Walter Bush

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Walter Lewis Bush, Jr. (born September 25, 1929 in Minneapolis , Minnesota - † September 22, 2016 ) was an American ice hockey official . He was a player himself into adulthood, before he made an outstanding contribution to ice hockey as an official in his home state of Minnesota, at national level with USA Hockey and the Olympic Committee as well as with the International Ice Hockey Federation .

Life

Early years

Bush grew up in Hopkins , Minneapolis, and was an avid ice hockey player even in his youth. After graduating from Breck School in 1947 , he studied in Hanover , New Hampshire at Dartmouth College , where he played on the football and ice hockey team. However, injuries kept throwing him back. He graduated in 1951 and returned to Minnesota to study law at the University of Minnesota . He was considered a talented ice hockey player who, however, was limited in his skills. At times he still played ice hockey on a semi-professional level.

In 1959, at the age of 29, he became manager of the US national team at the World Cup , which was finished in fourth place by the United States. In the same year he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (now USA Hockey ), to which he has been a member since then. He was a director of the US Olympic Hockey Committee and was on the US team in winning the gold medal in the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics . In the 1961/62 season, Bush coached the Minneapolis Rebels in the newly formed semi-professional United States Hockey League . With four wins and 17 defeats, however, they had little success and were dissolved at the end of the season. From 1961 to 1963, Bush was President of the Minnesota Amateur Hockey Association .

Foundation of the Bruins and North Stars

In 1963, Bush at the initiative of Walter A. Brown , the owner of the Boston Bruins , along with two local partners in Minneapolis the Bruins , who henceforth in the Central Hockey League as a farm team should serve for Boston. He was president of the team, which moved to Oklahoma City in 1965 . At the Olympic Games in 1964 , he looked after the US team as a manager. She took fifth place. When it became known that the National Hockey League was to be expanded, Bush sought a team in his home state of Minnesota. Under his leadership, a group of nine people from Minneapolis and St. Paul successfully applied for one of the six free places, so that the Minnesota North Stars could start playing for the 1967/68 season . Bush was president of the franchise from 1966 to 1976 and then chairman of the board of directors until 1978.

In the 1970s, the Minnesota North Stars ran into financial difficulties and were taken over for the 1978/79 season by George and Gordon Gund, two businessmen and owners of the Cleveland Barons . Both teams merged and continued as Minnesota North Stars. Bush stayed with the North Stars under the new owners until 1983 as Vice President.

Worked for USA Hockey and the IIHF

Bush held positions on various boards at the time. He served on the US Olympic Hockey Committee, NHL committees, and Hall of Fame 's Selection Committee. In 1986 he became President of USA Hockey . In the same year he was elected to the Council of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). From 1989 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 2003 Bush served on the Board of Directors of the United States Olympic Committee. Bush is a sponsor of women ice hockey . He was instrumental in organizing the first IIHF World Championship in 1990 and successfully campaigned for women's ice hockey to be included in the Olympic Games. In 1998, a women's Olympic ice hockey tournament was held for the first time , and the United States won the gold medal.

In 1996, with the help of Ron DeGregorio and other investors , Bush founded the Kentucky Thoroughblades , a farm team of the San Jose Sharks in the American Hockey League from Lexington , Kentucky . There he was also the chairman of the supervisory board. In 2001, the owners sold the Thoroughblades to the San Jose Sharks, who relocated the team immediately to Cleveland .

From 1994 to 2008 Bush was also Vice President of the IIHF. At the national level, he remained President of USA Hockey until 2003 and was Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Awards

Bush has received many awards for his services. In 1973 he received the Lester Patrick Trophy for special services to ice hockey in the United States. In 1980 he was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame and nine years later into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame . Since 2000 he is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto . During the Olympic Games in 2002 he was awarded the Olympic Order , the highest award of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He has been a member of the IIHF Hall of Fame since 2009 .

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personal data
SURNAME Bush, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bush Jr., Walter; Bush, Walter Lewis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ice hockey official
DATE OF BIRTH September 25, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Minneapolis , Minnesota
DATE OF DEATH 22nd September 2016