Amo Bessone

Who was Amo Bessone?

Amo Bessone was a collegiate ice hockey player and head coach.

Bessone was born in Sagamore, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he learned to play hockey.

As a hockey coach, Bessone is best remembered for winning a national championship as a heavy underdog in 1966 with the "Cinderella Spartans." He was one of the most colorful college coaches of his era with a trademark whistle he used to signal line changes.

As intense as Bessone was behind the bench, he was warm and endearing off the ice. During his coaching days, he regularly invited fellow coaches, officials and reporters out for drinks or back to his house for spaghetti following games. Bessone had a passion for cooking as well as hockey.