Al Renfrew

Allan McNab Renfrew (December 21, 1924 November 10, 2014) was a hockey player (left wing) at the University of Michigan in the late 1940s and a college hockey coach with Michigan Technological University (1951–1956), the University of North Dakota (1956–1957), and the University of Michigan (1957–1973). Renfrew had a storied career as a player, coach and administrator at the University of Michigan, including NCAA championships as both a player and coach. He was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1986.

Al Renfrew
Al Renfrew, 1949
Biographical details
Born(1924-12-21)December 21, 1924
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DiedNovember 10, 2014(2014-11-10) (aged 89)
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Playing career
1945–1949Michigan
1949–1950Detroit Auto Club
Position(s)Wing
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1951–1956Michigan Tech
1956–1957North Dakota
1957–1973Michigan
Head coaching record
Overall288–286–13 (.502)
Tournaments4–2 (.667)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1961 Big Ten Champion
1962 Big Ten Champion
1964 Big Ten Champion
1964 WCHA Regular Season Champion
1964 NCAA National Champion
1968 Big Ten Champion
1969 Big Ten Champion
Awards
1986 University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor
1990 Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award
1992 John "Snooks" Kelley Founders Award

College hockey player

A native of Toronto, Renfrew came to the University of Michigan in 1945.[1] He played four years with the Michigan hockey team, and was selected as the team captain as a senior.[1] As a freshman in 1946, he drew attention when he scored two goals separated by only seven seconds in a game against Michigan Tech.[2] He was the leader of the Wolverines 1948 team that won the NCAA hockey championship. He scored 25 goals in 1948, including four in a game against Minnesota: "Al Renfrew, Michigan's speedy left winger, scored four times to lead the assault."[3] The Wolverines finished the 1948 season by bearing Dartmouth College, 8-4, in the first NCAA ice hockey championship held in March 1948 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[4] Renfrew scored 91 goals and 172 points, as the Wolverines went 70-18-6 while Renfrew was playing.[1] Renfrew finished his playing career as the second leading point scorer in the history of Michigan hockey. He graduated from the School of Education in 1950 and later married the sister of his coach, Vic Heyliger.[1]

College hockey coach

After graduating from Michigan, Renfrew became the hockey coach at Michigan Tech in Houghton, Michigan, from 1951–1956 and at North Dakota for one year. In May 1957, Renfrew's former coach and brother-in-law Vic Heyliger retired as Michigan's hockey coach, and Renfrew accepted the job as Heyliger's replacement.[5][6] As the coach of the Wolverines hockey team from 1957–1973, Renfrew had a record of 223-206-11 and one national championship. The national championship as coach came in 1964 season, when Michigan had a record of 24-4-1. Renfrew's 1964 team, behind the leadership of captain Gordon Wilkie and by Mel Wakabayashi's two goals, beat Denver 6-3 in their home arena to capture the program's seventh NCAA title. With the win, Al Renfrew also became the first person to play on an NCAA championship college hockey team and later coach a national champion.[7] Including his six years as coach at Michigan Tech and North Dakota, his overall record as a coach was 288-286-13. When Renfrew retired as coach in May 1973, 200 of his friends held a testimonial dinner and presented him and his wife with a two-week trip to Hawaii.[8] After retiring as the hockey coach in 1973, Renfrew worked for many years as the manager of the U-M ticket office.[1]

The "M" Club Banner

Aside from his contributions to the Michigan hockey program, Renfrew and his wife Marguerite are credited in some accounts as the individuals responsible for the football tradition of the "M" Club banner at Michigan Stadium. The tradition started in 1962 with Michigan players racing out of the tunnel and leaping into the air to touch the "Go Blue: M Club Supports You" banner while the Marching Band plays "The Victors." Renfrew reportedly asked his wife to make two flags to drape over the football lockerrooms to cheer on the team. She made two flags, with a neighbor, and the Block M was designed by Bob Hoisington, an Engineering Dean, to make sure it was correct. They handmade the flags, which was not an easy feat at the time. Originally, the M Club members hung the banners the lockerroom, and the banners were later moved to the tunnel and then the stadium. After the games, the flags came back home to the Renfrews' home and were hung at their house. Later, the flags were changed to a banner.[9]

Later life, awards and honors

In 1986, Renfrew was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor. He has also received the 1990 Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award, presented each year to an individual who has made great contributions to college hockey,[10] and the 1992 John "Snooks" Kelley Founders Award, given each year to a person in the coaching profession who has contributed to the overall growth and development of the sport of ice hockey in the United States. The "Friends of Al Renfrew" have established an endowed room and board scholarship at Michigan for an ice hockey player.[11]

On November 10, 2014, Renfrew died in Michigan at the age of 89. He had a heart attack three weeks prior and was due to be released from a rehabilitation facility.[12]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Michigan Tech Huskies (MCHA) (1951–1953)
1951–52 Michigan Tech 2–18–00–12–07th
1952–53 Michigan Tech 6–13–03–13–06th
Michigan Tech: 8–31–03–25–0
Michigan Tech Huskies (WIHL) (1953–1956)
1953–54 Michigan Tech 7–17–12–16–07th
1954–55 Michigan Tech 12–13–18–11–14th
1955–56 Michigan Tech 21–7–014–6–02ndNCAA Runner-Up
Michigan Tech: 40–37–224–33–1
North Dakota Fighting Sioux (WIHL) (1956–1957)
1956–57 North Dakota 18–11–013–9–03rd
North Dakota: 18–11–013–9–0
Michigan Wolverines (WIHL) (1957–1958)
1957–58 Michigan 8–13–07–11–06th
Michigan: 8–13–07–11–0
Michigan Wolverines (Big Ten) (1958–1959)
1958–59 Michigan 8–13–12–6–03rd
Michigan: 8–13–12–6–0
Michigan Wolverines (WCHA / Big Ten †) (1959–1973)
1959–60 Michigan 12–12–07–11–0 / 4–4–05th / 2nd
1960–61 Michigan 16–10–215–8–1 / 6–2–03rd / 1stWCHA East Regional Runner-Up
1961–62 Michigan 22–5–015–3–0 / 4–0–02nd / 1stNCAA Consolation Game (Win)
1962–63 Michigan 7–14–33–14–3 / 0–6–27th / 3rd
1963–64 Michigan 24–4–112–2–0 / 7–1–01st / 1stNCAA Champion
1964–65 Michigan 13–12–17–11–0 / 3–5–05th / 3rd
1965–66 Michigan 14–14–09–9–0 / 3–5–05th / 3rdWCHA First Round
1966–67 Michigan 19–7–211–6–1 / 4–3–14th / 2ndWCHA First Round
1967–68 Michigan 18–9–011–7–0 / 7–1–04th / 1stWCHA First Round
1968–69 Michigan 16–12–010–8–0 / 7–5–04th / 1stWCHA East Regional Finals
1969–70 Michigan 14–16–011–13–0 / 5–7–06th / 3rdWCHA West Regional Semifinals
1970–71 Michigan 9–21–05–17–0 / 2–8–09th / 3rd
1971–72 Michigan 16–18–012–16–0 / 5–5–06th / 2ndWCHA First Round
1972–73 Michigan 6–27–14–25–1 / 1–11–010th / 4th
Michigan: 206–181–10132–150–6 / 58–63–3
Total:288–286–13

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Michigan played jointly in the Big Ten and WCHA from 1959 to 1981

See also

References

  1. Madej, Bruce (1997). Michigan: Champions of the West, p. 109. Sports Publishing. ISBN 1-57167-115-3.
  2. AP wire service report (1946-03-09). "Wolverine Puckmen Lead Michigan Tech". Ironwood Daily Globe.
  3. "Michigan Puckmen Beat Minnesota". The Winona Republican-Herald. 1948-02-14.
  4. "NCAA College Hockey History/Record Book" (PDF).
  5. "New Ice Coach At Michigan". Lowell Sun. 1957-05-16.
  6. Green, Jerry (1957-04-18). "Renfrew Is Leading Candidate For Hockey Coach At Michigan". Ironwood Daily Globe.
  7. "1953 and 1963 National Championship Hockey Teams Return to Celebrate 50th and 40th Anniversary Reunions" (PDF). M News: A Publication for Graduate Letter Winners. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-01-25. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  8. "Coach Retired". Suburbanite Economist (Chicago). 1973-05-23.
  9. "Brief history of the "Go Blue" banner". 2007-02-24.
  10. "Hobey Baker Award Winners". Archived from the original on 2008-02-27.
  11. "University of Michigan Athletic Department:Endowed Athletic Scholarships". Archived from the original on 2008-02-04.
  12. http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2014/11/11/michigan-wolverines-hockey-al-renfrew/18895639/

Further reading

  • John U. Bacon, Blue Ice: The Story of Michigan Hockey (Univ. of Mich. Press 2001), Part V: The Renfrew Era, 1957–1973
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Barry Thorndycraft
WCHA Coach of the Year
1963–64
Succeeded by
Bob Peters
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