| Position: | Left wing |
| Shoots: | Left |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 10 |
| Weight Lb: | 172 |
| Played For: | New York Rangers Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens St. Louis Blues |
| Birth Date: | December 2, 1934 |
| Birth Place: | Sundridge, Ontario, Canada |
| Death Place: | Brighton, Michigan, U.S. |
| Career Start: | 1953 |
| Career End: | 1971 |
William Edward McCreary Sr. (December 2, 1934 – November 25, 2019) was an ice hockey left winger, coach and general manager.[1] He played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues from between 1953 and 1971, and then coached in the league with the Blues, Vancouver Canucks, and California Golden Seals between 1971 and 1975. After stepping down as coach of the Golden Seals he served as their general manager from 1975 to 1977, including their first year as the Cleveland Barons.
McCreary was born in Sundridge, Ontario.
During his pro career, McCreary played for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues. He later coached the Vancouver Canucks for the first half of the 1973–74 season and then became general manager of the California Golden Seals in August 1974. Although the Seals were performing fairly well, McCreary did not like the coaching methods of Marshall Johnston, and fired Johnston on January 22, 1975, taking over the position himself. He hired Jack Evans, who had coached their minor league affiliate the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, as coach the following year, while remaining as general manager. The team moved to Cleveland in 1976 and became the Cleveland Barons. Yet, the club struggled and McCreary was fired as general manager in January 1977, and was replaced by Harry Howell, who had been serving as the assistant general manager.
He was the elder brother of Keith McCreary, also an NHL left winger. His son Bill McCreary Jr. played 12 games in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1980–81 season. He is also the brother-in-law of Ron Attwell.
McCreary died on November 25, 2019.[2]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||
| 1951–52 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 52 | 30 | 28 | 58 | 12 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1951–52 | Guelph Biltmores | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 4 | ||
| 1952–53 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 50 | 32 | 25 | 57 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1952–53 | Guelph Biltmores | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1953–54 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 59 | 35 | 49 | 84 | 57 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1953–54 | New York Rangers | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1954–55 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 48 | 46 | 37 | 83 | 38 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1954–55 | New York Rangers | NHL | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1955–56 | Providence Reds | AHL | 37 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1955–56 | Saskatoon Quakers | WHL | 25 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 45 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1956–57 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 69 | 33 | 26 | 59 | 37 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 | ||
| 1957–58 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1957–58 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 21 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1957–58 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 31 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 65 | 14 | 34 | 48 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 69 | 19 | 31 | 50 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 1960–61 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 72 | 33 | 54 | 87 | 26 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 1961–62 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 69 | 27 | 49 | 76 | 49 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1962–63 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 14 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EPHL | 46 | 15 | 32 | 47 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Omaha Knights | CHL | 72 | 24 | 51 | 75 | 56 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1964–65 | Omaha Knights | CHL | 70 | 24 | 44 | 68 | 48 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1965–66 | Houston Apollos | CHL | 70 | 26 | 26 | 52 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Houston Apollos | CHL | 56 | 22 | 34 | 56 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1967–68 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 70 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 22 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1968–69 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 71 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 50 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 14 | ||
| 1969–70 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 73 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1970–71 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 68 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 309 | 53 | 62 | 115 | 106 | 48 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 14 | ||||
| Team | Year | Post season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| St. Louis Blues | 1971–72 | 24 | 6 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 3rd in West | — |
| Vancouver Canucks | 1973–74 | 41 | 9 | 25 | 7 | 25 | 7th in East | Fired |
| California Golden Seals | 1974–75 | 32 | 8 | 20 | 4 | 20 | 4th in Adams | Missed playoffs |
| NHL Totals | 97 | 23 | 59 | 15 | ||||