Following an incredible hockey coaching career that began at Oswego, it’s only appropriate that Herb Hammond continue to support the sport. In the wake of his death, the Hammond Hockey Fund will keep his legacy alive.

The former Oswego State men’s hockey coach and professor emeritus passed away July 22 in Fort Gratiot, Mich. He was 69.

“Herb had all the best character traits: honest, caring, loyal,” said Dick Johnson, a former Romney Field House employee who became close friends with the coach in the 1960s. “He was the best.”

Johnson had actually started work on the fund with Hammond’s wife, Patti, before Herb died.

“We definitely wanted to support the men’s college hockey program. The amount raised will determine what we can do,” Johnson said.

The goal for the fund is $25,000 to establish an endowment. The Oswego College Foundation is accepting donations to the Hammond Hockey Fund from alumni and friends.

Hammond coached the Lakers from 1968 to 1980, compiling a record of 176-122-5 in his 12 seasons at the helm. During his final season at Oswego State, the Lakers claimed the ECAC West Championship.

He was elected to the SUNY Oswego Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990, and later inducted into the SUNY Oswego Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.

“Not only was he a great hockey person for our community, but he was a great man,” current hockey Coach Ed Gosek ’83 said. “He was a true friend to many people, just a class act.”

Hammond went on to coach at Plattsburgh State in the early ’80s and also served as the head coach at Division I Brown from 1983 to 1988. He left coaching to become a scout in the National Hockey League for 11 seasons, helping the New York Rangers capture the 1994 Stanley Cup.

The renaming of the SUNY Athletic Conference player of the year award to the Herb Hammond Most Valuable Player of the Year Award this year is a testament to his role in making hockey the conference’s most popular sport among fans.

To donate, designate the Hammond Hockey Fund in the “other” field on our giving page or write it in the memo area of a check and send it to the Office of University Development, 219 Sheldon Hall, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY 131206.

-- Adele Burk and Shane M. Liebler

PHOTO CAPTION:
Professor Emeritus Herb Hammond



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