Born, raised, and trained in Duluth, Minn., the fast-skating Williams debuted with the Bruins 50 years ago. On Jan. 27, 1962, he potted two goals in a 5-3 win over Chicago, and his career was off and running, his country of origin practically part of his name, “American Tommy Williams.’’
His trademark on the ice was his blazing speed, and fluid, effortless stride.
“Oh, yes, he was fast,’’ said Milt Schmidt, the 93-year-old Bruins legend who was both the coach and general manager during parts of the 7 1/2 seasons Williams played here. “I dare say, Tommy could hold his own out there. He was quick and good, a very good skater.
“Not as aggressive on the ice as maybe he could have been, but also not an enemy in the world. Really a great guy and a reliable player. No problem putting him out there.’’
It wasn’t that the NHL of the early ’60s was closed to Americans, but hockey was still perceived as Canada’s game, and the six-team NHL was all but an exclusive club for boys of the provinces and prairies.
Williams helped to change all that, carving out a long career as the first US-born-and-trained player to make a significant impact in the post-Frank Brimsek era. Brimsek, Boston’s Hall of Fame goaltender, was born in Eveleth, Minn., and retired some 12 years before Williams came to Boston.
“My dad’s been dead, what, just about 20 years now,’’ recalled Williams, who operates a financial-consulting company in Clinton, “and I can remember him sitting around with some of his pals, guys he played with, like Johnny McKenzie, and they’d talk about just how much they loved to play.
“I can’t tell you how many times my dad said, ‘Hey, I just loved playing, I would have played it for nothing.’ Of course, back then, they didn’t play for much more than that.’’
The Bruins today have only three Americans - Tim Thomas, Steve Kampfer, and Joe Corvo - a fairly low count compared with the rest of the league. As of Friday, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, 905 players had suited up for at least one NHL game this season and 210 were sons of the USA.
