Al Renfrew

Al Renfrew
Al Renfrew, 1949
Born	(1924-12-21)December 21, 1924
Died	November 10, 2014(2014-11-10) (aged 89)

Allan McNab Renfrew (December 21, 1924 – November 10, 2014) was a hockey player (left wing) at the University of Michigan in the late 1940s and a college hockey coach with Michigan Technological University (1951–1956), the University of North Dakota (1956–1957), and the University of Michigan (1957–1973). Renfrew had a storied career as a player, coach and administrator at the University of Michigan, including NCAA championships as both a player and coach. He was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1986.

College hockey player

A native of Toronto, Renfrew came to the University of Michigan in 1945.^[1] He played four years with the Michigan hockey team, and was selected as the team captain as a senior.^[1] As a freshman in 1946, he drew attention when he scored two goals separated by only seven seconds in a game against Michigan Tech.^[2] He was the leader of the Wolverines 1948 team that won the NCAA hockey championship. He scored 25 goals in 1948, including four in a game against Minnesota: "Al Renfrew, Michigan's speedy left winger, scored four times to lead the assault."^[3] The Wolverines finished the 1948 season by bearing Dartmouth College, 8-4, in the first NCAA ice hockey championship held in March 1948 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.^[4] Renfrew scored 91 goals and 172 points, as the Wolverines went 70-18-6 while Renfrew was playing.^[1] Renfrew finished his playing career as the second leading point scorer in the history of Michigan hockey. He graduated from the School of Education in 1950 and later married the sister of his coach, Vic Heyliger.^[1]

College hockey coach

After graduating from Michigan, Renfrew became the hockey coach at Michigan Tech in Houghton, Michigan, from 1951–1956 and at North Dakota for one year. In May 1957, Renfrew's former coach and brother-in-law Vic Heyliger retired as Michigan's hockey coach, and Renfrew accepted the job as Heyliger's replacement.^[5]^[6] As the coach of the Wolverines hockey team from 1957–1973, Renfrew had a record of 223-206-11 and one national championship. The national championship as coach came in 1964 season, when Michigan had a record of 24-4-1. Renfrew's 1964 team, behind the leadership of captain Gordon Wilkie and by Mel Wakabayashi’s two goals, beat Denver 6-3 in their home arena to capture the programs seventh NCAA title. With the win Al Renfrew also became the first person to play on a NCAA championship college hockey team and later coach a national champion.^[7] Including his six years as coach at Michigan Tech and North Dakota, his overall record as a coach was 288-286-13. When Renfrew retired as coach in May 1973, 200 of his friends held a testimonial dinner and presented him and his wife with a two-week trip to Hawaii.^[8] After retiring as the hockey coach in 1973, Renfrew worked for many years as the manager of the U-M ticket office.^[1]

The "M" Club Banner

Aside from his contributions to the Michigan hockey program, Renfrew and his wife Marguerite are credited in some accounts as the individuals responsible for the football tradition of the "M" Club banner at Michigan Stadium. The tradition started in 1962 with Michigan players racing out of the tunnel and leaping into the air to touch the "Go Blue: M Club Supports You" banner while the Marching Band plays "The Victors." Renfrew reportedly asked his wife to make two flags to drape over the football lockerrooms to cheer on the team. She made two flags, with a neighbor, and the Block M was designed by Bob Hoisington, an Engineering Dean, to make sure it was correct. They handmade the flags, which was not an easy feat at the time. Originally, the M Club members hung the banners the lockerroom, and the banners were later moved to the tunnel and then the stadium. After the games, the flags came back home to the Renfrews' home and were hung at their house. Later, the flags were changed to a banner.^[9]

Later life, awards and honors

In 1986, Renfrew was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor. He has also received the 1990 Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award, presented each year to an individual who has made great contributions to college hockey,^[10] and the 1992 John "Snooks" Kelley Founders Award, given each year to a person in the coaching profession who has contributed to the overall growth and development of the sport of ice hockey in the United States. The "Friends of Al Renfrew" have established an endowed room and board scholarship at Michigan for an ice hockey player.^[11]

On November 10, 2014, Renfrew died in Michigan at the age of 89. He had a heart attack three weeks prior and was due to be released from a rehabilitation facility.^[12]

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 Madej, Bruce (1997). Michigan: Champions of the West, p. 109. Sports Publishing. ISBN 1-57167-115-3.
↑ AP wire service report (1946-03-09). "Wolverine Puckmen Lead Michigan Tech". Ironwood Daily Globe.
↑ "Michigan Puckmen Beat Minnesota". The Winona Republican-Herald. 1948-02-14.
↑ "NCAA College Hockey History/Record Book" (PDF).
↑ "New Ice Coach At Michigan". Lowell Sun. 1957-05-16.
↑ Green, Jerry (1957-04-18). "Renfrew Is Leading Candidate For Hockey Coach At Michigan". Ironwood Daily Globe.
↑ "1953 and 1963 National Championship Hockey Teams Return to Celebrate 50th and 40th Anniversary Reunions" (PDF). M News: A Publication for Graduate Letter Winners. 2004.
↑ "Coach Retired". Suburbanite Economist (Chicago). 1973-05-23.
↑ "Brief history of the "Go Blue" banner". 2007-02-24.
↑ "Hobey Baker Award Winners".
↑ "University of Michigan Athletic Department:Endowed Athletic Scholarships".
↑ http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2014/11/11/michigan-wolverines-hockey-al-renfrew/18895639/

External links

Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey

Playing venues	Dee Stadium (1943–1972) MacInnes Student Ice Arena (1972–present)

Head Coaches	E. R. Lovel (1919–20) Elmer Siotte (1920–21, 1923–24) Mike Fay (1921–22) Bill Murdoch (1922–23) Leon Harvey (1924–26) Carlos Haug (1926–29) Bert Noblet (1929–37) Joe Savini (1937–38) Ed Maki (1938–41, 1945–48) Elwin Romnes (1941–43) Amo Bessone (1948–1951) Al Renfrew (1951–56) John MacInnes (1956–82) Jim Nahrgang (1982–85) Herb Boxer (1985–1990) Newell Brown (1990–1992) Bob Mancini (1992–96) Tim Watters (1996–2000) Mike Sertich (2000–2003) Jamie Russell (2003–2011) Mel Pearson (2011–present)

Conference affiliations	WCHA (1951–1958, 1959–1981, 1984–present) CCHA (1981–1984)

Culture & lore	Great Lakes Invitational Huskies Pep Band

All-time leaders	Mike Zuke (310 Points) Mike Zuke (133 Goals)

National Championships	1962 1965 1975

Frozen Four appearances	1956 1960 1962 1965 1969 1970 1974 1975 1976 1981

NCAA Tournament appearances	1956 1960 1962 1965 1969 1970 1974 1975 1976 1981 2015

Conference Championships	WCHA: 1960 1962 1965 1969 1970 1974 1975 1976 1981

Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI

North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey head coaches

Joe Brown (1929–1932)
Noland Franz (1932–1933)
Unknown (1933–1935)
Buck Cameron (1935–1936)
Club only (1936–1946)
John Jamieson (1946–1947)
Don Norman (1947–1949)
Fido Purpur (1949–1956)
Al Renfrew (1956–1957)
Bob May (1957–1959)
Barry Thorndycraft (1959–1964)
Bob Peters (1964–1966)
Bill Selman (1966–1968)
Rube Bjorkman (1968–1978)
John Gasparini (1978–1994)
Dean Blais (1994–2004)
Dave Hakstol (2004–2015)
Brad Berry (2015– )

Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey

Venues	Weinberg Coliseum (1914–1973) Yost Ice Arena (1973–present)

Coaches	Joseph Barss (1922–27) Eddie Lowrey (1927–44) Vic Heyliger (1944–57) Al Renfrew (1957–73) Dan Farrell (1973–80) Wilf Martin (1980) John Giordano (1980–84) Red Berenson (1984–present)

Seasons	1934–35 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 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

Conference affiliations	WCHA (1951–1958, 1959–1981) CCHA (1981–2013) Big Ten (2013–Present)

Rivalries	Michigan State

Culture & lore	Great Lakes Invitational The Big Chill at the Big House Cold War

All-time leaders	Brendan Morrison (284 Points) Denny Felsner (139 Goals) Marty Turco (127 Wins)

National championships	1948 1951 1952 1953 1955 1956 1964 1996 1998

Frozen Four appearances	1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1962 1964 1977 1992 1993 1995 1996 1997 1998 2001 2002 2003 2008 2011

NCAA Tournament appearances	1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1962 1964 1977 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Conference Tournament champions	CCHA: 1994 1996 1997 1999 2002 2003 2005 2008 2010

Hobey Baker winners	Brendan Morrison (1997) Kevin Porter (2008)

University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI

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