Vernon Wilbert Turner (June 9, 1895 – May 28, 1960) 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 Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and player who was the first person to lead the program at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

Career

Hailing from Stayner, Ontario, Vern Turner got his start as a

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

with a team in

Cleveland 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. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

before moving on to the

Duluth Hornets , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesot ...

. After only one year of existence the Central Hockey League (1925–1926) shifted from being a senior amateur league to a professional league. Turner was the starting goalie for Duluth in the newly created American Hockey Association, leading the team to a regular season and playoff championship in the first year. The league was hardly stable, however, and despite good showing on the ice even the Hornets weren't saved from the troubles, transferring to Wichita halfway through the 1932–33 season. That year proved to be Turner's last with the team and he hung up his skates for good after one final season with the

Oklahoma City Warriors The Oklahoma Warriors were a soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that competed in the SISL and USISL. Founded in 1986 by head coach and owner Chico Villar, the Warriors played their home games at the Indoor Soccer Arena, owned by Villa ...

. Though his playing career was over Turner remained close to the game, becoming the rink manager for the Broadmoor Ice Palace in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

before he was asked to head the new program at

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

. While the Pioneers only won 4 games their first season of play, Turner was able to lead them to an 11-11-1 mark in their sophomore campaign before turning the team over to former

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

standout

Neil Celley Neil 'The Seal' Celley (1927-2019) was a former American ice hockey coach and player who was a member of the US national team at the 1948 Winter Olympics. Career Neil Celley joined the Michigan ice hockey team after winning a state championship ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* 1895 births 1960 deaths Canadian ice hockey coaches Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey coaches Duluth Hornets players Ice hockey people from Ontario Sportspeople from Ontario People from Clearview, Ontario {{US-icehockey-bio-stub