1963-64 was the first year of the Central Professional
Hockey League, a minor pro league that existed from 1963-64 to 1983-84. The
league changed its name to the Central Hockey League in 1968-69 but is not
related to the current CHL. The coaches of the five teams were all established
hockey men who are still mostly well known today.
In 1963-64, the league consisted of five teams with each
playing a 72 game schedule. The Omaha Knights finished first overall with 97
points, 17 better than the second place St. Paul Rangers. The Knights and
Rangers met in the playoff finals with Omaha coming out victorious in five
games. St. Paul took the first game of the series 2-1 before the Knights won
four straight by scores of 11-0, 3-0, 7-4 and 6-2.
The league’s scoring leader was Alain
Caron of the St. Louis Braves with 77 goals and 125 points. A young Phil
Esposito was in his second year of professional hockey and split the season
between the Chicago Black Hawks and the St. Louis Braves. Despite playing just
43 games, Esposito finished sixth in the league with 80 points.
Scotty Bowman – Omaha Knights
The Omaha Knights had two head coaches during the 1963-64
CPHL season. Scotty Bowman coached the team’s first eight games before heading
to Montreal to coach a minor league team there. The Knights went a perfect 8-0
under Bowman. Scotty went on to coach in the National Hockey League from
1967-68 to 2001-02 with the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo
Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. He won nine Stanley Cup
championships, five with Montreal, one with Pittsburgh and three with Detroit.
Bill McCreary – Omaha Knights
Bill McCreary stepped in after Bowman left town. He acted as
a player / head coach and it was his only year coaching with Omaha. McCreary
coached three partial NHL seasons in the early 1970’s with the St. Louis Blues,
Vancouver Canucks and California Seals. Bill was a veteran of 309 NHL regular
season games between 1954-55 and 1970-71 with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red
Wings, Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues.
Fred Shero – St. Paul Rangers
Fred Shero did not win a CPHL championship with the St. Paul
Rangers in 1963-64 but did go on to win championships in the IHL, AHL, CHL and
NHL. Fred was head coach in the National Hockey League from 1971-72 to 1980-81
with the Philadelphia
Flyers and New York Rangers. He was the first ever recipient of the Jack
Adams Award in 1973-74 as the NHL’s coach of the year. He played 145 regular season NHL games
between 1947-48 and 1949-50, all with the Rangers.
Harry Sinden – Minneapolis Bruins
Harry Sinden of the Minneapolis Bruins was another CPHL
player / head coach. He played for Minneapolis for the 1963-64 and 1964-65
seasons. Sinden is most famous for his head coaching job with the Boston Bruins
between 1966-67 and 1969-70. He led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup championship in
1969-70, with the help of Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito. Sinden also returned for
interim stints behind the Boston bench in 1979-80 and 1984-85.
Walter ‘Gus’ Kyle – St. Louis Braves
Walter ‘Gus’ Kyle was in his last year of coaching with the
1963-64 St. Louis Braves. In 1958-59, he coached the Calgary Stampeders to a
WHL championship. Kyle played 203 games in the NHL between 1949-50 and 1951-52
with the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.
Tony Leswick – Indianapolis Capitols / Cincinnati Wings
Tony Leswick had the dubious job of coaching the
Indianapolis Capitols in 1963-64. After an explosion wrecked their arena just
nine games into the season, the Capitals moved east to Cincinnati for the
remainder of the season and were known as the Cincinnati Wings. The team won
just 12 of their 72 games and finished dead last in the league. Leswick played
740 regular season games in the NHL between 1945-46 and 1957-58 with the
Rangers, Red Wings and Black Hawks. He scored the winning goal in overtime of
game seven of the 1953-54 Stanley Cup finals to give Detroit the victory over
the Montreal Canadiens.
