Amo Bessone

Amos "Betts" Bessone (November 22, 1916 – January 9, 2010) was a collegiate ice hockey player and head coach.

Bessone was born in Sagamore, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he learned to play hockey.

As a hockey coach, Bessone is best remembered for winning a national championship as a heavy underdog in 1966 with the "Cinderella Spartans." He was one of the most colorful college coaches of his era with a trademark whistle he used to signal line changes.

As intense as Bessone was behind the bench, he was warm and endearing off the ice. During his coaching days, he regularly invited fellow coaches, officials and reporters out for drinks or back to his house for spaghetti following games.

Bessone played high school hockey in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and for two preparatory schools in Maine, Hebron Academy and Kents Hill School. Bessone also played hockey for Association Saint-Dominique, a Lewiston amateur team. During his days in Maine, he was described as cocky but one of the best defensemen in high school hockey. Bessone was graduated from Kents Hill in 1939.

After prep school, he played college hockey from 1940-43 at the University of Illinois under legendary coach Vic Heyliger. He was team captain his senior season of 1942-43. In addition to hockey, Bessone earned letters in baseball and basketball.

Following Illinois, Bessone played minor league hockey in the AHL for the Providence Reds. He made his professional debut with the Reds on March 16, 1943 in the first game of the opening round of the AHL playoffs against the Cleveland Barons. His career in the AHL was cut short by serving in World War II. Bessone also played for his hometown Springfield minor league baseball team of the Eastern League.

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