wins (16 from 1982-83 to 1984-85) and most consecutive Ivy games without being shut out (100 from 1982-83 to 1990-91).
He also has the second most coaching victories in Princeton's men's golf history, notching a 154-51 record that included eight Ivy League titles. Quackenbush twice coached teams that advanced to the NCAA tournament.
As a first-year men's hockey coach, he guided the 1967-68 Tigers to a 13-10-1 record and Princeton's first appearance in the Eastern College Athletic Conference playoffs. The 13 wins were the most by a Princeton team since 1936. He concluded his career with a 34-104-2 mark. He also had stints with the junior varsity and freshman hockey programs.
A Toronto native who became an American citizen in 1959, Quackenbush spent 14 years in the NHL, first with the Detroit Red Wings (1942-49) and then with the Boston Bruins (1949-56). In 1976 he was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame, currently one of 68 defensemen in history so honored. He played in eight straight All-Star games and was a first-team selection in 1948, '49 and '51 and a second-team pick in 1947 and 1953. Frequently referred to as a "hockey player's hockey player," Quackenbush twice led defensemen in scoring.
In 1949 he was the recipient of the NHL's Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability." Quackenbush, the first of only two defenseman ever to win the Lady Byng (Red Kelley was the other), once played 132 consecutive games without a penalty and accumulated only 95 penalty minutes in 774 games. His average of 0.12 penalty minutes per game makes him one of the least penalized defensemen in NHL history. He scored 62 goals and added 222 assists for 284 career points. A member of the Red Wings' Hall of Fame, a broken wrist prevented him from playing on the Wings' 1942-43 Stanley Cup champion team, but he later played in the Cup finals with Detroit in 1944, '48 and '49 as well as with Boston in 1953.
Quackenbush received an associate degree in engineering from Northeastern University. Survivors include his wife, Joan, twin sons Bruce (Princeton '77) and Scott (Princeton '77) and son Todd (Princeton '80, *84, *87), brothers Ted and Max, and seven grandchildren.
Contributions in memory of Quackenbush can be mailed to The Lawrenceville Fund, The Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. Checks should be payable to The Lawrenceville Fund and noted "in memory of H.G. Bill Quackenbush." These donations ultimately will be directed to a named scholarship fund that is being established by the Quackenbush family.