Born: 18 Sep 1932, Arvida PQ (d. 2016)
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Regular Season & Playoff Coaching Record (key)
| Regular Season | Playoffs |
| year | team | finish | finish | |||||||||
| 1972-73 | Houston | 2-W | SF | |||||||||
| 1973-74 | Houston | 1-W | F: Won AVCO Cup | |||||||||
| 1974-75 | Houston | 1-W | F: Won AVCO Cup | |||||||||
| 1975-76 | Houston | 1-W | Finals | |||||||||
| 1976-77 | Houston | 1-W | SF | |||||||||
| 1977-78 | Houston | 3-L | QF | |||||||||
| 1978-79 | New England | DNF | ||||||||||
• Winner, Robert Schmertz Trophy (Coach of the Year), 1976-77.
• Winner, Robert Schmertz Trophy (Coach of the Year), 1977-78.
• Missed a handful of games during 1972-73 season; team was coached by Doug Harvey in the interim.
• Missed several games during February and March of 1978, during which Ted Taylor and Wayne Rutledge coached the team in the interim.
• Succeeded as coach by Don Blackburn on April 1, 1979.
• Coached in NHL, Phi (1991-93).
• Member, WHA Hall of Fame.
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Dineen The Fox of Houston • by Joey LeBourgeois • The Hockey Spectator • December 29, 1972
Houston Aeros coach Bill Dineen has just one obvious weakness, for those who would call it that. That's the fact that he'll go out of his way to do the other guy a favor — he may just be too nice. Since the World Hockey Association has been in Houston, Dineen has made a good impression just about everywhere. There have been few people — beginning with his players and including fans, strangers and media — who could begin to disagree. "The Fox" has been late for practice because he was talking to Sam Houston Coliseum workers. He's spent time on the ice after practice working with youngsters. He's even delayed a flight to an out-of-town game by trying to satisfy local writers. He likes to take care of everyone. Dineen is a 40-year-old veteran of 18 pro hockey seasons, 13 of them in the minors. When he started gathering his team last summer, he knew where to go for players. Only six of the Aeros finished the season in the National Hockey League last year. Sixteen were in Dineen's old minor league stomping grounds — ten from the American Hockey League, six from the Western Hockey League and one from the International League. He spent five seasons in the NHL, playing for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks. While with the Red Wings from 1953-57, he played on three Stanley Cup teams, before spending the next year with Chicago. After that Dineen spent time with the Buffalo Bisons, Cleveland Barons and Rochester Americans in the AHL and with the Quebec Aces, Seattle Totems and Denver Spurs inthe WHL. He's been around, and he knows his game. "We went for experience rather than youth and uncertainty," says the cigar-chomping native of Arvida, Quebec. "In a sport like football there's a lot of stress on the legs, but it's not the same in hockey. Few people understand that. You just don't use your legs the same way in this game, and as a result you can last a lot longer. All you have to worry about is keeping the upper part of your body healthy, and your legs will tale care of themselves." The soft-spoken Canadian doesn't usually get too emotional during games, and it's rare when he'll show any more disgust than standing with his arms akimbo, He's the perpetual optimist, and he doesn’t let the little things bother him. During the second half of a recent series in Houston with Alberta, Dineen completely blew his cool, however, by his standards. With Houston and the Oilers in a 2-2 tie with just over six minutes left in the game, Aeros defenseman John Schella was bringing the puck over the red line on the attack. Alberta's Jim Benzelock stole it, apparently tripping Schella in the process, and went in to score while most of the players and fans waited for referee Ray Thomas to make a call. It didn't come, and Dineen disgustedly waved his arms as if to say, "Oh, go away." He's not a violent man. |
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Excerpts from Pro Hockey, WHA 1975-76 (by Dan Proudfoot)
Whenever hockey men analyse the success of the Houston Aeros, winners of the Avco World Trophy in 1974 and 1975, Bill (The Fox) Dineen gets full credit. For the longest time coach Dineen operated without the title of general manager but, from the start, it was he who assembled the talent that now makes up the WHA powerhouse team. The key, perhaps, is Dineen's age. He's only 43, and he moved from a lengthy career as a player to coaching the Aeros, where he quickly proved he had been carefully assessing talent and taking mental notes through all his years as a solid, if not spectacular, on-ice performer. The Fox played for Detroit Red Wings when Gordie Howe was at his peak. Naturally, that helped when Aeros drafted Gordie's sons, Mark and Marty, in 1973, and Dineen was successful in signing them. The Fox also had a lot to do with Papa Howe joining his sons, starring for two seasons and now ending up as the Aeros' president. Even more astounding than the Howe family's contributions has been the success of a forward line that was accorded no respect at all by the major leagues, until Dineen brought them to Houston. Larry Lund, Frank Hughes and Andre Hinse were three guys who never got much notice from the NHL, despite their success as a forward unit in the Western Hockey League. Dineen, however, played against them during his own Western league days. He knew they could be effective at the major league level and, sure enough, they formed the third-highest scoring line in the WHA in 1974-75. Ironically, Aeros' impressive lineup has been recognized more on the road then at home. Aeros held the distinction of being the top attraction in the WHA, filling the arenas they visited to an average of 71.1 per cent of capacity. At home, however, attendance actually dropped slightly, from a total of 265,622 in 1973-74 to 265,230 in 1974-75. Crowds should grow immensely this season. Aeros are moving into a new arena, The Summit, with a capacity of 16,000. There's new ownership, too, an important factor when considering the success of the team at the gate. The old ownership couldn't afford the promotions and development work necessary to make a hockey team part of the sports scene in Texas. Another benefit of the new ownership structure is that Dineen now holds the general manager's title he has deserved for so long. There never has been any doubts about Dineen's correct name among Aero's office staff, though — even the receptionist refers to him as The Fox. His uncanny ability to judge hockey talent made the Aeros the champions they are today. Aeros' attempts to sign 18-year-old John Tonelli, one of the best junior centers in Canada, met with failure when the WHA ruled his contract bound him to Toronto Marlboros, his junior team, until he's 20. "His agent says he's going to sue," says The Fox. "That would be fine with us. We'll take him any way we can." |
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Excerpts from Zander Hollander Complete Hockey Handbook, 1975-76 (by Reyn Davis)
Lone surviving coach from among the 12 who began behind the benches of the WHA three seasons ago ... His nickname is "Fox" or "Foxy" ... Doesn't take credit, but certainly played a prominent role in the How caper, luring father Gordie and his two sons, Mark and Marty, to Houston ... Admits his work has been made much easier by Howe's presence ... Would love to have Gordie back for yet another season, and feels that How could do it, but prefers to see him stick by retirement plans ... Firm but not a regimentalist ... Has great faith in his players ... After winning the first two Avco World Trophy titles in a row, he was named Texas Professional Coach of the year in 1974 ... Another indication of the growing seed of hockey interest in Texas planted by the Aeros. |
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