New York , NY- Bill Chadwick, the first American born referee to work in the National Hockey League. as well as the first U.S. born on-ice official inducted into The Hockey Hall of Fame, passed away last weekend. Chadwick, who w orked as a broadcaster for the New York Rangers, after his on-ice career ended, died on October 24, in Cutchogue, N.Y. at the age of 94. He is also a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. “The Big Whistle” as he was nicknamed during his broadcasting career, became one of the most respected officials in the National Hockey League. He worked in the NHL for 16 seasons, from 1939 until 1955. He made a lasting contribution to officiating and is credited with creating and using hand signals during games to signify the type of penalties he called. He took some flack early in his NHL career as a show off for using signals. His use of signals, now standard across all of hockey, was especially useful in an era when public address and sound systems did not always work well. The hand signals made it easier for fans in all parts of the arena to understand which penalty had been called. He began using hand signals during a Stanley Cup final series, when the loud crowd made it difficult for him to communicate with the scorekeepers and timekeepers. Interestingly, Chadwick was blind in one eye. His goal of playing in the NHL was sidetracked, when he was accidently hit in the eye by a puck in an amateur league game in New York City. Despite the partial loss of sight, the Manhattan born Chadwick continued to play the game until another less serious injury to his good eye forced him out of the game as a player. Just as many officials start their officiating careers unintentionally, Chadwick was drafted to officiate an Eastern Hockey League game, when the regularly scheduled official got caught in a travel delay. Chadwick did such a good job that he was offered a full time officiating job in the league. Two years later, at the tender age of 24, he donned the white sweater of an NHL official when he moved to the National Hockey League. Needless to say he didn’t advertise his vision impairment and it never seemed to matter. Chadwick, when questioned about the impact of officiating with just one good eye, usually said something along the lines of, ”I simply skated harder and concentrated more to make sure I overcame the handicap.” He worked his first year in the NHL as a linesman, shifting to a referee’s slot the following year. Overall Chadwick worked over 1,000 NHL games including 900 regular-season games and 42 assignments in the Stanley Cup Finals as referee. After a few years in the business world post officiating, he was hired to do color commentary for the Rangers in 1967 and spent the next 14 years as a broadcaster. One of his best lines became legendary among Ranger fans when he said of a player that “he couldn’t hit the ocean shooting the puck from the end of the pier.” Gary Bettman, Commissioner of the NHL, said in a released statement that “Bill Chadwick had the confidence and creativity to introduce hand signals to officiating. He had the courage to make the tough calls. His honesty and integrity brought him to the very top of his profession. The National Hockey League mourns his passing and sends heartfelt condolences to his loved ones.” The NHL formally adopted the use of the hand signal system for penalties in 1956.
Related
You must be logged in to post a comment.