Boston College hockey coach Jerry York of Watertown got the call of a lifetime on Tuesday when he learned he will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
York, who grew up and still resides in Watertown, said he almost did not answer the call from New York Rangers President John Davidson telling him the news, according to a TSN Canada report.
“I thought John Davidson was trying to trade for one of my players,” York told TSN. “When he told me I was going to be inducted, I had to sit down.”
The former Boston College player has been a head coach since 1972, first at Clarkson, then Bowling Green and since 1994 at his Alma Mater. He has won five national championships, including four at Boston College.
York is the winningest college hockey coach and currently has 1,076 wins. He claimed win number 1,000 in 2016 and has more than 600 wins at BC. In his time at the Heights, the Eagles made 12 Frozen Fours in 18 years, through the 2016, and won national titles in 2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
He has also won nine Hockey East Tournament championships, and with 41 wins he is all-time leader in NCAA Tournament victories, according to CollegeHockeyNews.com. York has been named Hockey East Coach of the Year four times.
His former players have gone on to have success in the NHL, with 18 selected in the first round of the draft, and his players have won the Stanley Cup 10 times, College Hockey News reported.
York is the fifth NCAA hockey coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, following John Mariucci, Bob Johnson, Herb Brooks and Lou Lamoriello.
The 2019 Induction Celebration will be held on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. York will be joined by five other honorees: Guy Carbonneau, Hayley Wickenheiser, Sergei Zubov, Vaclav Nedomansky and Jim Rutherford.
Congratulations Jerry, so well deserved!
Jerry York is one of the finest men you will
ever meet.
His excellence as a coach is evenly matched
with the gentleman that he is!
Watertown is proud of you Jerry!