BIRTHPLACE: West Newton, Mass.

BORN: February 13, 1909

DIED: May 13, 1988

TEAMS/ASSOCIATIONS: Harvard University, U.S. Olympic Teams

John Garrison grew up playing hockey in his native West Newton.  There, he attended the local Country Day School, and as a school boy there had the unparalleled record of playing six years on the varsity! 

He then went on to Harvard, where he was a regular on the freshman team and then a varsity regular for three seasons at center ice.

Garrison was adept at any forward position as well as on defense.  Professional hockey also sought out Garrison, as it did his teammate John Chase before him, but like Chase, Garrison preferred to stake out a career in the business world. 

Amateur and international hockey, however, continued to have a demand on his hockey talents.  During the 1930’s he starred on several amateur teams which went on to win United States national titles.  During these years he gained the reputation as one of the finest amateur players in the nation.

Garrison also played defense for the 1932 United States Olympic Team which captured a silver medal at Lake Placid.  In addition, in 1933, at Prague, Czechoslovakia, he scored an unassisted overtime goal against Canada to give the United States a 2-1 victory, and its first World Championship.  He then went on to captain the 1936 Olympic Team as well, which won a bronze medal at Garmish.  He rounded out his brilliant international hockey career by serving as the coach of the 1948 United States Olympic Team.

He went on to use his Harvard education wisely and later became a very successful businessman as well.  He was a good friend to the sport of hockey, and should be regarded as one of the game’s early innovators and pioneers of both playing and coaching techniques.