Honoring the life of William "Bill" Coombe

Bill Coombe was born on May 1, 1927, in Painsdale, Michigan, a small town just southwest of Houghton in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan. Commonly referred to as Yooper’s (pronounced “U-Per’s”) Bill and his friends would spend the long cold winter’s skating on and playing hockey on the various frozen ponds in the area. Bill graduated from Jeffer’s High School in Painsdale and married his high school sweetheart, Corinne Chaput in Atlantic Mine, MI on June 21, 1947. Bill received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Michigan Technological University in Houghton. He was a U.S. Navy veteran serving during WWII mainly in the Philippines.

In 1950, Bill and his family moved to Springfield, IL where he began his 35-year career with the Illinois Department of Transportation. Each winter, Bill would make a backyard ice rink for his children and the neighbors by “slushing” and tamping the snow, then flooding the area with water to level the ice. Hockey sticks, often broken and taped together, along with brooms for goalie’s, kept the games that included brothers and sisters, lively into the evenings.

In 1961, Bill, along with several colleagues, started youth hockey in Springfield at the Winterland Ice Arena on South Sixth Street. The building still stands today and is currently occupied by Anderson Electric Company. Each spring, the refrigeration system at Winterland would be shut down to thaw out the sand base so it could be re-leveled to get ready for a new ice surface in the fall. Bill would be at the arena leading the “Winterland Gopher’s” as the volunteer group became known. Bill would often operate the surveying level, utilizing his engineering skills to provide the proper grade for leveling the sand and straightening up the boards.

With the start of hockey, the group established the Springfield Youth Hockey Association (SYHA) in 1961. Over the next three decades, Bill would serve various roles with SYHA, as a Board Member, President, USA hockey coach and USA hockey referee. Bill also worked with other central Illinois communities in the Central Illinois Youth Hockey League helping to schedule games and referees. Bill also made friends with colleagues in the Chicago area and Detroit area for weekend road trips for teams to play. Hockey was always a family activity for the Coombe’s.

In 1972, the Ice Chateau opened on the west side of Springfield providing the first regulation size ice surface in Springfield. The SYHA program moved to the Ice Chateau. In 1974, Bill helped to start the Springfield Kings men’s hockey team which played at the Ice Chateau. The Springfield Kings joined the Continental Hockey League for the 1976-1977 season. Bill served as head coach of the Kings for two seasons and served as Commissioner of the League for one season. The Ice Chateau closed in 1985, which also was the last season for the Kings.

With the closing of the Ice Chateau, the SYHA program moved to the Nelson Center in Lincoln Park. Bill continued his involvement with SYHA, often as a referee for games his son’s coached and his grandson’s played in. There were often conversations at family gatherings about hockey and the comments made by both coaches and players about the refereeing of many of those games. When Bill wasn’t on the ice as a referee, he was always standing along the boards watching his grandsons playing.

In 1993, the Springfield Jr. Blues began their inaugural season at Nelson Center. Bill stepped up immediately as coordinator of off-ice officials for home games. His core group included daughter Susan as scorekeeper and daughter Joanne as timekeeper. Son’s John, Bill and Fred along with son-in-law’s, often manned the penalty boxes and served as goal judges. In addition, Bill always made sure enough pucks were in the freezer ready for game time and helped the on-ice officials before games and between periods. During games, Bill could be found standing in the southwest corner of the rink watching the game, ready for any task that needed to be handled. Bill continued in this role until his death in October 2004, missing barely a handful of Jr. Blues home games over that 20 plus year period. Bill and his wife Corinne also were housing parents for Jr. Blues players for many of the early years.

After his death, Nelson Center rink management created “Coombe’s Corner” by placing the sign at the top of the glass in the corner where Bill could always be found standing, watching the sport that he grew up playing on those frozen ponds in the UP in Michigan, and that he brought to Springfield for his family and countless other families to learn and to enjoy.

Bill has been recognized for his contributions to the sport of hockey in Springfield and in Illinois with his induction into the Springfield Youth Hockey Hall of Fame (along with his wife Corinne), the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder Category, and the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame as a Friend of Sports.

As then Mayor Tim Davlin stated at Bill’s memorial service, “Springfield is a better place because of Bill Coombe.”

Springfield's Hockey Grandfather