Former Hockey Coach Heyliger Passes Away at Age 94
10/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Former University of Michigan ice hockey captain and head coach Vic Heyliger passed away on Wednesday (Oct. 4) at the age of 94. Heyliger had immense success during his 13 seasons as U-M's head coach, leading his Wolverines to six NCAA titles (1948, '51, '52, '53, '55, '56). He was also a three-year letterwinner for the Maize and Blue from 1935-37, captaining the team as a senior.
Heyliger
Heyliger's six NCAA championships are an NCAA coaching record, as are his 16 Frozen Four wins. More importantly, he is credited with helping start the NCAA Tournament in 1948. Following the 1946-47 season, Heyliger wrote to each of the college coaches around the country to see if they would be interested in creating a national tournament. They obliged and the inaugural four-team NCAA Tournament began the following season in 1948, with the Wolverines aptly winning. Heyliger's Michigan teams went on to play in the first 10 NCAA Tournaments, winning it all six times, taking second once and capturing third three times.
Heyliger had a terrific record as head coach, earning a line of 228-61-13. His .776 winning percentage is the best for any U-M hockey coach. He had just one losing season, a 3-6 line in his first year in 1944-45.
Over his career, 25 Michigan players received All-America recognition. In 1980, Heyliger was inducted into the University of Michigan Hall of Honor. The Vic Heyliger Trophy has been given out at the end of each season by the Michigan hockey team to recognize its most outstanding defenseman.
Born Sept. 26, 1912, in Concord, Mass., Heyliger came to U-M to play baseball and hockey in 1934. He earned letters in both sports from 1935-37 and was the hockey team's captain in his final season. In his 51-game college career he tallied 116 goals. After graduation he worked his way onto the Chicago Blackhawks roster in 1937-38, playing in seven games. With his chances of earning a spot in the Original Six NHL low, Heyliger became a head coach at the University of Illinois. He coached the Illini from 1939-40 through 1942-43, when the program was cancelled. Heyliger then played another season for the Blackhawks in 1943-44, playing 26 games while scoring two goals and three assists. He then arrived in Ann Arbor again in time for the 1944-45 season.
Though Heyliger retired from Michigan in 1957, he got back into coaching for the 1973-74 season, helping the United States Air Force Academy get a program started. He retired again shortly thereafter.
At the international level, Heyliger helped organize the only U.S.-hosted International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship in 1962 in Colorado Springs, Colo. He was also the head coach of the 1966 U.S. National Team. Heyliger was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974, in recognition of his lifetime achievement in hockey.
Quote from U-M Head Coach Red Berenson
On what Vic Heyliger meant to the Michigan hockey program ...
"When I first met Vic he was the former Michigan coach and he was coaching out at Air Force. That's how I knew him. All I heard about Vic Heyliger was from players who played for him and, obviously, all the success that the teams had had. He set a standard at Michigan that will probably never be equaled in terms of national championships. That was a special time in the history of Michigan hockey. He really built Michigan hockey. On a personal side, I would visit with him each year when I went out to scout an annual tournament in Colorado. I got to know him really well. Then I'd see him at a couple Michigan reunions. I got to know his family. He's lived a long life. Most of his players and people that knew him would tell you that he was quite a character. I didn't get to know him from that aspect. Just as a former coach, you look and see what he did and what his teams did and that was the most impressive thing."
Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
