Macgregor Kilpatrick (July 30, 1916 – August 30, 1997) was an American

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 ...

executive. He was an original owner of the

New Haven Nighthawks The New Haven Nighthawks were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1972 to 1992. They had affiliations with the New York Islanders (1972–1973), Minnesota North Stars (1972–1977), New York Rangers (19 ...

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 ...

(AHL). He also served as senior vice president and general counsel for the AHL. Raised in

Ardsley, New York Ardsley is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Greenburgh. The village's population was 5,079 at the 2020 census. The mayor of Ardsley is Nancy Kaboolian. The Ardsley post office serves the en ...

, Kilpatrick attended the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

where he was an All-America

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player in the Class of 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served as a fighter pilot in the Pacific and was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his valor and heroism in combat. While serving with Fighting Squadron Ten (

VF-10 Fighting Squadron 10 (VF-10), also known as the "Grim Reapers", was an aviation unit of the United States Navy, established on 3 June 1942 and disestablished on 26 November 1945. Operational history VF-10 was established at NAS San Diego flying ...

) on , he shot down two Japanese torpedo bombers on January 30, 1943, and was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. As commanding officer of Fighting Squadron Five ( VF-5) on , Lieutenant Commander Kilpatrick helped lead damage control and wounded evacuation efforts on March 19, 1945, and was subsequently awarded the Navy Cross. He was redeployed on before the end of the war in 1945. Kilpatrick received a promotion to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

when he retired from active duty in June 1947. After returning from the war, he earned a law degree from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in 1950 and practiced law in

Branford, Connecticut Branford is a shoreline New England town, town located on Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, about east of downtown New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven. The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Regi ...

, forming the firm of Kilpatrick, Kahl and Josephson with other former Navy officers. Kilpatrick was also elected Branford town moderator and probate judge. In 1970, he was approved as an owner of the expansion team, the New Haven Nighthawks, which began play with the

1972–73 AHL season The 1972–73 AHL season was the 37th season of the American Hockey League. Twelve teams played 76 games each in the schedule. The Cincinnati Swords finished first overall in the regular season, and won the Calder Cup championship. Team changes ...

. He was selected to receive the 1975–76 James C. Hendy Memorial Award, as the executive who made the most outstanding contribution to the AHL. In the summer of 1997, the American Hockey League created the

Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy The Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy is presented annually to the AHL team that finishes the regular season with the most points or highest points percentage. The award is named after late former AHL board member Macgregor Kilpatrick. The award was f ...

, which is presented annually to the AHL team that finishes the regular season with the most points. After retirement, Kilpatrick moved to

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, often referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia (as the crow flies), a ...

. He died on August 30, 1997. In 2010, Kilpatrick was posthumously inducted into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilpatrick, Macgregor 1916 births 1997 deaths People from Ardsley, New York United States Naval Academy alumni Military personnel from New York (state) United States Naval Aviators United States Navy pilots of World War II Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) People from Branford, Connecticut Yale Law School alumni Connecticut lawyers New Haven Nighthawks People from Hilton Head, South Carolina