Tag: JFK

American hockey legend #GloucesterMA Ben Smith inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame

Posted on by Catherine

Ben Smith US Hockey Hall of Fame

From the United States Hockey Hall of Fame printed matter, hockey player and stellar hockey coach, Ben Smith:

Ben Smith (Gloucester, Mass.) served as head coach of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team in 1998, 2002 and 2006, leading Team USA to the first-ever gold medal in women’s hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. It was the crowning achievement in a storied coaching career. 

Described by his players as a direct and passionate perfectionist, Smith compiled a 37-7 record in IIHF Women’s World Championship and Olympic competition during his tenure at the helm from 1996 to 2006, a span that included two gold medals, six silver medals and one bronze medal. And while Smith’s high-profile exploits as a women’s hockey coach gained him enshrinement into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2016, his hall-of-fame résumé extends far beyond a single brilliant decade. 

The son of a U.S. Senator*, Smith was a standout hockey player at Harvard University in the late 1960s. After graduation, he served as an assistant men’s hockey coach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst while also coaching high school hockey in Gloucester. He eventually became a men’s hockey assistant coach at Yale University, where he served for five seasons before joining Jack Parker’s coaching staff at Boston University. During his nine seasons at BU, the Terriers made three NCAA Tournament appearances and won four Beanpot Tournament championships. 

Smith’s first taste of international competition came in 1985 when he was named an assistant coach for the U.S. National Junior Team. He served in a similar capacity in 1986 and 1987 and was also an assistant coach for the 1987 U.S. Men’s National Team. In 1988, Smith was appointed as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team. He soon earned his first head coaching appointment, taking the helm at Dartmouth College in 1990 and then moving to the same role at Northeastern University, where he led the Huskies to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1994.

Smith remains active with USA Hockey serving in a player evaluation role for many international teams, including the gold medal-winning 2017 U.S. National Junior Team.”

 

*I’ve run into articles and archival material about both Ben Smith II and III. On GMG, Nicole posted beautiful and direct experiences about Ben Smith like this one: https://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/2015/12/18/olympic-dreams/

Janice Shea wrote me after a GMG post about Gloucester atheletes and Harvard (and Olympic!) connections: *Ben Smith Senior, of Annisquam, was President John F Kennedy’s roommate at Harvard. He became Massachusetts Senator when JFK became president. Here’s a link to the Ben Smith II obit  http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/28/obituaries/benjamin-smith-75-us-senator-in-1960-s.html  and wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_A._Smith_II.  And here for Ben Smith III (junior) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Smith_(ice_hockey_coach)   plus an interesting read about his coaching http://old.post-gazette.com/olympics/20020218olyhockfill0218p8.asp 

Gloucester Daily Times article about Hall of Fame induction

Has anyone here seen my old friend John?

Posted on by Fredrik Bodin
Remembrance of our 35th President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. On November 22nd, 1963, JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. This is the 50th anniversary of that event, a day which I'll never forget. I was sitting in my 7th grade classroom when the public address system announced that the President had been killed by an assassin. We were sent home in shock immediately. It was a sunny but chilly day as I walked home with a group of my classmates. As we walked along the chain link fence surrounding the school grounds, someone was weeping uncontrollably. It was Peggy Noonan. I didn't know what to do, but tried to console her. Years later I realized she was Catholic, and it affected her, as a 13 year old, on many levels. So we all went to our respective homes, and then the TVs took over. There were no ads for three days, and continuous live coverage, including Lee Harvey Oswald being shot by Jack Ruby amidst law enforcement. I saw that. TV, the media, and all of us will never be the same. If you have a story, share it here my friends. I took this photo at the dedication of the Kennedy School of Government Park on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. L-R in foreground as well as I can tell: Governor Michael Dukakis (partially obscured), Jackie Kennedy, Kitty Dukakis with Ted Kennedy behind her, State Treasurer Martha Coakley (?), Caroline Kennedy, brother John Kennedy, Boston Mayor Kevin White (partially obscured), William Bolger, President of the Massachusetts Senate (partially obscured), and above him is Joe Kennedy.
Remembrance of our 35th President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. On November 22nd, 1963, JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. This is the 50th anniversary of that event, a day which I’ll never forget. I was sitting in my 7th grade classroom when the public address system announced that the President had been killed by an assassin. We were sent home, in shock, immediately. It was a sunny but chilly day as I walked home with a group of my classmates. As we walked along the chain link fence surrounding the school grounds, someone was weeping uncontrollably. It was Peggy Noonan. I didn’t know what to do, but tried to console her. Years later I realized she was Catholic, and it affected her, as a 13 year old, on many levels. So we all went to our respective homes, and then the TVs took over. There were no ads for three days, and continuous live coverage, including Lee Harvey Oswald being shot by Jack Ruby amidst law enforcement. I saw that as it happened. TV, the media, and all of us will never be the same. If you have a story to tell, share it here my friends. I took this photo at the dedication of the Kennedy School of Government’s JFK Park on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. L-R in foreground as well as I can tell: Governor Michael Dukakis (partially obscured), Jackie Kennedy, Kitty Dukakis with Ted Kennedy behind her, State Treasurer Martha Coakley (?), Caroline Kennedy, her brother John, Boston Mayor Kevin White (partially obscured), William Bolger, President of the Massachusetts Senate (partially obscured), and above him is Joe Kennedy. Yes, the good, they die young. Abraham, Martin, John, and Bobby.

Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and President Kennedy at the United Nations. She was the US Representative to the UN from 1946 - 1953.
Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and President Kennedy at the United Nations. She was the US Representative to the UN from 1946 – 1953. She passed away almost a year before JFK.