Bill Dineen

He began his career by playing 2 seasons for the St. Michael's Majors of the OHL. He spent 5 years playing for the Detroit Red Wings from 1954-1958. He won 2 Stanley Cups with the team in 1954 and 1955. He later played briefly for the Chicago Black Hawks. After 1958, however, he spent the rest of his playing career in the minor leagues with various teams including the Buffalo Bisons, Cleveland Barons, Rochester Americans, Quebec Aces, Seattle Totems, and the Denver Spurs.

After his retirement as a player Dineen went into coaching. He spent six years behind the bench of the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association -- the entirety of the team's existence -- where he coached Gordie Howe for four seasons and won two championships. After the Aeros disbanded, he was hired to coach the New England Whalers in 1978-79, but was fired late in the season. In six years with the Adirondack Red Wings he was twice named the American Hockey League's coach of the year and won two Calder Cup titles. He was later named head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1992 where he got to coach his son Kevin. He was the oldest rookie coach in the history of the NHL.[2] He was fired by the Flyers after 1993.

In 2010, he was elected as an inaugural inductee into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame.[3]

He was portrayed by Martin Cummins in the 2013 television film Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story.[4]

Three of his sons Gordon, Peter, and Kevin also played in the NHL. Bill Dineen died on December 10, 2016 in Queensbury, New York at the age of 84.[5]

• Biographical information and career statistics from Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Picture of Bill Dineen's Name on the 1954 Stanley Cup Plaque