Eddie Bush

Bush was always known for his smart dress behind the Hamilton bench. Photo courtesy of the Hamilton Spectator.

Red Wings coach brought professionalism and Memorial Cup to Hamilton

When Hamilton Red Wings owner Ken Soble hired Eddie Bush as the club’s coach in 1960, the former NHL defenseman was given a free hand with the team, both on and off the ice.

And Bush, who was born in Collingwood in 1918, built the Junior A team into a professional franchise with a lot of class.

He also coached the team to its first national title, the Memorial Cup, in 1962.

When his Red Wings were on the ice, fans packed the arenas, whether at home in the Forum or on the road. Fans knew they would see some solid colorful hockey, along with the dapper Bush behind the bench calling the shots.

Bush was instrumental in changing the makeup of the Red Wings, both visually and in competition. One of the first things that occurred when he took over was to present the players with an updated image. Gone were the somewhat drab orange and black uniforms of the Tiger Cubs, replaced with the red and white uniforms similar to the then-parent Detroit Red Wings.

“When you worked for Mr. Soble and Syd Bibby, everything was first class,” noted Bush in an interview in 1970. “They didn’t cut corners.”

Bush was known as a taskmaster and a strict disciplinarian, but his style of coaching netted results, even though he was criticized about his coaching methods.

Bush was a strong proponent in teaching fundamental hockey. Photo courtesy of the Hamilton Spectator.

“That’s a lot of guff,” he said about not keeping abreast of the times. “Fundamentals in hockey never change. Neither has the handling of players. When a kid gets as far as junior A he’s only one step away from the pros. If he can produce under a strict junior coach, he’s ready to take the big step.”

Bush started playing hockey with the Guelph Indians in OHA Junior play in 1936. During the 1938-39 season he played with Pittsburgh and Kansas City, but also went to the show, playing eight games with the Detroit Red Wings. He played throughout the years of World War II while also serving, and then played for the American Hockey League clubs, including the Philadelphia Rockets, the Providence Reds, and the Cleveland Barons.

By 1950 he was behind the bench coaching, starting with his hometown Collingwood Shipbuilders in Senior OHA. He also coached for the Guelph Biltmores before coming to Hamilton.

With the exception of two years, Bush coached the Red Wings during the 1960s. But when Nick Durbano bought the franchise in 1970, Bush was not part of the new regime.

“It was a matter of economics,” noted Durbano at the time, who assumed the general manager’s position of the club.

Bush took the news as a professional, always putting the team first.

“If I had known this was coming, I wouldn’t have changed so many players last December,” he was quoted as saying in March of 1970. “Instead I was rebuilding for the future, and, right now, I would say the Red Wings are going to be in the Memorial Cup in the next two years. The sad part of it is that I won’t be around.”

Bush continued to coach after his exit from Hamilton, including a 32-game stint for the 1975-76 season as head coach with the Kansas City Scouts of the NHL. The Scouts later became the Colorado Rockies and then the New Jersey Devils.

Bush died in 1984 at age 65, and will be remembered as a coach who had the ability to teach the game.

Pit Martin, one of the stars of the Red Wings in the early 1960s with others such as Paul Henderson, Lowell MacDonald, and Wayne Rivers, got right to the point about the teaching abilities of Bush:

“I never learned a thing after I left you,” Martin had said.

BACK

HOME