Peter Angelo Bessone (January 13, 1913 — December 5, 1989) 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 ...

player and coach. Bessone played 6 games in 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 ...

with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

during the 1937–38 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1931 to 1952, was mainly spent in 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 ...

, though he also spent time in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

, and Italian national leages. Internationally Bessone played for the American national team at the 1934 World Championships, where he won a silver medal. 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 ...

in 1978.

Career

Early career

As a high school student, Pete Bessone was a three-sport athlete at West Springfield, High, playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and, ice hockey. Following his completion of high school Bessone began his hockey career locally playing in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

for the

West Side Ranges West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. In 1931 Bessone left the united States to play hockey in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, he joined the Rapides de Paris, leading to a very successful French career. While playing for

Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...

, Bessone was considered the top hockey draw in France and some even called him the

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

of hockey in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In 1934 Bessone represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

. In the semi-final versus Germany, Bessone scored two of the US' three goals. The Americans took the Silver medal finishing only behind

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 ...

Return to the States

Following the 1936 season Bessone returned from France, with the intention of playing professionally in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Bessone joined the Pittsburgh Yellowjackets of the

EAHL 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, ...

, where he scored six goals and 10 points through 47 games. He so impressed that season that he was offered a contract by the NHL's

. Bassone began the 1937-38 season with Detroit Pontiacs, a Red Wings' farm team. Thanks to an injury to Wing's defensemen

Ebbie Goodfellow Ebenezer Robertson Goodfellow (April 9, 1907 – September 10, 1985) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Goodfellow played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for fourteen seasons with the Detroit Red Wings from 1929 to 1944 a ...

Bessone was called up, making his debut on January 16, 1938 against the

Montreal Maroons The Montreal Maroons (officially the Montreal Professional Hockey Club) were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935. They were the la ...

. After his debut Bessone was believed to be a solid prospect. However, after only six games with the Red Wings and 15 with the Pontiacs Bassone was sent to the

Pittsburgh Hornets The Pittsburgh Hornets were a minor-league professional men's ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Contrary to popular belief, the Pittsburgh Hornets did not evolve from the International Hockey League's Pittsburgh Shamrocks. The ...

of the AHL; he would never play in the NHL again.

AHL career

Bessone continued to play for the Hornets for the next five years. In

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

Bessone was selected to start in the AHL's first All-star game. The game was held in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, with the intent of to raise money in support of American and Canadian armed forces serving in

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 ...

, the contest raised $4,132 towards this goal. Bessone's long tenure in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

finally came to a close in 1943 when the Hornets traded Bessone to the

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

for defensemen Fred Robertson. Bessone spent three seasons in Cleveland. His short time with the Barons however saw the high point of Bessone's career, as the Barons won the 1944-45

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 ...

as league champions. It was the only North American Championship Bessone would win. After his time in Cleveland Bessone spent one more year in the AHL 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 ...

Post playing career

In 1947 Bessone returned to France to be the head coach of the Paris Racing Club hockey team. He coached them for two seasons before returning to the states to coach 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 IHL he would play 4 games as a player-coach. Following the 1949-50 season Bessone retired from hockey for good. In 1978 Bessone was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of fame, 14 years later he was joined by his brother

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 ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bessone, Peter 1913 births 1989 deaths American ice hockey coaches American men's ice hockey defensemen Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Detroit Red Wings players HC Milano players Ice hockey coaches from Massachusetts Ice hockey players from Massachusetts Neuchâtel Young Sprinters HC players Pittsburgh Hornets players Providence Reds players Sportspeople from New Bedford, Massachusetts United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees