Robert J. "Bob" Whidden (born July 27, 1946) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player and

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

ice hockey coach. He played

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

. He was born in Sudbury,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and was involved in ice hockey in various capacities for over fifty years.

Playing career

Whidden played junior hockey with the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and la ...

of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

(OHA) from 1965 to 1967. In 1967, the Marlboros won the J. Ross Robertson Cup (OHA championship) and the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

(Canadian

Major Junior Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National List of members of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's nationa ...

championship). He played four years with the

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1975–76 WHA season, 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and t ...

of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

as the back-up to future Hall-of-Famer Gerry Cheevers. He also played with the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

and Baltimore Clippers of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

, the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affiliate of the ...

of the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart ...

, and the Mohawk Valley Comets of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

Coaching

Whidden spent 21 years as the coach of the hockey team at St. Edward High School in

Lakewood, Ohio Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. The popula ...

, a suburb of Cleveland. In 1985, his first year as head coach, Whidden led the team to the

Ohio High School Athletic Association The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of comp ...

(OHSAA) State "big school" hockey championship. He coached several players who were drafted by the NHL, including Todd Harkins, Brett Harkins, and

Michael Rupp Michael Ryan Rupp (born January 13, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey center. He has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Ra ...

. Whidden's Eagles won ten OHSAA state titles and seven Baron Cups (

Greater Cleveland The Cleveland metropolitan area, or Greater Cleveland as it is more commonly known, is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, United States. According to the 2020 census results, the six-county Cleveland, OH ...

Championships), and finished with a career record of 507-149-28. His 507 wins rank fourth among coaches in OHSAA history. He retired in March 2005 after winning the tenth title and being named Ohio High School Hockey Coach of the Year by the

National Federation of State High School Associations The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Indi ...

. In July 2009, St. Edward named Whidden to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame, class of 2009.

Honours

*1967 Memorial Cup Winner (player) *10 OHSAA state titles (coach) *7 Baron Cups (coach) *500 Wins as a high school head coach *Cleveland Hockey Legends Ring of Honor *In 2011, his hometown inducted him into the House of Kin Sudbury Hall of Fame

Personal life

He is married to Irma and has three sons, Rob and Jarrett, both of whom followed in their father's coaching footsteps, and Tyler. Rob took over as head coach of St. Edward's hockey team in 2005 and won the 2008 Ohio state championship. In August 2006, Jarrett was named head coach of

Kent State Golden Flashes men's ice hockey The Kent State Golden Flashes Men's Ice Hockey was an NCAA Division I ice hockey team from 1980 to 1994. Kent State hockey was promoted to Division I status by the Board of Trustees on June 12, 1980, following ten years as a club sport. The pro ...

team following a minor league career.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whidden, Bob 1946 births Baltimore Clippers players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Charlotte Checkers (EHL) players Cleveland Crusaders players Living people Rochester Americans players Ice hockey people from Greater Sudbury Toronto Marlboros players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen