Butterfield’s legacy continues to stay on | TheAHL.com

Anybody related to the present-day American Hockey League owes a debt of gratitude to Jack A. Butterfield, the long-time govt who was born 100 years in the past at this time.Throughout a 28-year time period as league president, Butterfield’s ardour, progressive expertise and financial know-how solidified the American Hockey League when confronted with the dual risk of NHL growth and the emergence of the World Hockey Affiliation within the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. His effectivity and demeanor earned Butterfield a number of admirers, none extra essential than NHL president Clarence Campbell.Born August 1, 1919, the native of Regina, Sask., performed newbie hockey till a again damage suffered whereas serving with the Royal Canadian Air Drive in World Warfare II took him off the ice for good. Butterfield grew to become a public relations govt and part-time coach for the AHL’s New Haven Eagles, working for his uncle, Eddie Shore.After stints in United States Hockey League and the Pacific Coast League, Butterfield returned to the AHL to function the rink supervisor, concessions supervisor, coach, coach and finally common supervisor of the Springfield Indians, overseeing the one back-to-back-to-back Calder Cup champions in AHL historical past (1960, 1961, 1962).Butterfield joined the administration of the AHL in 1957 because the Indians’ alternate governor and have become league president 9 years later. In that function, Butterfield took on a number of arduous duties, most importantly the restructuring of the league’s joint affiliation settlement with the NHL to permit AHL groups to raised develop prospects for his or her corresponding NHL mum or dad golf equipment. This association prevented the AHL from succumbing to the lack of gamers to the expanded NHL, and put it in a stronger place when the WHA started signing gamers within the early 1970’s. Butterfield additionally revised the unique AHL structure and by-laws to replicate the fixed progress and growth of the league and the sports activities panorama as an entire, and his fame was such that his opinion was usually sought by the NHL Guidelines Committee.Jack Butterfield was elected into the Hockey Corridor of Fame in 1980, the primary particular person so honored based mostly on his physique of labor within the American Hockey League. Butterfield additionally was a recipient of the Lester Patrick Award (1985) for service to hockey in the USA, and was a part of the inaugural class of inductees when the AHL Corridor of Fame was created in 2006. And since 1984, probably the most beneficial participant of the Calder Cup Playoffs has been awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy.Following his retirement in 1994, Butterfield remained the chairman of the AHL Board of Governors and continued to be energetic within the Springfield group, serving on the Board of the Springfield Shriner’s Hospital and serving as vice-chairman of the Springfield March of Dimes.Butterfield handed away on Oct. 16, 2010. He was 91.