Beard tapped for Greater Cleveland Sports Hall

Bill Beard’s tenure as University hockey coach ended in 2014, but as anyone who knows the sport’s lineage around this area can attest, his legacy endures far beyond any datemark.

That fact received more reinforcement recently with a special honor.

Beard will be inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in a ceremony Sept. 14 at Landerhaven.

The former longtime US bench boss is part of a seven-member Class of 2017, which also includes Brian Brakeman (wrestling), Dan Coughlin (media), Gordon Gund (basketball), Oliver Luck (football), Rick Manning (baseball) and Tom Slater (golf).

“I got a phone call from (Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame president John Herrick), and I had no idea why he was calling me to be honest with you,” Beard said. “We talked hockey for a while, and then he broke the news to me.

“Believe it or not, I couldn’t even speak. I was silent, and I finally asked him, I said, ‘Are you sure you got the right guy?’ He assured me he did. When that news came, I was humbled to say the least.”

Beard, a Cleveland Heights native and multisport standout for the Tigers who played baseball at Princeton, won 344 games over 16 seasons leading US’ vaunted hockey program, including state titles in 2003 and 2009.

He joins the legendary Mike Bartley (Shaker Heights, Class of 2016) and Bob Whidden (St. Edward, Class of 2004) as the only high school hockey coaches in the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame.

“I’ve looked up to those guys since I came up and started out,” Beard said. “Those guys were already established icons in my eyes. Bob and I became friends over the years and are still friends. One of the first texts that I got was from Bob, and that meant a lot to me.”

Beard returned to the bench last season as head coach at Upper Arlington. The Golden Bears finished third in the Capital Hockey Conference’s Red Division and advanced to a Columbus District semifinal.

Beard spoke glowingly of his stint in Columbus and believes it’s a district on the rise from a high school hockey standpoint.

Beard is now calling Northwest Ohio home after taking a job at Toledo St. Francis in the school’s admissions department. He began in June and confirmed that during the winter he will serve as a varsity assistant coach for one of Northwest Ohio’s most respected programs.

Until then, though, Beard has a more immediate trip home scheduled, a honor for which he is grateful.

“You give a speech and then have a sitdown, I believe, with Les Levine,” Beard said.

“I’m sure I’ll be going first,” he added jokingly. “I’ll be the warmup band with that crew coming in.”

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