Hubert George "Bill" Quackenbush (March 2, 1922 – September 12, 1999) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who was a defenceman for the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League (NHL). During his 14-year career, he was the first defenceman to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. He won the award after playing the entire 1948–49 season without recording a penalty. The penalty-less season was part of a total of 131 consecutive games he played without being assessed a penalty. Quackenbush, considered to be an elite offensive defenceman during his career, was named to the NHL All-Star team five times, played in eight NHL All-Star games and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976.
Following his retirement from professional ice hockey, he spent 18 years as head coach of various teams at Princeton University. Quackenbush coached men's golf, and both the men's and women's ice hockey teams, at various times. He won eight Ivy League Championships with the men's golf team and three with the women's ice hockey team.
Early life
Quackenbush was born on March 2, 1922, in Toronto, Ontario. He was born Hubert George Quackenbush but was given the nickname Bill by his aunt who disliked his given name. He played hockey on outdoor rinks around Toronto during the Great Depression as a youth, and was one of the top high school athletes in Canada as a teenager,
In addition to hockey, he was a renowned football and soccer player. During the war years, he played for the famous Canadian soccer club Toronto Scottish. Quackenbush had an opportunity to play football professionally, but he decided to pursue a career in hockey. The following season, he played for the Brantford Lions, scoring 34 points in 23 games, and caught the attention of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. and played 10 games during the 1942–43 season before breaking his wrist.
The following season he earned his first post-season honour, when he was named a Second Team NHL All-Star. He registered a career high 17 penalty minutes in 1947–48 and was named a First Team All-Star. He was the first defenceman to win the award, He also became the third and most recent Lady Byng recipient(After Syl Apps and Bill Mosienko) not to record a single penalty minute all season.
Detroit General Manager Jack Adams detested the award and felt that any player who won it did not belong on his team, so he promptly traded Quackenbush. He was sent to the Boston Bruins with Pete Horeck for Pete Babando, Clare Martin and Jimmy Peters, Sr. He also set a career high in points with 29 and was again named a First Team NHL All-Star. However, his success with the men's ice hockey team would not last; Princeton won no more than five games for their next five seasons. Because of this, Quackenbush stepped down as the head coach in 1973.
He died of pneumonia and complications from Alzheimer's disease on September 12, 1999, at Chandler Hall Hospice in Newtown, Pennsylvania, aged 77.
Career statistics
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! colspan="5" | Regular season
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! colspan="5" | Playoffs
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! 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
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1955–56
| Boston Bruins
| NHL
| 70
| 3
| 22
| 25
| 4
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 774
! 62
! 222
! 284
! 95
! 80
! 2
! 19
! 21
! 8
|}
- <small>All statistics taken from NHL.com