Eagleson Agrees to Resign

Alan Eagleson, once the most powerful man in hockey and now jailed for fraud, became the first member of a North American pro sports hall of fame to resign on Wednesday.

Eagleson, the former head of the National Hockey League Players Assn., resigned from the Hockey Hall of Fame six days before the hall’s board was to vote on whether to expel him.

Dozens of members of the hall, including Bobby Orr, Ted Lindsay and Brad Park campaigned for Eagleson’s ouster, even threatening to renounce their membership if he was not removed from the list of inductees.

In 1994, Eagleson was charged with skimming players’ pension funds and disability payments to pay for expensive clothing, theater tickets and an apartment in London. He pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud in Boston in January and was fined nearly $700,000.

He also pleaded guilty in Toronto to three more counts of fraud began serving an 18-month sentence in prison. Under Canadian law, he could be out by May.

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An all-sports radio station in Philadelphia reportedly plans to apologize to Eric Lindros and make a charitable donation to settle a legal dispute over a story it broadcast last year.

The station aired a report that the Philadelphia Flyers captain missed a game with a hangover. Lindros missed the game because of an injured back, the team said. He fell on his back in a home game against Ottawa.