Hall of Famer
Clare Drake
Inducted in 1989
Member Details
Career Highlights
University of Alberta Head Hockey Coach
Canadian Intercollegiate Association of Universities (CIAU) hockey coach of the year
Co-Coach Canadian Olympic Hockey Team
First Canadian University hockey coach to record 500 victories
Guided University of Alberta to 14 conference and five national titles
Story
Often referred to as the Dean of Canadian intercollegiate hockey coaches, Clare Drake spent his lifetime involved in sports and many years as the head coach of the University of Alberta Golden Bears. His record 697 wins makes him the winningest coach in North American intercollegiate hockey, far surpassing the 555 wins of the legendary John MacInnes of Michigan Tech. Drake always led an active life, participating in football, basketball, and track and field in high school as well as playing junior A hockey with Regina and Medicine Hat. While attending UBC, he played hockey and junior varsity basketball. For several summers he played semi-pro baseball. But he is best known as coach. In total, Drake coached six CIAU national championship teams and three of his players were Sullivan Trophy winners as outstanding university players in Canada. A professor in the faculty of physical education, Drake wrote numerous research articles on the technical aspects of hockey as well as lending his expertise to a variety of educational hockey films and videos. Drake was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1980 and the University of Alberta Wall of Fame in 1987.