{{short description|American ice hockey player}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Use American English|date=February 2024}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Bill Christian | image = | caption = | fullname = William David Christian | birth_date = {{birth date and age text|January 29, 1938}} | birth_place = Warroad, Minnesota, U.S. | headercolor = lightsteelblue | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's ice hockey}} {{MedalCountry|the {{USA}}}} {{MedalCompetition|Olympic Games}} {{MedalGold| 1960 Squaw Valley |Ice hockey}} }}
'''William David Christian''' (born January 29, 1938) is an American former ice hockey player. As a member of the United States hockey team, he won the gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984, and the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1998.
==Career== Christian played prep school hockey at Warroad High School where he led the team to the 1953 state tournament finals.<ref name = "USA HOF">{{cite web |title=WILLIAM "BILL" CHRISTIAN |url=https://www.ushockeyhalloffame.com/page/show/820604-william-bill-christian |website=ushockeyhalloffame.com |accessdate=April 18, 2019}}</ref> Christian then attended the University of Minnesota. However, since freshman were not allowed to join varsity sports teams at the time, Christian describes it as a "lost season."<ref>{{cite web |title=Boyhood thrill |url=https://www.mnhockeyhub.com/news_article/show/104509-boyhood-thrill |website=mnhockeyhub.com |accessdate=April 18, 2019 |date=September 24, 2011}}</ref> After one year at the University of Minnesota, Christian joined the United States national team, which went on to win its first-ever ice hockey gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Christian |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/IZone/izone.member.info.do?mem=11 |website=legendsofhockey.com |accessdate=April 18, 2019}}</ref> During the Olympics, Christian led the team with seven goals and five assists. A year earlier, they became the first American team to play exhibition games in Russia against the Soviet Union national ice hockey team.<ref name = "USA HOF"/> After the Olympics, Christian had a brief tryout with the minor league Seattle Totems but chose not to become a professional player, returning to build houses in Minnesota instead.<ref>"Squaw Valley Gold" (p.233) by James E. Coughlin, iUniverse Books, 2009 {{ISBN|978-0-595-20087-0}} (pbk)</ref> He kept playing for the Warroad Lakers for 23 years before retiring after the 1980 season.<ref name = "USA HOF"/> Four years later, in 1984, he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.<ref name = "USA HOF"/> In 1998, Christian was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame as a player.<ref>{{cite news|title=Warroad player to be inducted|date=31 May 1998|newspaper=Star Tribune|location=Minneapolis, Minnesota|page=36|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-bill-christian/127510752/|access-date=3 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Complete list of IIHF Hall of Fame Inductees from 1997-2006 |url=http://www.iihf.com/news/iihfpr4704.htm |website=iihf.com |accessdate=April 18, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060319051722/http://www.iihf.com/news/iihfpr4704.htm |archivedate=March 19, 2006}}</ref>
==Personal life== Christian comes from a hockey-playing family. Both Roger (1960 and 1964 Winter Olympics) and Gordon Christian (1956 Winter Olympics) played for Team USA at the Olympic Games. His son, Dave Christian, was a member of the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team at the 1980 Winter Olympics and played in the National Hockey League (NHL). His grandson, Brock Nelson, is also an NHL player.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wright |first1=Cory |title=The Golden Years |url=https://www.nhl.com/islanders/news/the-golden-years/c-293154872 |website=NHL.com |accessdate=April 18, 2019 |date=November 19, 2017}}</ref> Nelson played for the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, winning the family's third Olympic ice hockey gold medal.<ref>{{cite web|last=Maeir|first=Coby|title=Brock Nelson Returns Home a Hockey Hero, Continues Family's Golden Legacy|date=February 25, 2026|url=https://www.nhl.com/avalanche/news/brock-nelson-returns-home-a-hockey-hero|website=Colorado Avalanche|access-date=March 5, 2026}}</ref>
The Christian brothers' father was a carpenter. In 1964, Christian and his brother Roger began a wooden hockey stick business called "Christian Brothers Hockey Company".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sell |first1=Dave |title=Christian Family Sticks to Business That It Knows Best |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-19-sp-413-story.html |accessdate=April 18, 2019 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 19, 1989}}</ref> The company was eventually bought out by Harrow in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Mike G. Morreale |title=Minnesota town holds unique spot in Olympic history |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/minnesota-town-holds-unique-spot-in-olympic-history/c-703197 |website=NHL.com |accessdate=April 18, 2019 |date=February 10, 2014}}</ref> In 2016, both Christian and his son Dave auctioned off their gold medals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bill and Dave Christian's Olympic hockey gold medals up for auction |url=http://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/14762078/gold-bill-dave-christian-olympic-hockey-medals-auction |website=ESPN.com |accessdate=April 19, 2019 |date=February 11, 2016}}</ref>
==See also== *List of Olympic medalist families
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Bill}} Category:1938 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:American men's ice hockey players Category:Ice hockey players from Minnesota Category:Ice hockey players at the 1960 Winter Olympics Category:Ice hockey players at the 1964 Winter Olympics Category:IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Category:Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in ice hockey Category:Sportspeople from Warroad, Minnesota Category:Warroad Lakers players Category:United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees