Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/19/17
From Staff Report
Atlanta Blaze (MLL) coach Dave Huntley, a former Philadelphia Wings GM and head coach, died while coaching a clinic Monday in Florida. The Towson resident was 60.
Huntley’s career in pro lacrosse began in the inaugural season of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League (a predecessor of the National Lacrosse League) in 1987 when he served as the Wings GM and coach. As general manager, he recruited lacrosse stars Mike French (eventual Wings owner), John Tucker, and John Grant, Sr. to play for his team. During the season, due to team injuries, Huntley even joined the team as a player and scored three goals in two games. He later coached with the Baltimore Thunder, Pittsburgh Crossefire, Washington Power and Colorado Mammoth.
In 2008, Huntley returned to Philadelphia to be Head Coach of the Wings and led the squad to the playoffs for the first time in five years. He left after the 2009 season and returned in 2010 as GM of the Wings.
In the MLL, Huntley was coach of the Toronto Nationals in 2009, winning the championship, and the Hamilton Nationals in 2010. He spent time, too, as an assistant with the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Huntley was named an assistant with the first-year Blaze in 2015 and became head coach the next season.
Huntley, a Toronto native, grew up playing box lacrosse and starred at Johns Hopkins, where he won national championships in 1978 and 1979 and was a three-time All-American. He won the McLaughlin Award as the nation’s top midfielder.
While he was in college, Huntley played for Team Canada and won a World Lacrosse Championship in 1979. He won another World Lacrosse Championship for Canada as a coach.
Huntley is a member of the United States Lacrosse Hall of Fame, National U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy, and their two children, Kevin and Michelle. Kevin played at Calvert Hall and Hopkins, and was the MLL Rookie of the Year in 2008. He won national championships with the Blue Jays in 2005 and 2007.