John W. Hughes, a tri-captain of Cornell University’s NCAA Champion 1970 men’s ice hockey team, still the only team with a perfect season in NCAA hockey history, passed away on Tuesday, according to Cornell Athletics.

Tri-captain John Hughes was one of three speakers at this winter’s 50th anniversary celebration of the 1970 NCAA championship team. 14850 Photo by Mark H. Anbinder.

The Scarborough, Ontario native came to Cornell University in the fall of 1966 and stayed after graduating with a bachelor of science degree from Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, earning an MBA in 1971 and a law degree in 1974. He co-founded a New York City law firm and had been a prominent tax and real estate lawyer.

Hughes arrived at Cornell in an era when freshmen couldn’t play varsity sports, but despite just three years on the team, still holds the 11th all-time scoring spot for Cornell men’s hockey, with 151 points on 68 goals and 83 assists — ninth in career goals scored.

He was named to the All Ivy League second team as a junior and shared the team’s MVP award as a senior, and was named to the NCAA tournament all-star team, All-East, and All Ivy first team as a senior.

Hughes was inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981. “He had points in 15 straight games during the 1969-70 season, including a hat trick in a January game at Yale and consecutive four-point efforts in lopsided victories over Dartmouth and Princeton in March,” according to a statement from Cornell University. “But even more memorable was his last goal – which came with 14 seconds left in the third period of a 3-2 win over Clarkson in the ECAC Hockey Championship game in Boston.”

Hughes and his wife Amy Pastarnack Hughes, also a Cornell alum, raised six children, including Cornell alum and athlete David Hughes, class of 2004, and 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes.

“He loved Cornell, he loved hockey, and he loved his friends and family,” said Cornell alum and former Cornell trustee Andrew Tisch, a chairman of the Loews Corporation, in a statement. “That was what guided his life.”

Most of the members of the 1970 NCAA Champion men’s ice hockey team were at Cornell for a 50th anniversary event this January.

“His unique laugh will be missed by all,” said current head coach Mike Schafer in a statement on Wednesday afternoon about Hughes, who he called “an icon of Cornell hockey.” Hughes and his 1970 teammates were honored on campus in Ithaca this January to mark the 50th anniversary of the team’s extraordinary season and championship run.

“He set the standard for what it means to be a leader on and off the ice for future Cornell teams and players,” Coach Schafer added. “He was a man of character and integrity and lived his life with passion and a great sense of humor.”

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