BILL LITTLE '61 - 2017 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee

Averaging almost two points a game as a forward for the Golden Knights Hockey team, Bill Little was a leading contributor on legendary head coach Len Ceglarski’s first teams at Clarkson. Through 60 games from 1958-61, the Cardinal, Ontario native amassed 105 career points on 47 goals and 58 assists. 

Described by Ceglarski “as a “heads-up” type of player who has a good shot and can score that important goal,” Little made a big impression on the ice right from the start, recording five points in his first varsity game as a Golden Knight. He scored three goals and added two assists in a 10-2 victory at Providence on December 5, 1958, helping coach Ceglarski post the first of his 673 career wins as a college coach. Skating as a left wing on Clarkson’s top line alongside all-stars Mel Tomalty and Robert Van Lammers, Little finished as the team’s third-leading scorer in his first campaign with 18 goals and 16 assists through 19 contests as a sophomore in 1958-59.


The 5-10, 160-pound forward was Tech’s leading scorer in 1959-60 and again in 1960-61.  As a junior he tallied 15 goals and 23 assists for a career-high 38 points. Little served as a Clarkson captain in his senior campaign and netted 14 goals and added 19 assists. He was named an All-East All-Star in 1960-61 while helping the Knights post a 14-9 record. 

Little was also mentored by another legendary coach during the spring, excelling for the Green and Gold on the baseball field as a pitcher and shortstop under Clarkson Athletic Hall of Fame Coach Hank Hodge.

After graduating in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Little attended the New York Rangers’ training camp and was sent to the Los Angeles Blades of the Western Hockey League and then on to the Indianapolis Chiefs of the International Hockey League. After retiring from professional hockey in 1963, Little put his Clarkson degree to work and began a highly successful career in the business world, beginning with The Travelers, an insurance company. He served as President of Mobile Home Division of America Inc, and is currently Senior Vice President of Thomas Group Realty, LLC in Gainesville, Florida.

Little also was the business manager of the AHL’s Toledo Blades. Additionally, he helped start the hockey program at Bowling Green State University in 1965 and served for two seasons as the Falcons volunteer coach in the early years of the program. 

Little’s dedication to his alma mater has been exemplary. Along with lettering three years in hockey and playing baseball for the Knights, Little was a member of Sigma Delta and served as Clarkson’s Varsity C Club President. 
He was the recipient of the Arnold H. Barben Award in 1983, served as the University’s Alumni Association President during 1985-86, and was presented Clarkson’s Golden Knight Award in 1986.


Bill Little with Clarkson President Tony Collins and Athletic Director Steve Yianoukos