Ed Snider named to U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

He's already a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, as well as the Flyers’ Hall of Fame. And now, Ed Snider’s trifecta is complete with Monday’s announcement that he will be part of the 2011 class inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame this fall in Chicago.

 
“They really keep it a secret,” Snider said from his off-season home in California. “I was really caught by surprise when they told me. I had though it might never happen. It’s a great day for me and the Flyers."
 
Snider, 78, will be joined in the induction by former players Chris Chelios, Gary Suter and Keith Tkachuk, as well as Mike “Doc” Emrick, who will become the first broadcaster to be inducted into the U.S. Hall.
 
“It’s an extraordinary class,” said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey. “The varied contributions to the landscape of hockey in our country is truly amazing and, collectively, this class has positively impacted every level of hockey.”

Snider was the founding father of the Flyers back in 1967 when he secured $2 million for an expansion franchise fee for Philadelphia. Within seven years, the Flyers had themselves the first or two Stanley Cups.


A member of the NHL’s executive committee, Snider has been involved for decades with the NHL in its CBA negotiations with the NHLPA, as well as on many of the league’s sub-committees that have brought about changes within the rules of the game.

He was the force behind numerous commercial and financial enterprises including building the Spectrum, the founding of Spectacor, the building of the oreStates Center – now the Wells Fargo Center – and the eventual merger of Spectacor with Comcast in 1996.

He also founded the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation and personally rescued three City of Philadelphia ice rinks from closure in 2008.

Snider was elected to Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988 and to the Flyers’ HoF in 1989. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (1985).