Len Ceglarski facts for kids
| Biographical details | ||||||||||||||
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| Born | June 27, 1926 East Walpole, Massachusetts, U.S. |
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| Died | December 16, 2017 (aged 91) | |||||||||||||
| Playing career | ||||||||||||||
| 1948–1951 | Boston College | |||||||||||||
| 1951–1952 | US Olympic Team | |||||||||||||
| 1954–1955 | Worcester Warriors | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left Wing | |||||||||||||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||||||||||||||
| 1958–1972 | Clarkson | |||||||||||||
| 1972–1992 | Boston College | |||||||||||||
| Head coaching record | ||||||||||||||
| Overall | 673–339–37 (.659) | |||||||||||||
| Accomplishments and honors | ||||||||||||||
| Championships | ||||||||||||||
| 1949 NCAA National Champion 1966 ECAC Hockey Champion 1966 ECAC Hockey Tournament Champion 1978 ECAC Hockey Tournament Champion 1980 ECAC Hockey East Region Champion 1980 ECAC Hockey Champion 1981 ECAC Hockey East Region Champion 1984 ECAC Hockey East Region Champion 1985 Hockey East Champion 1986 Hockey East Champion 1987 Hockey East Champion 1987 Hockey East Tournament Champion 1989 Hockey East Champion 1990 Hockey East Champion 1990 Hockey East Tournament Champion 1991 Hockey East Champion |
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| Awards | ||||||||||||||
| 1966 Spencer Penrose Award 1973 Spencer Penrose Award 1974 Boston College Varsity Athletic Hall of Fame 1985 Hockey East Coach of the Year 1985 Spencer Penrose Award 1990 Lester Patrick Trophy 1991 Clarkson Athletic Hall of Fame 1992 US Hockey Hall of Fame 1993 National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame 1996 Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award 2001 Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame |
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Medal record
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Leonard Stanley Ceglarski (June 27, 1926 – December 16, 2017) was a famous American ice hockey player and coach. He was a talented left wing who played for Boston College. In 1949, his team won the NCAA championship. He was also the captain of the team in 1950–51.
Ceglarski was part of the U.S. Olympic hockey team. This team won a silver medal at the 1952 Winter Olympic Games in Oslo. Besides hockey, he was also a great baseball player. While at Boston College, he had the best batting average in New England during his senior year.
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Coaching Career
Leonard Ceglarski was born in East Walpole, Massachusetts. Before becoming a college coach, he taught and coached at Walpole High School for four years. He then took over the Golden Knights' program at Clarkson. He had many jobs there, including coaching both the main team and the freshman team. He also managed the rink, equipment, and even sharpened skates!
Coaching at Clarkson College
Ceglarski started coaching at Clarkson College of Technology in 1958. He was the fourth head coach in Clarkson's history. It only took him four seasons to lead the Knights to their first NCAA championship game.
In 1962, Clarkson beat Michigan 5–4. This was a big moment in hockey history. It was the first time an Eastern team beat a Western team in the first round of the Final Four since 1954. Clarkson then lost to Michigan Tech in the 1962 championship game. They finished that season with a great record of 22 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie.
His best team at Clarkson was in the 1965–66 season. They won the ECAC Tournament and reached the NCAA tournament final again. The Knights defeated Denver 4–3 but then lost to the Michigan State Spartans in the championship game. That team had an amazing record of 24 wins and only 3 losses. After this successful season, he received his first Spencer Penrose Award. This award is given every year to the best college hockey coach in the country. He also won this award in 1978 and 1985.
For the third time in less than 10 years, Ceglarski's team made it to the NCAA Championship. In 1970, the Knights played against Cornell for the title. After beating Michigan Tech 4–3 in the semifinals, Clarkson lost to Cornell 6–4. The team ended the season with 24 wins and 8 losses. He led the Golden Knights to three national championship games. His record at Clarkson was 254 wins, 97 losses, and 11 ties. In 1972, he left Clarkson to coach at his old school, Boston College.
Coaching at Boston College
When the long-time Boston College coach, John "Snooks" Kelley, retired in 1972, Ceglarski decided to return to his alma mater. During his two decades at Boston College, Ceglarski led the Eagles to 419 victories.
He retired in 1992 with a total of 689 career wins. At that time, this was the most wins in Division I college hockey history. Today, he ranks ninth on the all-time list. He is also third all-time at Boston College, behind John Kelley's 486 wins.
Coaching Legacy
When Leonard Ceglarski finished his 34-year coaching career in 1992, he had more wins than any other college hockey coach in history. His first win was a 10–2 victory for Clarkson against Providence on December 5, 1958.
His teams at Clarkson and Boston College won a total of 673 games. They lost 339 games and tied 38. Over his long career, Ceglarski's teams had only four losing seasons.
For 14 years, he was the head coach of the Clarkson Golden Knights. He had a fantastic winning percentage of .717 there. His record was 254 wins, 97 losses, and 10 ties from 1958 to 1972. He led Clarkson to four NCAA Tournament appearances and their first ECAC Tournament title.
Ceglarski's teams finished as runners-up in the NCAA Tournament four times. These were in 1961–62, 1965–66, 1969–70, and 1977–78. The first three were the only Clarkson teams to reach the national championship game. His 1977–78 Boston College team also finished as NCAA runner-up, losing to Boston University in the finals.
In his 34 seasons (1958–1992), he became the winningest coach in college hockey history. He coached over 1,000 games, a first for college hockey. He was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974.
Honors and Awards
Leonard Ceglarski received many honors throughout his life.
- He was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974.
- In 1990, he won the Lester Patrick Trophy. This award is given each year for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
- Ceglarski was also inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.
- He was named the 1996 recipient of the Legend of College Hockey Award.
- In 1993, Ceglarski was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
- He won the 1984–85 CCM / Bob Kullen Award. This award is given to the head coach who shows the most important achievements during the season. Other coaches, sports directors, and league officials vote for it.
The Len Ceglarski Award for Individual Sportsmanship was created in his honor. This award is given by the league to one player who always shows great behavior and sportsmanship on the ice. Each school nominates a player, and then coaches and officials vote. The first winner was Joe Flanagan from the University of New Hampshire.
One of Ceglarski's former players, John T. McLennan, honored his coach in a special way. He created a $1.5 million gift to start the Leonard S. Ceglarski Chair at Clarkson. McLennan played hockey at Clarkson on a scholarship in 1964. He later became the president and CEO of Bell Canada. McLennan said that Ceglarski helped him succeed in life. This special fund will help pay for the Clarkson men's head hockey coach position.
See also
- List of college men's ice hockey coaches with 400 wins
