Desmond Joseph Moroney (February 15, 1935 – February 11, 2018) was a Canadian/Swedish

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

ice hockey player. Moroney played in North American minor leagues like the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart, ...

, International Hockey League and 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 ...

. He also played in Europe, in the British National League and the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (officially SHL; sv, Svenska Hockeyligan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, an ...

. His professional career lasted from 1955 through 1980.

Ice hockey career

Moroney played junior ice hockey for the

St. Michael's Buzzers The St. Michael's Buzzers are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They compete in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). History The St. Michael's Buzzers date back to at least 1920, as future NHLer Bobby Bauer had ma ...

and the

Toronto St. Michael's Majors The Toronto St. Michael's Majors were a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The most recent franchise was revived on August 15, 1996. In 2007, the team relocated to Mississauga, Ontario an ...

from 1952 to 1954. He joined the

Barrie Flyers The Barrie Flyers were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1945 to 1960, from Barrie, Ontario. The Flyers played home games at the Barrie Arena from 1945 to 1960. History The Barrie Flyers junior team was founded in 1 ...

in 1955, and later moved to the

Philadelphia Ramblers The Philadelphia Ramblers were a minor professional ice hockey team based in the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Ramblers played for six seasons during the infancy of the American Hockey League from 1935 to 1941. History T ...

of the

while still a junior. He then attended

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

for two years. In 1959, Moroney moved to England to play for the

Paisley Pirates The Paisley Pirates were founded in 1946 and are one of the oldest ice hockey clubs in Scotland and the UK (the oldest being the Fife Flyers). The Pirates were the epitome of the game in Scotland during the 1950s. In season 1953–54 they won t ...

of the British National League for the 1959–60 season, where he was named to the British National League First All-Star Team. He returned to North America in 1960, joining the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the International Hockey League. After the 1961–62 season spent between Minneapolis, Omaha and Toledo, Moroney moved to Sweden, which he had heard had "fun hockey." Moroney played the rest of his career in various levels of the Swedish pro hockey system. He first played for

Fagersta AIK Fagersta is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Fagersta Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden, with 11,130 inhabitants in 2010. Geography The city is located at the junction of two railways between Ludvika-Västerås and A ...

in 1962–63, then played for

Leksands IF Leksands Idrottsförening is a Swedish ice hockey team from the town of Leksand in the region of Dalarna. The team plays in the top-tier league, SHL, after succeeding through the 2019 SHL qualifiers and thus earning promotion to the SHL. The c ...

Rögle BK Rögle BK (Rögle Bandyklubb) is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Ängelholm that has been playing in the SHL since the 2015–16 season. Rögle has previously played in the SHL (previously named Elitserien) in 1992–1995–96 Elitse ...

, Lunds IS,

Västerås IK Västerås IK (''Västerås Ishockey klubb'') is an ice hockey club from Västerås, Sweden. The team is currently playing in the second-tier league in Sweden, Hockeyallsvenskan. Västerås IK played 12 seasons in the top Swedish league Elitserien ...

Tingsryds AIF Tingsryds AIF (sometimes abbreviated TAIF) is an ice hockey club based in Tingsryd, Sweden. The club is playing in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of ice hockey in Sweden Ice hockey in Sweden has a history going back to at least 1912 and is ...

Örebro IK Örebro IK was an ice hockey team from Örebro, Sweden that was founded in 1972.Eliteprospects.comÖrebro IK Retrieved 2013-07-04. The team filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated in 1999, after many years of playing elite-level hockey. Today, Ö ...

and

Karlskrona IK Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...

before retiring in 1978. He returned for a final season in 1979–80 with Värnamo GIK before retiring for good. For several of the teams, Moroney served as playing coach.

Personal life

Moroney married twice and is the father of two daughters and a son. He lived in

Skivarp Skivarp is a locality situated in Skurup Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenU ...

, Sweden, with his wife Margreth. After hockey, Moroney worked as a gym teacher.

References

Playing career record documented at

Society for International Hockey Research The Society for International Hockey Research (SIHR) is a network of writers, statisticians, collectors, broadcasters, academics and ice hockey buffs. The society, based in Toronto, Ontario, has an international membership. The society cultivates ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moroney, Des 1935 births 2018 deaths Canadian ice hockey right wingers St. Michael's Buzzers players Toronto St. Michael's Majors players Barrie Flyers players Minneapolis Millers (IHL) players Portland Buckaroos players Omaha Knights (IHL) players Philadelphia Ramblers players Leksands IF players Rögle BK players Tingsryds AIF players Toledo Mercurys players Michigan State University alumni Ice hockey people from Greater Sudbury Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden