BIRTHPLACE: New Bradford, Mass.

BORN: January 13, 1913

DIED: December 5, 1989

TEAMS/ASSOCIATIONS: Pittsburgh Hornets, Cleveland Barons, Providence Reds

An all around athlete at West Springfield, Massachusetts, High School in football, baseball and hockey; Peter Bessone went on to a fascinating career in the ice sport at both the international and professional levels.  After high school, Bessone played for the West Side Rangers in Springfield before being lured to Europe in 1931.  It was in Paris, playing for Stade, France, that the defenseman became the "Babe Ruth" of hockey in Paris.  Henri Cochet, the great French tennis player, said of him: "Bessone is and excellent hockey player and is very popular throughout France.  He is the biggest drawing card in French hockey." 

In February, 1934, he was a late replacement on the United States National Team which finished second to Canada in the World Tournament at Milan, Italy.  In the semi-final game against Germany, he scored two goals to place the 3-0 American win.  Bessone returned to the United States in the mid-30s and played with the amateur Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets, before turning professional with the Iron City's Hornets.  He toiled for nine seasons with the Hornets and Cleveland Barons in the American Hockey League, where he gained over 100 penalty minutes in three different seasons. 

Following his professional career, Bessone returned to international hockey, coaching teams in France, Switzerland, and Italy.  He did return to the United States, however, in 1949, to coach the IHLs Springfield Indians for one season, before hanging em' up for good.