Jim Coyle, the stalwart goaltender who was in the Waterloo Black Hawks' crease for five consecutive championships in the 1960s, died earlier this week. This Saturday would have been Coyle's 84th birthday.
The 5-foot, 7-inch Ontario native became Waterloo's starter at the outset of the 1963/64 season and was a key figure as the Black Hawks won the United States Hockey League title during just their second season. Waterloo would remain the top team in the USHL during each of the next four years. Using a quick glove hand, Coyle was still an effective Hawks netminder into his mid-30s.
"The best time I ever had in my life was playing for the Waterloo Black Hawks…That's where I enjoyed playing the most," Coyle said during a 2009 interview.
Born on March 9, 1940 in Straffordville, Ontario, Coyle also played baseball and football in his youth. However, his hockey skills took him to the University of Michigan. He was a three-year letterwinner for the Wolverines and a member of the school's 1962 graduating class.
Almost a year after finishing college, Coyle received a call asking whether he was interested in coming to northeast Iowa.
"Back in those days, there were only six NHL teams, so if you didn't make the big time, you could either become a hockey bum and move from team to team and eek out a meager living, or you could take an opportunity like the Waterloo Black Hawks where they found you a job and you could build a career from that," Coyle remembered.
Coyle arrived in February of 1963, in time for the end of the Hawks' first season. His initial appearance was an 8-7, 37-save win against the St. Paul Steers. He would stop 48 St. Paul shots the following December to claim the first shutout in team history.
Coyle's teammates at the end of Waterloo's inaugural campaign included Jim Smith, Bernie Nielsen, Chris Batley, and Butch Leskun. Together – and with several notable additions – the group would celebrate championship after championship during the 1960. Coyle would still be playing with some of the same men into the 1970s.
His connection to the community was strengthened by his 1966 marriage to Nedra - his wife of 57 years - as well as through his job with Iowa Public Service (now Mid-American Energy).
"I'll never forget [Coach] Oakie Brumm telling the Board that they'll know they're successful when somebody quits playing hockey because of their job. So it was [the team's] philosophy for us to become part of the community, and I think they were extremely successful," Coyle reflected.
Bothered by back problems and with many of his longtime teammates leaving the ice, Coyle was prepared to retire in the spring of 1973. Offseason surgery convinced him to return for one more year, a decision which provided a capstone to the goalie's long tenure wearing black and red. Coyle went 28-12-1 during the 1973/74 regular season with a .916 save percentage. The Black Hawks won the USHL Southern Division, falling in the league championship series against the Thunder Bay Twins. Turning 34 near the end of that season, Coyle was named a USHL All-Star and selected as the team's most valuable player, managing the crease behind a younger generation of Waterloo teammates.
"I knew it was time to retire when I was sitting on the bus in Madison, Wisconsin, waiting for some of the guys to blow dry their hair," he said with a chuckle.
However, Coyle was still in his prime with Iowa Public Service. He eventually was promoted to vice president and retired after 30 years with the company.
Coyle passed away on Sunday at his home in Florida. He is survived by his wife Nedra, his daughter Vicki, his son Todd, and many beloved grandchildren and great grandchildren.
An open house to celebrate his life will be held on Saturday, March 23rd from 12:30 to 2:30 at Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course in Waterloo.
The family is encouraging memorials to the Waterloo Youth Hockey Association or the charity of the donor's choice.
