Tom Eccleston

American ice hockey, football and baseball coach

Tom EcclestonBiographical details

Born| 1910
Died| December 20, 2000
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1956–1964| Providence
Head coaching record
Overall| 94–72–5
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1964 ECAC Hockey regular season
1964 ECAC Hockey Tournament
Awards
1964 Spencer Penrose Award
1988 Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame
Providence Athletic Hall of Fame 2019 RI Hockey Hall of Fame

Thomas E. Eccleston Jr. (1910 – December 20, 2000) was an American ice hockey, football and baseball coach. Eccleston spent most of his career at Burrillville High School in some capacity but was also the head coach for Providence for eight seasons.[1]

## Career

[edit]

Tom Eccleston graduated from Brown University in 1932, playing four years of soccer, and immediately moved into a teaching position at Burrillville High in Burrillville, Rhode Island.[2] Initially a history teacher and football coach, Eccleston eventually added the coaching duties of baseball and ice hockey to his responsibilities, winning state championships in all three sports.[3] For 23 years Eccleston declined all offers to coach at the collegiate level but finally accepted an offer from Providence in 1956 to alleviate issues that had arisen while coaching his sons.[4]

Eccleston became the fifth head coach at Providence (the second since the program restarted after World War II) and immediately provided the school with its best record in 1956-57 at 11–7.[5] Eccleston continued to keep the Friars in a strong position for the duration of his tenure, including its transition into ECAC Hockey in the early 1960s, recruiting players like Lou Lamoriello, Bob Bellemore and Larry Kish. In eight seasons behind the bench Eccleston had only one losing season and in 1963-64 gave Providence its first conference title and NCAA tournament appearance. The '64 season was the best in Providence's history to that point and very few have topped it. For the outstanding year Eccleston received the Spencer Penrose Award and then stepped down from his position to devote more attention to being the school superintendent in Burrillville.[2]

In 1987, after 32 years away, Eccleston returned to Burrillville High to coach the ice hockey team when it was in jeopardy and revived the program.[4] He was enshrined in the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.

## Head coaching record

[edit]

Statistics overview  Season  | Team  | Overall  | Conference  | Standing  | Postseason

|
|
|
|
|

Providence Friars Independent (1956–1961)
1956-57 | Providence  | 11-7-0 |  |  |
1957-58 | Providence  | 11-11-0 |  |  |
1958-59 | Providence  | 7-13-1 |  |  |
1959-60 | Providence  | 11-9-0 |  |  |
1960-61 | Providence  | 11-9-0 |  |  |
Providence: | 51-49-1 |  |
Providence Friars (ECAC Hockey) (1961–1964)
1961-62 | Providence  | 11-8-2 | 8-7-2 | 14th | ECAC Quarterfinals
1962-63 | Providence  | 13-8-2 | 13-4-2 | 5th | ECAC Quarterfinals
1963-64 | Providence  | 19-7-0 | 16-3-0 | 1st | NCAA Consolation (Loss)
Providence: | 43-23-4 | 37-14-4 |
Total: | 94-72-5 |

National champion Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion

[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Providence Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
2. ^ a b "Thomas Eccleston, Jr". Brown Bears. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
3. ^ "Current, Former Hockey Friars To Take Part In Two Special Events As Part Of Museum Exhibit". Providence Friars. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
4. ^ a b "PLAYERS; Still Coaching Hockey at 76". The New York Times. January 17, 1987. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
5. ^ a b "2012-13 Providence Friars Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved July 24, 2014.

## External links

[edit]

* Tom Eccleston career record at College Hockey News
* Tom Eccleston career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
* Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame

Awards and achievements

Preceded by

Tony Frasca

|  Spencer Penrose Award
1963–64 | Succeeded by

James Fullerton

* v
* t
* e

Providence Friars men's ice hockey

Playing venues|

* Rhode Island Auditorium (1952–1973)
* Schneider Arena (1973–present)

Head coaches|

* Joseph T. Landry (1926–1927)
* John Graham (1926–1927)
* Clement Trihey (1926–1927)
* Dick Rondeau (1952–1956)
* Tom Eccleston (1956–1964)
* Zellio Toppazzini (1964–1968)
* Lou Lamoriello (1968–1983)
* Steve Stirling (1983–1985)
* Mike McShane (1985–1994)
* Paul Pooley (1994–2005)
* Tim Army (2005–2011)
* Nate Leaman (2011–present)

Seasons|

* 1926–27
* 1952–53
* 1953–54
* 1954–55
* 1955–56
* 1956–57
* 1957–58
* 1958–59
* 1959–60
* 1960–61
* 1961–62
* 1962–63
* 1963–64
* 1964–65
* 1965–66
* 1966–67
* 1967–68
* 1968–69
* 1969–70
* 1970–71
* 1971–72
* 1972–73
* 1973–74
* 1974–75
* 1975–76
* 1976–77
* 1977–78
* 1978–79
* 1979–80
* 1980–81
* 1981–82
* 1982–83
* 1983–84
* 1984–85
* 1985–86
* 1986–87
* 1987–88
* 1988–89
* 1989–90
* 1990–91
* 1991–92
* 1992–93
* 1993–94
* 1994–95
* 1995–96
* 1996–97
* 1997–98
* 1998–99
* 1999–00
* 2000–01
* 2001–02
* 2002–03
* 2003–04
* 2004–05
* 2005–06
* 2006–07
* 2007–08
* 2008–09
* 2009–10
* 2010–11
* 2011–12
* 2012–13
* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24
* 2024–25

Conference affiliations|

* ECAC Hockey (1961–1984)
* Hockey East (1984–Present)

Rivalries|

* Brown

Culture & lore|

* Mayor's Cup

All-time leaders|

* Ron Wilson (250 Points)
* Rob Gaudreau (103 Goals)
* Hayden Hawkey (72 Wins)

National championships|

* 2015

Frozen Four appearances

* 1964
* 1983
* 1985
* 2015
* 2019

NCAA Tournament appearances

* 1964
* 1978
* 1981
* 1983
* 1985
* 1989
* 1991
* 1996
* 2001
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

Conference Tournament titles|

* ECAC Hockey: 1964
* 1981
* Hockey East: 1985
* 1996

* Providence College · Providence, RI

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