Walter A. Brown ( English Walter A. Brown , February 10, 1905 , Boston or Hopkinton, Massachusetts , USA - September 7, 1964 ) - hockey and basketball functionary, president of the IIHF ( 1954 - 1957 ). He led the US national team when she first won gold medals at the World Cup in Czechoslovakia in 1933 . Founder and first owner of the Boston Celtics National Basketball Association team. Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1962, the Basketball Hall of Fame since 1965 and the IIHF Hall of Fame since 1997.
| Walter A. Brown | |
|---|---|
| English Walter A. brown | |
 | |
| Date of Birth | February 10, 1905 |
| Place of Birth | Boston , Massachusetts , USA |
| Date of death | September 7, 1964 (aged 59) |
| Place of death | |
| Citizenship |  USA |
| Occupation | hockey functionary, president of IIHF |
| Awards and prizes | Hockey Hall of Fame |
Content
Biography
Walter Brown was born in the small town of Hopkinton ( Massachusetts ), near Boston [1] , attended the Latin school of Boston from 1922 to 1923, as well as the Phillips Academy in Exeter from 1923 to 1926. Brown played an important role in the development of hockey. At the dawn of his career, he coached the Boston Olympics amateur team, playing in the Eastern Hockey League , winning five league titles with it. He led the US national team , which for the first time in its history led to gold medals at the World Cup in Czechoslovakia in 1933 . In addition, he was director of the Boston Garden sports arena, succeeding his father George Brown in 1937, and manager of the Boston Bruins NHL professional team since 1951. In 1948, Brown was at the center of events at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics , when a huge scandal erupted over the performance of the US team, which was played by some professionals, for which it was disqualified. From 1954 to 1957 he worked as president of the IIHF .
In 1946, Walter Brown became one of the founders of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) , and in 1949 played an important role in the merger of the BAA and the National Basketball League (NBL) into the National Basketball Association (NBA) . In addition, in 1945 he founded the Boston Celtics club, and helped turn the team into a dynasty, the Celts managed to win seven of the last eight championships, and six of them in a row, until his death in 1964. He was buried in the cemetery named after St. John the Evangelist in his native Hopkinton. After his death in 1965, the Brown Memorial was held several times in Colorado Springs , the center of US winter sports, in which the strongest amateur teams participated.
Immediately after the death of Walter Brown, his name was awarded the main trophy of the NBA Championship, which became known as the Walter A. Brown Cup , originally this trophy was called the Cup of the winners of the NBA playoff final, but twenty years later he changed his name again and became known as the Larry Cup O'Brien in honor of former NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien , who held this position from 1975 to 1984. In 1962, Brown was included in the Hockey Hall of Fame , in 1965 - in the Basketball Hall of Fame , and in 1997 - in the IIHF Hall of Fame . Forty days after his death, on October 17, 1964 , at the Boston Celtics, number 1 was assigned to him.
Notes
- ↑ According to other sources, he was born in Boston. Cf .: site of the basketball Hall of Fame , site of the hockey Hall of Fame .
Literature
- Belichenko O.I., Lukashin Yu.S. Hockey. Big Encyclopedia: In 2 tons . - M .: Terra-Sport, Olympia Press, 2006 .-- 840 p. - ISBN 5-94299-060-3 .
Links
- Significant Owners: Walter A. Brown (Celtics ) . realclearsports.com . Top 10 Most Significant Owners.
- Brown, Walter A. azhockey.com . AZhockey. Archived April 23, 2012.
- Legacy on the line . boston.com . The Boston Globe.
- Walter A. Brown . hoophall.com . Hall of Famers. Archived August 31, 2009.
| Predecessor: Fritz Kratz | IIHF President 1954 - 1957 | Successor: John Francis Ahern |