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Larry Wilson
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Born Oct. 23, 1930, in Kincardine, Ontario, Canada
Height: 5'11" Weight: 160 lbs
Larry was inducted into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame in 2011. He enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the AHL, spanning 15 seasons as a player and six more as a head coach, two in Providence.
In 1971-72, his third as a head coach, he led the Reds to the Calder Cup finals, losing to a Springfield Kings team coached by his brother, Johnny. During his tenure with the Reds and the Richmond Robins (1972-76), Wilson coached several future AHL and NHL bench bosses including Bill Barber, Paul Holmgren, Terry Murray and fellow AHL Hall of Famer John Paddock.
Wilson spent much of the early part of his playing career in the NHL with Detroit and Chicago, winning a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 1950. He also skated for two seasons with the AHL?s Indianapolis Capitals, and in 1955, he began a 13-year stay with the Buffalo Bisons that would see Wilson become that franchise?s all-time leader in every offensive category.
With Larry leading the charge in 1963, the Bisons finally brought the Calder Cup back to Buffalo after finishing with the best record in the league and knocking off Hershey in a tense seven-game series for the title.
Wilson played his last game in the AHL in 1968, and at that time his 790 career points were good for sixth all-time. One of the AHL?s all-time producers, he finished among the AHL?s top 10 in scoring on five occasions over his career.
Wilson was named the first head coach of the AHL's Adirondack Red Wings in 1979, but never got to see the ice in Glens Falls. At the age of only 48, he suffered a fatal heart attack just prior to training camp. Larry Wilson?s hockey legacy lived on through his talented hockey-playing sons, Brad, Randy, and Ron, the latter the winningest American coach in NHL history.
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