News And Events

The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

07/11/2005

2005 Inductee of Murray Williamson 



Murray Williamson is Honored for his life time achievement and dedication to the arena of hockey on all levels.

As a young boy Murray played in community leagues in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada.  While playing senior hockey in Evelth, Minnesota, he was noticed by John Mariucci and was recruited to play for the University of Minnesota in 1955.

Following a short semi-pro career in Ontario, Williamson became player/coach and general manager of the St. Paul Steers in the United States Hockey League (USHL). That teams' success launched Murray into an illustrious international career beginning with the World Tournament in Vienna, Austria, 1967 and continuing through the World Torunament in Winnipeg, Canada in 1974. In 1970 he Coached the U.S. World Championship and the 1972 Olympic Games.  With Murray Williamson's skillful guidance and talent hockey players, the U.S. National Team shook the world with a silver medal at the 1972 Winter Olympic Games in Sappro, Japan.

As a coach and mentor, Williamson was active in promoting the sport of hockey to youth hockey players form all over the world. In 1968 he helped to co-find the first formal Youth Hockey Camp in the world in Bemidji, Minnesota. He has been instrumental in helping teach hockey skills to over 30,000 youth hockey players from over 43 states and 15 countries.

In 1973 Williamson was behind the formation of two hockey projects that are still in operation today; the formation of the six team Midwest Junior Hockey League (now know as the USHL Junior League), and the inaugural U.S. National Junior Team which he coached in the first ever World Junior Championships in Leningrad, Russia.

Always striving to promote hockey, Williamson in 1980, became very active to develop the founding committee for the creation of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and helped to implement the program.

In 2000, Murray Williamson was awarded the honor of being inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame and in September of 2008 will be inducted into the University of Minnesota "M" Club Hall of Fame.