Bill Hunter (ice hockey)
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Bill Hunter CM |
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|---|---|
| Born |
May 5, 1920 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Died | December 16, 2002 (aged 82) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation | hockey player, general manager and coach |
William Dickenson ("Wild Bill") Hunter, CM (May 5, 1920 – December 16, 2002) was a Canadian ice hockey player, general manager and coach. Hunter was involved in hockey, Canadian 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.
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 Hilltops who as of 2015 had won 18 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.
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