Bill Coffey

Bill Coffey was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the ECHL. Along with inaugural ECHL Hall of Fame inductee Henry Brabham, Coffey came up with the idea to form the league during the summer of 1988. He was the original owner of the Knoxville Cherokees, and also assisted in establishing the Erie Panthers, giving the league five teams for its inaugural season in 1988-89. He also established one of the ECHL’s first expansion teams, the Greensboro Monarchs, who entered the league in 1989-90.