Massena native Tom Hurley will live on forever in Clarkson University hockey history thanks to a pair of firsts.

Hurley, who skated from 1963-66 as a center for the Golden Knights, was the first north country native to exceed 100 career points in recorded Clarkson history. Then, in 1968, he became the first Clarkson player to skate for the U.S. Olympic hockey team.

The 1968 Olympic team that played in Grenoble, France, finished out of the running for a medal — the U.S. took sixth place — but it sealed Hurley's legacy in the north country. After Hurley's Olympic appearance, Clarkson players such as Dave Tretowicz, Todd Marchant, Craig Conroy and Erik Cole played for U.S. Olympic teams. Hurley's Olympic appearance is captured in the squad's team photo. He is seated in the front row, next to the team's captain, future Miracle on Ice coach Herb Brooks.

Hurley completed his Clarkson career with 42 goals and 62 assists for 104 points in 74 games. He led the Golden Knights in scoring during the 1964-65 season with 28 points and was named an ECAC second-team forward in 1966. That Clarkson team was the first to win an ECAC tournament championship, and Hurley was named an all-tournament team forward and NCAA all-tournament forward.

Hurley also excelled in baseball, competing three seasons for the Golden Knights.

After his hockey career, he joined his former Clarkson coach, Len Ceglarski, at Boston College. Ceglarski continued his legendary career as BC's coach, while Hurley served as the college's head of buildings and grounds.

Hurley worked for 34 years at Boston College and is recently retired. He lives in Windham, N.H.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Watertown Daily Times' North Country's Greatest Athletes series appears each Monday on Page C2 of the Times sports section. The 100 athletes selected by the Times are not ranked in any particular order.