NHL referee Bill McCreary is once of the 2014 inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
McCreary joined the NHL in 1984. His 27-year career included 1,700 regular season games and 282 playoff games. The Guelph native officiated fifteen Stanley Cup Finals, including fourteen straight appearances. He donned the stripes for an amazing 27 playoff Game Sevens. McCreary also officiated two Olympics, having worked the Gold Medal Games in both the 1998 Nagano and 2002 Salt Lake City. He also officiated the
Referee Bill McCreary (Image: Clyde Caplan)
From the Hockey Hall of Fame:
In the Referee and Linesman category, Bill McCreary was elected. After playing Junior A hockey, Bill joined the NHL in 1984. He officiated 1,700 regular season NHL games and 282 NHL playoff games before ending his career on April 2nd, 2011 in Washington, D.C. Internationally, Bill worked the 1998 and 2002 Olympics, including the gold medal games at both tournaments.
“I was fortunate living in Guelph to be encouraged to get into officiating by some of the NHL greats that were involved in the game there,” said McCreary. “Just as with the players, being in the Stanley Cup Final is the goal of any official and I’m pleased that I was able to have that recognition on several occasions.”
From the NHLOA:
The list of games Bill cites as his most memorable reads like a list of hockey’s most important games of the last 20 years. There’s the 1991 and 1994 Canada Cups, the 1994 All-Star Game in New York, the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, especially the gold medal game between Russia and the Czech Republic. Then there’s all of the Stanley Cup Finals between 1994 and 2007; the 2005 Spengler Cup in Switzerland; the last game played in Maple Leaf Gardens, and Wayne Gretzky’s last game as a player. In addition, Bill considers the gold medal game between Canada and the United States during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics the high point of his career to date.
McCreary – and his legendary mustache – will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, November 17th in Toronto.
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