William Hanley (February 28, 1915 – September 17, 1990) was a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

administrator inducted into the builder category of the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

Early life

Hanley was born in the village of

Ballyeaston Ballyeaston, formerly spelt Ballyistin (),Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) is a smal ...

when his mother was visiting what is now

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, and he returned to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

when he was only a few weeks old and grew up in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. During high school, Hanley played on the

Oakwood Collegiate Institute Oakwood Collegiate Institute (commonly known as OCI or Oakwood) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the neighbourhoods of Regal Heights, Oakwood-Vaughan and Bracondale Hill. History and Alumni Oakwood was foun ...

hockey team. After high school, Hanley attended the

Ontario Agricultural College The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) originated at the agricultural laboratories of the Toronto Normal School, and was officially founded in 1874 as an associate agricultural college of the University of Toronto. Since 1964, it has become affili ...

, and later worked on his parents' farm. Hanley joined the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and also served with

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National ...

's 30th Battery that was part of the

7th Toronto Regiment, RCA The 7th Toronto Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery is a militia (i.e. part-time reserves) regiment of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group, The regiment was formed in 1965 when all the gunner units within the Toronto garrison (29th ...

Ice hockey career

His career in hockey started as a timekeeper for the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...

games at

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

and eventually assumed the same responsibilities for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. In 1951,

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

president

Jack Roxburgh John Maxwell Roxburgh (February 14, 1901February 27, 1975) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator and politician. He organized minor ice hockey in his hometown of Simcoe, Ontario, co-founded the Ontario Juvenile Hockey Association in 1934, and ...

hired Hanley as business manager, a position he retained until 1973. When

W. A. Hewitt William Abraham Hewitt (May 15, 1875September 8, 1966) was a Canadian sports executive and journalist, also widely known as Billy Hewitt. He was secretary of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1903 to 1966, and sports editor of the ''To ...

retired in 1966, Hanley also assumed the position of secretary-manager. When Hanley retired in 1973, he was succeeded by David Branch. Hanley received the OHA Gold Stick Award in 1965. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986 into the builder's category. The

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

named the

William Hanley Trophy The William Hanley Trophy is awarded annually by Ontario Hockey League to the most sportsmanlike player. It is named for Bill Hanley, a former secretary-manager of the Ontario Hockey Association who served in that capacity for twenty-five years. T ...

in his honour, awarded annually to the most sportsmanlike player in the league.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanley, Bill 1915 births 1990 deaths Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian military personnel of World War II Canadian sports executives and administrators Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ice hockey people from Ontario Ontario Agricultural College alumni Ontario Hockey Association executives Ontario Hockey League People from County Antrim Sportspeople from Toronto Toronto Maple Leafs personnel