William Sweeney (January 30, 1937 – March 21, 1991), was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

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 ...

player, most notably for the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existen ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL), for whom he played nine seasons and is the all-time career leading scorer for the franchise. Sweeney also played four games during the

1959–60 NHL season The 1959–60 NHL season was the List of NHL seasons, 43rd Season (sport), season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens were the List of Stanley Cup champions, Stanley Cup winners as they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs four games ...

for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. Sweeney led 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 ...

in scoring while playing for the

Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters The Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1940 to 1942, and 1947 to 1960. The team was often known as the "Biltmores" and sponsored by the Guelph Biltmore Hat Company, a ...

in 1956–57, and followed that up by winning the 1958 AHL

rookie of the year award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

playing for the

Providence Reds The Providence Reds were a ice hockey, hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Re ...

. Sweeney later won three consecutive

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

championships with the Springfield Indians, also leading the league in scoring three consecutive seasons, an unprecedented and unequalled feat in the AHL as of 2013. Alcoholism came to dog Sweeney's career and by the time league expansion opened up the NHL in 1967 to promising minor-league scorers, Sweeney's skills were in decline. He remained in the minors, and his rights were sold by Springfield to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

early in the 1968 season; he played only 26 more professional hockey games in his career. His final professional action was in the following season with the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

of the AHL, in which he played ten games without a point. Sweeney's final organized hockey match was in 1970 with the Ontario senior league Oakville Oaks.

Awards

At the time of Sweeney's retirement, he was in the top ten in AHL history in goals (10th), assists (4th) and points (4th). He is, as of 2013, 11th in points, 22nd in goals and 9th in assists. In the history of the Springfield Indians' franchise, Sweeney is third in goals behind Jim Anderson and

Harry Pidhirny Harry Pidhirny (March 5, 1928 – December 20, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Pidhirny played two games in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins during the 1957–58 NHL season, and was a top scorer in the minors, ...

, second in points behind Anderson, and first in assists. * 1956–57 -

Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy The Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy is awarded annually by the Ontario Hockey League to the player scoring the most points in the regular season. The trophy was donated by the Toronto Marlboro Athletic Club in memory of athlete and coach Eddie Power ...

* 1957–58 -

Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award The Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award is given each year to the player in the American Hockey League determined to be the most outstanding rookie. The award is based on voting by the media and the players. It was named after Dudley "Red" Garrett ...

* 1960–61 -

John B. Sollenberger Trophy The John B. Sollenberger Trophy is given to American Hockey League's leading scorer for the season. History The award was named for John B. Sollenberger in 1955. Sollenberger was a long-time contributor to the league as manager and president of ...

* 1961–62 - John B. Sollenberger Trophy * 1962–63 - John B. Sollenberger Trophy Sweeney was also named to the AHL's First All-Star Team in 1960 and 1962, and to the Second All-Star Team in 1961.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Bill 1937 births 1991 deaths Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters players Ice hockey people from Ontario New York Rangers players Providence Reds players Rochester Americans players Springfield Indians players Springfield Kings players Vancouver Canucks (WHL) players Sportspeople from Guelph Canadian ice hockey centres