Murray Costello

Lore & Background

Costello grew up in Schumacher, Ontario, the younger brother of professional player Les Costello. He played junior hockey with the Toronto St. Michael's Majors and was signed by the Chicago Black Hawks in 1953. His NHL career included stints with Chicago, the Boston Bruins, and the Detroit Red Wings, totaling 162 games. After retiring as a player, he worked as marketing director for the Seattle Totems and later as publicity director for the Western Hockey League, spending 15 seasons as an executive in that league.

He moved to Ottawa in 1973, studied law at the University of Ottawa, and was called to the bar in 1979. That same year, he became the first paid full-time president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. His first major project was the Program of Excellence for the men's national junior team, proposed in 1981, which involved selecting the best eligible players from major junior leagues for summer camps and holiday tournaments. The program achieved immediate success with a gold medal at the 1982 World Junior Championships.

In 1990, at the request of IIHF president Günther Sabetzki, Costello agreed to stage the inaugural IIHF Women's World Championship, leading to the formation of the Canada women's national ice hockey team. He also negotiated the merger of the CAHA with Hockey Canada in 1994, combining their resources for grassroots development and international competition.

Reader's Guide

Costello's significance lies in his transformative leadership of Canadian amateur hockey over nearly two decades. His Program of Excellence reversed Canada's poor performance at the World Junior Championships, leading to 18 gold medals from 1988 to 2024 and restoring Canada's international reputation. He also pioneered women's hockey by overseeing the creation of the national team and the first women's world championship in 1990, which helped fast-track the sport into the Olympics. The merger of the CAHA with Hockey Canada, which he facilitated, allowed profits from major events like the Canada Cup to fund grassroots hockey and enabled NHL players to participate in international tournaments. Costello also addressed violence in sports through fair play initiatives and, after the Graham James scandal, implemented background checks and the Speak Out program against bullying and harassment. His legacy is recognized by inductions into the Hockey Hall of Fame, IIHF Hall of Fame, Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame, and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, as well as being an Officer of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the Order of Hockey in Canada.

Did You Know?

• Costello once skated four miles along an ice-covered road to get home from a game when he was 15.
• He was called to the bar as a lawyer on April 9, 1979.
• He spent 14 years as an International Ice Hockey Federation council member.
• The Program of Excellence he proposed in 1981 led to Canada winning the gold medal at the 1982 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.