2005 Builder inductee Murray Costello has had a life-long involvement with hockey.

Costello 'built' a
Hall of Fame career
By Mike Wyman | Special to NHL.com
Oct. 31, 2005

On Monday, Nov. 7th, Murray Costello becomes the 93rd person to be inducted as a Builder in the Hockey Hall of Fame. His life-long involvement with the game began as a child and has touched upon virtually every aspect of the game.

Born Feb. 24, 1934, in South Porcupine, a mining town in northern Ontario, Costello grew up in neighbouring Schumacher, one of five children. His father, a carpenter, was employed in the mines, as were most of the dads in town.

When things got a little too rowdy in the household, out went the kids.

"If you just stood around you'd freeze to the ground." Costello remembers. "We played an awful lot of road hockey at first. Then at the lake at the edge of town and finally in the arena."

By the time Costello reached his mid-teens, he had attracted notice and been identified as a prospect. He received offers from a number of junior teams, but elected to attend Toronto's St. Michael's College after seeking the advice of his older brother, Les, a mainstay of Memorial Cup winners in 1945 and 1947 with the St. Mike's Majors and one of dozens of alumni to break into the NHL.

It was a decision he never regretted. Costello spent three years at St. Mike's, played for the Majors, received a rigorous academic education and formed friendships that have endured for over half a century.

At 20, Costello was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks and divided the 1953-54 campaign between the big club and the AHL's Hershey Bears. Early the next season Costello was dealt to Boston and wound up his pro career with the Detroit organization in 1956-57, finishing the season with the Edmonton Flyers of the Western Hockey League.

Costello's NHL career spanned 162 regular-season games and five others in the playoffs. He scored 13 goals and registered 19 assists as an NHLer.

Costello took up university studies, played two years of senior hockey after regaining his amateur status and got back into the game, going beyond the boards and into the boardrooms. His first off-ice hockey job was in Seattle.

Bill MacFarland, an Edmonton teammate, played against Costello in his junior days when he was a member of the Toronto Marlboros, cross-town rivals with their own impressive list of grads making it to the NHL. Legend has it that the two first met on the ice when a brawl broke out and they paired off.

"Keith Allen was the coach and general manager. They were looking for someone to do marketing for the Seattle Totems hockey team. They were looking for someone with a college education and a hockey background. Murray had just graduated and I threw his name in the pot." MacFarland said.

Costello was hired by the Totems and was soon handling similar functions for the league. With the NHL expansion of 1967, Allen took over bench duties with the Philadelphia Flyers, leaving vacancies in Seattle. Costello hired on as GM and tapped MacFarland, who had traded in his skates the year before to practice law, as his coach. It paid off as owner, Vince Abbey, remembers.

"Murray, with Bill MacFarland, built two championship teams, motivating players that the NHL coaches were unable to motivate. We had a working agreement with Montreal and they gave us all their bad boys. Murray and Bill put them together and they were fabulous."

Costello played for the St. Mike's Majors for a few seasons before getting a chance with the Chicago Blackhawks.

When the WHL closed up shop, MacFarland became GM of the WHA's Phoenix Roadrunners and Costello went back to school, this time studying towards a law degree, and serving as Phoenix's eastern scout during the first year of his studies.

Law degree in hand Costello was gainfully, if uneventfully, working in the law department of the Canadian Radio and Television Commission when the hockey world beckoned once again. This time it wasn't the pros calling, it was the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.

"At first I didn't think it was feasible because the CAHA was an amateur body and I didn't think they had much money," Costello said. "I was now a lawyer and I had to make some money. But the more they talked the more interesting it became."

During his tenure of almost 20 years Costello, with the help and support of thousands of volunteers along the way, guided the CAHA through its merger with Hockey Canada and oversaw the development of the Canadian Women's Program.

Retired from his domestic hockey functions since 1998, Costello remains active on the international scene. He sits on the International Ice Hockey Federation Council and still chairs two IIHF committees.

A lifetime's worth of friends will be present for the induction ceremonies. Bill MacFarland will be among them.

"I'm pretty proud of Murray for his achievements. I'm going to make the trip," he said. "Murray and I have always kept in touch. We went through the wars together. I'm very pleased that he was nominated and that he's being inducted. A little over a year ago I was asked to write a letter on Murray's behalf supporting his nomination and I'm delighted to see it come to fruition."

When Costello is inducted next Monday he will proudly accept the honor and intends to share it with "the countless volunteers who make it happen. I kind of spoke for them for almost 20 years and, even in retirement, I get to represent them once again."