A Farewell to Jerry York

And now, the contents of York’s notebook will remain a secret forever, as the winningest coach in college hockey history has retired. All told, York coached Division 1 college hockey for fifty years at three different institutions—Clarkson University, Bowling Green State University, and BC. Along the way, he won a staggering 1,123 games and five national championships (no other college hockey coach has won 1,000 games). York, who is widely known for his humility, announced his retirement with little fanfare, simply issuing a press release. The end of his 50th season seemed like the right time to step down, he said. “I am so blessed to have been involved with Boston College these past twenty-eight years,” he said during a meeting with his players and coaches, “and to have had the opportunity to coach so many wonderful student-athletes.” An outpouring of praise for York followed his announcement. “Jerry York is not just a championship coach,” the renowned sportswriter Mike Lupica ’74 tweeted. “He is one of the greatest figures in the history of our school. And he is one of the great gentlemen any college sport has ever produced.” The former BC hockey star Blake Bolden ’13, who in 2015 became the first African-American woman to compete in the National Women’s Hockey League, also tweeted her appreciation. “My goodness, thank you Coach Jerry York,” Bolden wrote. “An icon that has shaped the lives of so many young men and women, including mine.”

Speaking of icons, perhaps no one in the world is better qualified to assess York’s career than his fellow coaching legend Jack Parker, who led the Boston University men’s hockey program for forty years, won three national championships of his own, and is the third-winningest coach in the history of college hockey. Parker and York have spent the majority of their lives as friends—and fierce on-ice rivals. They both grew up in the Boston area, played against each other first in high school and then in college (York at BC, of course, and Parker at BU), and eventually spent a few decades battling each other as head coaches. That started in the 1970s, when York was coaching Clarkson University and Parker was already at BU. Whenever Parker’s team would play at Clarkson, Parker recalled, the two head coaches and their assistants would get together at York’s house to talk hockey over beers. Eventually, their competition would play out on one of the biggest stages in college hockey. “BU and BC is an unbelievably heated rivalry,” Parker said. “When games were over we’d shake hands at center ice. It was always hard to lose to BU or to BC when you were playing each other. And yet it was always an enjoyable handshake. I don’t remember ever having a bad thought about Jerry York as the head coach.” Well maybe just one, Parker admitted when pressed. That time had to do with York successfully recruiting a player Parker also wanted. Parker couldn’t remember the player’s name at first, recalling only that he was a small center. Then it came to him—Brian Gionta. “I thought ‘Boy, that kid is going to make BC,’” Parker said.