In 1953, the college hockey world was very different. Four teams competed for the national championship, three of which came out of conferences that no longer exist. The fourth team was an independent, a Boston University team without a league affiliation. Less than 10,000 people attended the tournament, won by Michigan for the third consecutive year.
The city of Boston, meanwhile, had already crowned a champion of sorts. A couple of days after Christmas in late 1952, the Boston Arena played host to an official tournament for all four major college hockey programs. Dubbed "The Beanpot," Bill and Bob Cleary helped Harvard defeat Boston University to win the time filler at the old barn on St.