William Charles Barber (born July 11, 1952) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who played twelve seasons for the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

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 ...

(NHL). As part of the famed LCB (

Leach Leach may refer to: * Leach (surname) * Leach, Oklahoma, an unincorporated community, United States * Leach, Tennessee, an unincorporated community, United States * Leach Highway, Western Australia * Leach orchid * Leach phenotype, a mutation in ...

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

, Barber) line, Barber helped lead the Flyers to the franchise's two

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

s in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. He was inducted into the

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 ...

in 1990. He is currently a scouting consultant with the Flyers.

Playing career

Bill Barber after his last ever game Jan 14, 2017

Barber was drafted by the Flyers, seventh overall, in the first round of the 1972 draft. He was called up after 11 games in the AHL with the

Richmond Robins The Richmond Robins were a professional ice hockey team based in Richmond, Virginia. They were a member of the American Hockey League for five seasons from 1971–72 AHL season, 1971–72 to 1975–76 AHL season, 1975–76. Their cross-state rivals ...

. In his first season with the Flyers, Barber scored 30 goals and 34 assists and was a contender for the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

for rookie of the year. Barber was converted to

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

by coach

Fred Shero Frederick Alexander Shero, nicknamed The Fog (October 23, 1925November 24, 1990) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, and general manager. He played for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). However, he spen ...

. He scored at least 20 goals every season. His best season was 50 goals and 62 assists in the 1975–76 season. In the Flyers' successful 1974 and 1975

playoffs campaigns, Barber contributed three and six goals respectively. Barber also contributed another six goals in an unsuccessful 1976 playoff run. In addition to his respectable scoring abilities, Barber was also a well rounded player. On the power play he was equally valuable for setting up the play as he was for pulling the trigger, and if forced into a defensive role, he was capable. In the

1976 Canada Cup The 1976 Canada Cup was an international ice hockey tournament held September 2 to 15, 1976, in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Quebec City in Canada as well as in Philadelphia, in the United States. It was the first of five Canada Cup to ...

, Barber scored one of his most famous goals while playing for Team Canada. Behind in the final against

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, Barber scored to send the game into

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

, and an eventual Team Canada victory. He was a team leader for the next decade. In 1979–80, the Flyers had their record 35-game unbeaten streak, and Barber was in the centre of it all. He helped the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup finals in the spring of 1980 with a number of key playoffs goals against the NY Rangers and Minnesota North Stars. Barber captained the Flyers in the 1981–82 season and part of 1982–83. As of the end of the 2012–13 season, he still holds the Flyers regular season career scoring record with 420 goals. He is tied for the lead for Flyers career playoffs goals with

Rick MacLeish Richard George MacLeish (January 3, 1950 – May 30, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit ...

; both have 53 playoffs tallies. Barber was forced to retire as a player after the 1984–85 season after being unable to return from reconstructive knee surgery in the spring of 1984. The Flyers retired his number 7, on October 7, 1990, just after he was inducted into the

. On January 14, 2017, Barber played before a sold out crowd of over 19,000 at the

Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center may refer to: *Wells Fargo Center (Los Angeles), California *Wells Fargo Center (Sacramento), California * Wells Fargo Center (San Francisco), California * Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California * Wells Fargo Cen ...

in the Flyers' 50th anniversary alumni game against the alumni of the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

, playing alongside his longtime linemates,

Bobby Clarke Robert Earle Clarke (born August 13, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played his entire 15-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Philadelphia Flyers and is currently an executive with the team. Popular ...

and

Reggie Leach Reginald Joseph Leach (born April 23, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, California Golden Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, and Detroit Red ...

. The game ended in a 3–3 tie. Before the game, Barber announced that it would be his last alumni game.

Coaching and executive career

After his playing career, Barber started coaching. He coached the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

for 16 games in 1985. He was the Flyers assistant coach between 1985 and 1988. He coached the Flyers farm team, the Phantoms, for four years, winning his and the team's first

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 ...

in 1998. He was the Flyers' head coach from December 2000 until April 2002, winning the

Jack Adams Trophy The Jack Adams Award is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." The league's Coach of the Year award has been presented 47 times to 39 coaches. The winner is selecte ...

after 2000–01. Barber was the director of player personnel for the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

, a position he held from August 2002 to June 2008. Barber's name was added to the Stanley Cup for a third time in 2004 with Tampa Bay. On October 13, 2008, he returned to the Flyers organization when he was named a scouting consultant.

Personal life

Barber and his late wife, Jenny, have two children. Jenny Barber died from lung cancer in 2001. On September 25, 2010, the Bill Barber Sports Complex was opened in his honour in his hometown,

Callander, Ontario The Municipality of Callander (formerly the Township of North Himsworth) is a township in central Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast end of Lake Nipissing in the Almaguin Highlands region of the District of Parry Sound. The municipality ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Champion.

International

All-Star Games

Coaching record

NHL

AHL

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Bill 1952 births Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey left wingers Hershey Bears coaches Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ice hockey people from Ontario Jack Adams Award winners Kitchener Rangers players Living people National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League first-round draft picks National Hockey League players with retired numbers People from Parry Sound District Philadelphia Flyers captains Philadelphia Flyers coaches Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players Philadelphia Flyers scouts Richmond Robins players Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning executives