Bill McCreary Sr.

Bill McCreary Sr.
Born	(1934-12-02)December 2, 1934 Sundridge, Ontario, Canada
Died	November 25, 2019(2019-11-25) (aged 84) Brighton, Michigan, U.S.
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	172 lb (78 kg; 12 st 4 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	New York Rangers Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens St. Louis Blues
Playing career	1953–1971

William Edward McCreary Sr. (December 2, 1934 – November 25, 2019) was an ice hockey left winger, coach and general manager. He played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues from between 1953 and 1971, and then coached in the league with the Blues, Vancouver Canucks, and California Golden Seals between 1971 and 1975. After stepping down as coach of the Golden Seals he served as their general manager from 1975 to 1977, including their first year as the Cleveland Barons.

Early life

McCreary was born in Sundridge, Ontario.

Career

During his pro career, McCreary played for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues. He later coached the Vancouver Canucks for the first half of the 1973–74 season and then became general manager of the California Golden Seals in August 1974. Although the Seals were performing fairly well, McCreary did not like the coaching methods of Marshall Johnston, and fired Johnston on January 22, 1975, taking over the position himself. He hired Jack Evans, who had coached their minor league affiliate the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, as coach the following year, while remaining as general manager. The team moved to Cleveland in 1976 and became the Cleveland Barons. Yet, the club struggled and McCreary was fired as general manager in January 1977, and was replaced by Harry Howell, who had been serving as the assistant general manager.

He was the elder brother of Keith McCreary, also an NHL left winger. His son Bill McCreary Jr. played 12 games in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1980–81 season. He is also the brother-in-law of Ron Attwell.

McCreary died on November 25, 2019.

Awards and achievements

• WHL Prairie Division Second All-Star Team (1957)
• CPHL First All-Star Team (1964, 1966)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1951–52	Guelph Biltmores	OHA		52	30	28	58	12		11	4	4	8	6
1951–52	Guelph Biltmores	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		12	5	10	15	4
1952–53	Guelph Biltmores	OHA		50	32	25	57	31		—	—	—	—	—
1952–53	Guelph Biltmores	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		7	2	3	5	2
1953–54	Guelph Biltmores	OHA		59	35	49	84	57		3	0	3	3	4
1953–54	New York Rangers	NHL		2	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
1954–55	Guelph Biltmores	OHA		48	46	37	83	38		6	4	3	7	2
1954–55	New York Rangers	NHL		8	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1955–56	Providence Reds	AHL		37	8	13	21	18		—	—	—	—	—
1955–56	Saskatoon Quakers	WHL		25	12	20	32	45		3	0	0	0	0
1956–57	Edmonton Flyers	WHL		69	33	26	59	37		8	2	7	9	4
1957–58	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		3	1	0	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1957–58	Edmonton Flyers	WHL		21	7	7	14	10		5	2	1	3	2
1957–58	Hershey Bears	AHL		31	4	9	13	6		—	—	—	—	—
1958–59	Springfield Indians	AHL		65	14	34	48	22		—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Springfield Indians	AHL		69	19	31	50	16		10	6	4	10	6
1960–61	Springfield Indians	AHL		72	33	54	87	26		8	5	4	9	6
1961–62	Springfield Indians	AHL		69	27	49	76	49		2	0	2	2	0
1962–63	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		14	2	3	5	0		—	—	—	—	—
1962–63	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL		46	15	32	47	22		—	—	—	—	—
1963–64	Omaha Knights	CHL		72	24	51	75	56		3	1	0	1	2
1964–65	Omaha Knights	CHL		70	24	44	68	48		6	0	3	3	0
1965–66	Houston Apollos	CHL		70	26	26	52	44		—	—	—	—	—
1966–67	Houston Apollos	CHL		56	22	34	56	34		6	1	2	3	0
1967–68	St. Louis Blues	NHL		70	13	13	26	22		15	3	2	5	0
1968–69	St. Louis Blues	NHL		71	13	17	30	50		12	1	5	6	14
1969–70	St. Louis Blues	NHL		73	15	17	32	16		15	1	7	8	0
1970–71	St. Louis Blues	NHL		68	9	10	19	16		6	1	2	3	0
NHL totals				309	53	62	115	106		48	6	16	22	14

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Finish	Result
St. Louis Blues	1971–72	24	6	14	4	16	3rd in West	—
Vancouver Canucks	1973–74	41	9	25	7	25	7th in East	Fired
California Golden Seals	1974–75	32	8	20	4	20	4th in Adams	Missed playoffs
NHL Totals		97	23	59	15

References

Bibliography

• Currier, Steve (2017), The California Golden Seals: A Tale of White Skates, Red Ink, and One of the NHL's Most Outlandish Teams, Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 978-0-8032-8848-5

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database