James Herd Fullerton (April 9, 1909 – March 3, 1991) was an American

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 ...

coach and referee. In 1992 he was inducted into the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and ...

Early years

Fullerton learned to play hockey at Beverly High School (class of '26) prior to attending

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

(class of '30) in

Northfield, Vermont Northfield is a New England town, town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The town lies in a valley within the Green Mountains and has been home to Norwich University since 1866. It contains the Northfield (CDP), Vermont, village of No ...

, where he lettered in both football and hockey with a 2.71

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...

over four years and senior year captain. The following year (1930/'31) he coached the Norwich Cadets prior to passing on a tendered offer by Boston Bruins in order to accept a teaching/coaching position at Northwood School in

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

. Jim won an enviable 86% of his games with four undefeated seasons during his tenure from 1931 through 1955. He is credited with founding the first prep school invitational hockey tournament in the late 1930s. From the Olympic Village Fullerton officiated collegiate and professional games for 20 years while serving as AAU Ice Officials, VP New England Chapter.

Brown University coach

In 1955

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

hired Fullerton as their first full-time hockey coach where he remained for 15 seasons, retiring in 1970. With just 2 ice rinks in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

and Brown having none, the challenge was great to be competitive and the 1960/'61 season closed with an 0-21 record.

Meehan Auditorium The George V. Meehan Auditorium is a 3,059-seat hockey arena, in Providence, Rhode Island. The arena opened in 1961 and was dedicated on January 6, 1962. It is named for George V. Meehan, the benefactor of the arena, which he hoped would "service ...

opened in late 1961 and with the 1964/'65 team, Brown's and its coach's fortunes changed with a 21-9 record and slot in the

Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...

tournament hosted by Brown. His overall Brown record was 184-168-9. Three players achieved

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

status while the coach was a four-time recipient of New England Coach of The Year and the Spencer Penrose Division One Coach of The Year in 1965.

Perfecting the game

Fullerton was considered an innovator with many crediting him with developing defensive plays such as the "Box", "Triangle" and one-two-one "Diamond" tactics. He had a game strategy for each opponent that kept his teams competitive even when short on depth and talent. Fullerton hired the first female assistant coach (Laura Stamm) to teach power skating and in 1964 had a Brown co-ed (Nancy Schieffelin) suit up and practice with the men. Nancy was an organizer for the Panda Bears, the first recognized American college women's hockey team (1965).

Achievements after retirement

Following retirement in 1970, Fullerton remained active with summer youth hockey camps, coaching US entry in the FIS World University Games (Lake Placid, NY). He also worked as a college scout for the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

(1972-'77) and the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

('77-'78). In 1978, Hastings House Publishing Co. printed and marketed 8,000 copies of Fullerton's book ''Ice hockey: Playing and Coaching''. A driving force behind the

American Hockey Coaches Association The American Hockey Coaches Association was formed in 1947 in Boston. The founding members coached college ice hockey but membership has grown to include coaches at every level of the sport from youth hockey to professional ice hockey, although ...

from his arrival at Brown, presiding over the organization in 1967-'69, Fullerton received the AHCA Founders Award in 1989 and the "Jim Fullerton Award" is presented annually to recognize an individual who loves the purity of the game. Both Brown ('74) and Norwich ('84) Athletic Halls of Fame have inducted Fullerton. In 1989 he received the

Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award The Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award is an annual award presented by the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Committee to honor "one of the all-time great contributors to the game of college hockey." In 1981, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Comm ...

, and Northwood School's Wall of Fame is in his recognition. The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame honored Fullerton along with his good friends and peers,

Len Ceglarski Leonard Stanley Ceglarski (June 27, 1926 – December 16, 2017) was an American ice hockey player and coach. He was an All-American left wing on Boston College's 1949 NCAA championship team, and was captain of the 1950–51 squad. He was also a ...

and

Amo Bessone Amos "Betts" Bessone (November 22, 1916 – January 9, 2010) was a collegiate ice hockey player and head coach. Bessone was born in Sagamore, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, and raised in West Springfield, Massachusetts, where he learned to play hoc ...

, as enshrinees in 1992. He was inducted into the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020. Fullerton died March 3, 1991. He is buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

in recognition of his more than 30 years of service as an active and reserve officer of the United States Army.

Head coaching record

References

* Brown Hockey Association, Brown Univ Sports Information, and Athletic Dept. * The Pembroke Center Associates Newsletter, Jan. 27.2004, Prov. RI * Norwich Univ Sept 29, 1984 50th Anniv Football program

External links

*
James Fullerton's career statistics at Elite Prospects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fullerton, James 1909 births 1991 deaths Brown Bears men's ice hockey coaches Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Chicago Blackhawks scouts New York Islanders scouts Norwich University alumni Sportspeople from Beverly, Massachusetts United States Army officers United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Military personnel from Massachusetts