February 5, 2013
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here for the Walter Brown Release
BOSTON, Mass. – Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president John
Ingoldsby announced today that 16 NCAA Division One players are
semi-finalists for the 61st Walter Brown Award, presented annually
to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.
The nation’s oldest nationally-recognized college hockey
honor, the Walter Brown Award was established in 1953 by the
members of the 1933 Massachusetts Rangers, the first American team
ever to win the World Championship Tournament. Brown coached the
Rangers to the title in Prague, Czechoslovakia, that year; the team
defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime in the championship game.
The Walter Brown Award
Commemorating the life and works of America’s greatest
sportsman, the Walter Brown Award is given annually to the
outstanding American-born college hockey player in New England. The
Walter Brown Award is the oldest nationally recognized honor
accorded to individual players in the sport of American college
hockey. Brown coached the United States to its first world
hockey championship in 1933. The U.S. team, the Massachusetts
Rangers, comprised players from Boston College, Boston University,
Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Notre Dame, and Boston Commerce High
School. The Americans defeated the Toronto National Sea Fleas,
coached by Harold Ballard, 2-1 in overtime in the final game of the
1933 World Tournament at Prague, Czechoslovakia. It was also
America’s first win over a team from Canada and the first
loss ever suffered by the Canadians in international play. The U.S.
team members established the Walter Brown award at their 20th
reunion in 1953. Criteria for the selection committee include
leadership, character, sportsmanship, and ability as well as on-ice
achievement. The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston has been the
steward of the Walter Brown Award since 1977.
2012-2013 Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Selection
Committee and Advisory Board: Tim Costello, Chairman;
Joe Bertagna, Tom Burke, Jim Connelly, Ned Cully, Bob DeGregorio,
Kevin Fleming, Steve Hagwell, Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Hon. Gordon
A. Martin, Jr., Paul McNamara, and William J. Stewart III.