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20 // MARCH 2020 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM It's been 60 years since Cleary and that spirited U.S. team shocked the hockey world by upsetting the heavily-favored Canadian and Russian teams to capture the United States first gold medal in hockey in Squaw Valley, Calif. It was a feat that was repeated 20 years later on American soil in Lake Placid, N.Y. Cleary said the people who cheered the loud- est were the 20 players from that 1960 squad. "No one wanted to see them win more than we did," says Cleary, who was prompted by his friend and former teammate Herb Brooks to address the 1980 team before they shocked the Russians. To Cleary, the Olympics is about more than winning a medal. It's about the memories that last a lifetime. "Obviously winning a gold medal was a thrill, but I think the highlight of my career, and the thing I'll never forget, was marching in the opening ceremony in Cortina," recalls Cleary. "It wasn't that long after the Second World War. I was just a young boy in Cambridge and to come marching in behind the American flag with USA written across my chest. It was such a memorable thing being able to represent your country. Believe me, I could win 100 Stanley Cups, but it would never equal the feeling of marching in that parade. Never!" * * * After the Olympics, Cleary decided not to turn pro and returned to the insurance business he and his brother started in Boston. He kept in touch with hockey by refereeing in his spare time, and when the offer came to coach the Harvard hockey team in 1968, he jumped at the chance. Over the course of his 19 seasons behind the Crimson bench, he posted a 324-201-22 record and guided the school to an NCAA title in 1989. He had three Hobey Baker Award winners, reached the fro- zen four seven times and the national championship game on three of those occasions. And all this without the luxury of offering a scholarship to a single player. "One of his greatest strengths as a coach was that he trusted his players and let them play," says Smith, who faced off against Cleary's Crimson many times when he was coaching at Yale and Boston University. "He wanted players who could think the game and act quickly with their skills, but also act quickly with their minds. I think he understood that it's basically a player's game and he didn't want to get in the way of his players." * * * Cle a r y 's a s s o c i a t i o n with the Ivy League school spanned six decades, starting as a youngster selling programs at Harvard Stadium through a career as a standout player, on to a 19-year tenure as the head hockey coach and more than a decade as the school's athletic director until he retired in 2001. The trophy case inside his Newton, Mass., home is filled with more honors than can be counted. He's won the Hobey Baker Legend of Hockey Award, the Lester Patrick Award, was a member of the NCAA's 50th Anniversary team and USA Hockey's 60th anniversary team. He is enshrined in the IIHF Hall of Fame, the Olympic Hall of Fame, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, and is the only athlete in the 150-year history of Harvard athletics to have his jersey number retired. Any mention of any of these honors is quickly brushed aside. "They're all very nice honors, but it's not going to change my life because of it," Cleary says. "It all comes down to the memories. I used to say to the kids, when it's all said and done and you're not skating anymore, what is sport all about? It's about the memories and the friendships. "Let me tell you, I'm a wealthy guy because of the memories and friendships I made from my time in hockey. I wouldn't trade that for all the tea in China." * * * And he hasn't closed the book on creating even more memories and making new friends. Cleary still attends Harvard hockey games and catches as many of the other local college teams on TV as he can. He bristles at the way the game is played today and yearns for a return to a more skilled game. He applauds the NHL for cracking down on the clutching and grabbing but deplores the trap and other defen- sive systems that put paying customers to sleep. PHOTOS BY USA Hockey Magazine Archives; Harvard University; Getty Images I COULD WIN 100 STANLEY CUPS, BUT IT WOULD NEVER EQUAL THE FEELING OF MARCHING IN THAT [OLYMPIC] PARADE. NEVER! Billy Cleary's commitment and passion for the game at all levels are still going strong even after he retired from Harvard University in 2001. L E S S O N S F R O M A LEGEND