Eddie Barry, American ice hockey player, Died at 96

  Sports

Edward Thomas “Ed” Barry was born on October 12, 1919, and died on February 12, 2016.

He was an American professional ice hockey player.

Eddie also played for the Boston Olympics of the Eastern Hockey League and the Boston Bruins, and later became the coach at Boston State College.

The ice hockey player has been a member of the Northeastern University athletics Hall of Fame since 1976, and a member of the UMass Boston Hall of Fame since 2003.

Eddie Barry learned to play hockey in his hometown of Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Barry played temporarily for Northeastern University in Boston but left school during his freshman year in the winter of 1940 to skate for the Boston Olympics of the Eastern Hockey League from 1941 to 1943, captaining the team in 1941 and 1942.

Following a brief tour of duty in the Coast Guard during World War II, when he played for the Coast Guard Cutters, Eddie returned to play for the Boston Bruins for 19 games during the 1946 to 47 season, making him the first American to play for the Bruins since the 1920s.

He entered the Olympics for four following seasons before becoming the head coach in 1950.

Following both seasons as a coach, he went 63-51-7.

And was also the head coach at Boston State College (now part of UMass Boston) from 1962 to 1982 and guided them to two ECAC Division II Tournaments and two NAIA tournaments.

The BSC went 20-0, in 1965.

Eddie was also a referee for several national collegiate championship games.

As a golfer, Eddie Barry won 12 club championships at the Charles River Country Club, Newton, the New England Amateur championship, and New England and Massachusetts Senior Amateur titles.

The player was honored by a bronze plaque in front of the clubhouse.

When he left the Bruins, Eddie Barry went into the insurance business and became a partner at Barry and Farrell Insurance Agency in Needham, Massachusetts, where his son and grandchildren now work.

Eddie Barry passed away at 96 yrs old.