Wendall Forbes

Last updated

Wendall Forbes
Biographical details
Born(1927-01-22)January 22, 1927
Melrose, Massachusetts, USA
DiedJuly 31, 1997(1997-07-31) (aged 70)
Burlington, Massachusetts, USA
Alma mater Middlebury College
Playing career
1947–1951 Middlebury
Position(s) Forward / Defenseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Ice Hockey
1962–1964 Middlebury (assistant)
1964–1986 Middlebury
Head coaching record
Overall248–233–18 (.515)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
1975 Edward Jeremiah Award

Wendall Francis Forbes was an American college coach for the baseball, football, golf and ice hockey teams at Middlebury College. He was the head coach men's ice hockey team for 22 years and was the Division III coach of the year in 1975.

Contents

Career

Forbes graduated from Melrose High School in 1945 and joined the Navy for the tail end of World War II. He left the service in 1946 and entered Bridgton Academy before matriculating to Middlebury College. After graduating in 1951, Forbes played in the St. Louis Cardinals organization for six years before ending his playing career and turned to coaching. [1]

He first worked at Northfield High School but quickly transitioned to the college ranks. At Norwich University he was a baseball coach, assistant football coach and the head coach for the freshman hockey team. He returned to Middlebury in 1962 and worked in several positions over the next 25 years. In 1964 Duke Nelson stepped down as the coach of the ice hockey team and allowed Forbes to take over. 'Wendy' took over the program just as it was transitions from ECAC Hockey into the second-tier ECAC 2. His team won the inaugural conference crown with a record of 11–2 and was able to lead the team to winning records most years. After a particularly poor year in 1974, Forbes got his team to rebound and won the first playoff game in team history. For the stark turnaround, Forbes received the Edward Jeremiah Award. [2]

After a slight lull in 1976, Middlebury became one of the top teams in ECAC 2 for the remainder of the decade. In 1979 the Panthers equaled the program high of 19 wins and captured the Western league championship with a 4–2 win over Norwich. [3] Middlebury would have received an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, which was only in its second edition, however, Middlebury's primary conference was the NESCAC and league bylaws prohibited member schools from participating in national tournaments at the time. [4]

After another strong season in 1980, Forbes' team declined sharply and remained near the bottom of the league standings for the next several seasons. As the Panthers began to recover in the mid-80s, Forbes led the program through a second transition as virtually all of the Division II level was dropped down to D-III. He also help shepherd the team through a strange season when ECAC 2 formally split into two regional conferences (East and West). Forbes stepped down as the team's head coach in 1986 and retired.

He was inducted into the Melrose High Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, the same year that he was able to see his successor, Bill Beaney, lead the Panthers to their first National Championship. He died in 1997 at the age of 70 and was survived by his two daughters, Cathy and Donna, as well as four grandchildren.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Middlebury Panthers (ECAC 2)(1964–1985)
1964–65 Middlebury 14–8–011–2–01st
1965–66 Middlebury 12–12–07–5–06th
1966–67 Middlebury 11–10–08–3–03rd ECAC 2 Semifinals
1967–68 Middlebury 11–10–18–4–17th
1968–69 Middlebury 9–13–06–7–015th
1969–70 Middlebury 15–10–011–5–0T–8th ECAC 2 Semifinals
1970–71 Middlebury 11–13–07–10–019th
1971–72 Middlebury 7–12–24–6–215th
1972–73 Middlebury 11–11–19–7–0T–10th ECAC 2 Quarterfinals
1973–74 Middlebury 7–14–03–13–019th
1974–75 Middlebury 15–7–110–4–14th ECAC 2 Semifinals
1975–76 Middlebury 12–11–07–8–017th
1976–77 Middlebury 15–6–111–4–18th
1977–78 Middlebury 16–6–011–3–0T–5th ECAC 2 West Runner-Up
1978–79 Middlebury 19–6–114–4–1T–6th ECAC 2 West Champion
1979–80 Middlebury 16–7–311–5–39th ECAC 2 West Semifinals
1980–81 Middlebury 7–15–14–13–125th
1981–82 Middlebury 9–11–36–9–2
1982–83 Middlebury 11–12–17–9–118th ECAC 2 West Semifinals
1983–84 Middlebury 10–12–15–11–122nd
1984–85 Middlebury 8–14–15–12–123rd
Middlebury:239–220–17165–144–15
Middlebury Panthers(ECAC East)(1985–1986)
1985–86 Middlebury 9–13–16–9–110th
Middlebury:9–13–16–9–1
Total:248–233–18

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England Small College Athletic Conference</span> American collegiate athletic conference

The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III comprising sports teams from eleven highly selective liberal arts institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The eleven institutions are Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Tufts University, Trinity College, Wesleyan University, and Williams College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England Hockey Conference</span> American college athletic conference

New England Hockey Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference.

Sidney John Watson was an American football player and college ice hockey coach. He played halfback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. He played college football at Northeastern University. He was also the head hockey coach at Bowdoin College from 1959 to 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yale Bulldogs women's ice hockey</span> College ice hockey team

Yale University women's ice hockey (YWIH) is an NCAA Division I varsity ice hockey program at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Bill Beaney Jr. is a retired college men's ice hockey coach. He has coached hockey teams in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, and was the head coach at Middlebury from 1986 until 2015. He led the Middlebury hockey team to eight Division III championships from 1995 to 2006 and ranks 13th all-time among college men's ice hockey coaches with 601 wins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowdoin Polar Bears</span> Athletic teams of Bowdoin College

The Bowdoin Polar Bears are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Bowdoin College, located in Brunswick, Maine. The Polar Bears compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Bowdoin College currently fields teams in fourteen men's sports and sixteen women's sports. The polar bear team name was selected to honor Robert Peary of the class of 1877 who lead the first expedition that reached the North Pole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey</span> Team representing the American International College

The American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the American International College. The Yellow Jackets are members of Atlantic Hockey America. They play at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The NCAA Division III women's ice hockey is a college ice hockey competition governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as part of the NCAA Division III. Sixty-seven teams competed in NCAA Division III women's hockey across eight conferences in the 2023–24 season.

The Tri-State League was a NCAA Division I ice hockey-only conference. The league was the first attempt at creating a conference for hockey programs and, while it did not succeed in its goals, succeeding conferences were able to learn from the mistakes made and flaws in its design to form effective and long-lasting divisions.

Charlie Holt was an American ice hockey coach. He was the head coach of the University of New Hampshire from 1968 thru 1986. He is one of three 3-time recipients of the college ice hockey National Coach-of-the-Year Award.

J. Thom Lawler was an American ice hockey player and coach who won the inaugural NCAA Division II national championship in 1978 with Merrimack.

The Middlebury Panthers men's ice hockey team represents Middlebury College in men’s hockey and has done so since 1922. The Panthers currently play at the Division III and have won the most championships (8) of any D-III program. For a time the team did play along with top-level programs but when men's ice hockey divided into separate tiers in the mid-1960s Middlebury left the upper echelon.

Terry Meagher (muh-HAR) is a Canadian retired ice hockey forward and coach who was twice named as the Division III National Coach of Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021–22 Union Dutchmen ice hockey season</span> College ice hockey team season

The 2021–22 Union Dutchmen ice hockey season was the 81st season of play for the program and the 30th season in the ECAC Hockey conference. The Dutchmen represented Union College and played their home games at Achilles Center, and were coached by Rick Bennett, in his 10th season.

William Kangas is an American ice hockey coach. He has been the nominal head coach for Williams since 1989, recording more than 400 wins in that time.

The New England Intercollegiate Hockey League is a defunct NCAA Division I ice hockey-only conference. The league was an early attempt by second-tier programs to form a conference and stabilize their schedules during the Great Depression. The champion of the league received the Donald Sands Memorial Trophy.

The 1947–48 Middlebury Panthers men's ice hockey season was the 23rd season of play for the program but first under the oversight of the NCAA. The Panthers represented Middlebury College and were coached by Duke Nelson, in his 6th season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice hockey in Vermont</span>

Vermont has a long history with ice hockey in the United States. Despite the state's sparse population, its location in New England placed Vermont in the middle of ice hockey circles, particularly at the college level.

References

  1. ↑ "Obituary for WENDELL F. FORBES, 1927-1997 (Aged 70)". Newspapers.com. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  2. ↑ "American Hockey Coaches Association". Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Middlebury College Men's Hockey History" (PDF). Middlebury Panthers. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Bowdoin College Men's Hockey History" (PDF). Bowdoin Polar Bears. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Edward Jeremiah Award
1974–75 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.