Roy McBride (1921 - October 14, 2007) was a former 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 and coach.

Career

McBride started his professional career in 1940 as a player in 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, ...

with the

Washington Eagles The Washington Eagles were an American minor pro ice hockey team from Washington, D.C. that played in the Eastern Hockey League from 1939 to 1942. During those three seasons the Eagles played 186 games with an overall record of 102 wins, 67 losses a ...

. He did not play between 1941 and 1945. At age 24, McBride's playing career resumed following World War II. During the 1945–46 season, he suited up with three different teams: the

Seattle Ironmen The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise in Seattle, Washington. Under several names prior to 1958, the franchise was a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League (renamed the Western Hockey League in 1952) between 1944 and 19 ...

(

PCHL The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in several incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952. PCHL 1928–1931 The first ...

Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to: American football *Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League *Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs * Dallas Texans (arena), 1990–1993 Arena Football League team ...

( USHL), and

Fort Worth Rangers The Fort Worth Rangers were a minor professional ice hockey franchise based in Fort Worth, Texas. They played in the American Hockey Association (AHA) during the 1941-42 season and in the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 1945-46 to 1948-4 ...

( USHL). He played the 1946–47 season with the

San Diego Skyhawks The San Diego Skyhawks were a professional ice hockey team in San Diego, California. They were a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League from 1948 to 1950. They played their home games in the Glacier Gardens. They won the 1948-1949 President's ...

(

), and in the 1947–48 season he returned to play with the Seattle Ironmen. In the 1948–49 season, he played with the

Spokane Flyers Spokane Flyers could mean: * Spokane Flyers (senior), a former senior ice hockey team in the Western International Hockey League *Spokane Flyers (junior) The Spokane Flyers were a junior ice hockey team that played one and a half seasons in the W ...

, who won the United States National Senior Championship that year. He played the next two seasons (1949–50 and 1950–51) in the

Quebec Senior Hockey League The Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL) was an ice hockey league that operated from 1941 to 1959 , based in Quebec, Canada. The league played senior ice hockey under the jurisdiction of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association until 1953, when it became ...

with the

Quebec Aces The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. History The Aces were founded in 1928 by Anglo-Canadian Pulp and Paper Mills, the name Aces stan ...

, where he was coached by future

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 ...

member

Punch Imlach George "Punch" Imlach (March 15, 1918 – December 1, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager best known for his association with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and t ...

. He played the 1951–52 season in the

WIHL The Western International Hockey League (WIHL) was a senior level ice hockey league that featured teams from the Western United States and Western Canada. It operated from 1946–62 and 1963–88. It grew out of the West Kootenay League, whi ...

with the Spokane Flyers.

Coaching

McBride proved himself to be a capable head coach as he guided his Spokane Flyers to three consecutive WIHL titles (1956–1958).
/ref> McBride's 1956-57 Spokane Flyers team was the first United States team to reach the Allan Cup finals. In the 1960s, McBride went on to coach the

Spokane Comets The Spokane Comets were a minor professional ice hockey team that was located in Spokane, Washington. They played in the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1958 to 1963. In April 1961, the franchise considered a move to San Francisco in view of the ...

in 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 ...

Awards

In 1956, he won the "Coach of the Year" award by the Spokane Regional Sports Commission.

References

External links

* 1921 births 2007 deaths Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian ice hockey players Dallas Texans (USHL) players Fort Worth Rangers players San Diego Skyhawks players Seattle Ironmen players Washington Eagles players {{Canada-icehockey-player-stub