James Murray Costello OC (February 24, 1934 – July 27, 2024) was a Canadian ice hockey player, executive, and administrator.

Costello helped establish the program of excellence for the Canada men's national junior ice hockey team.

[7] While playing hockey as a 15-year-old, Costello recalled that he once skated four miles along an ice-covered road to get home from a game, when it was unsafe to drive.

Just having the privilege of playing with and against players like Maurice Richard and Jean Beliveau in Montreal and Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay in Detroit and Fernie Flaman and Leo Labine in Boston, were great times.

Costello was noticed by scouts as a teen and was convinced by his older brother, Les, to enroll at St. Michael's College School, to play hockey to pay for his education.

[12] Costello finished his playing career with the Windsor Bulldogs in OHA senior hockey, while he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Assumption University in 1959.

[11][15] Costello rose the ranks to become director of hockey operations for the Totems, and his team won consecutive Lester Patrick Cup championships in 1967, and 1968.

Costello was recruited to become the first paid staff to lead the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) in 1979, when the membership voted to have a full-time president instead of a volunteer executive committee.

[14] The first major project by Costello was to address the lack of success by the Canada men's national junior ice hockey team at the IIHF World U20 Championship.

[23] Once the new program was accepted, it achieved immediate success with Canada winning the gold medal at the 1982 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

[23] It also proved to create player loyalty to the program, when they wanted to return to play for the Canada men's national ice hockey team.

[5] From 1988 until 2024, Canada won 18 IIHF World U20 Championships, which was credited for a return to success in ice hockey at the Olympic Games.

[14] Speaking out against violence in sports, Costello was a member of the fair play advisory committee for Ontario Hockey Association.

He felt that "there is a tendency in Canada for parents to want their kids to play up in higher competition, thinking they will learn more", and that "we really cater to the upper half of our society".

[32] He was succeeded by vice president Bob Nicholson, who said that Costello was a great mentor, and "made every decision based on what he thought was the best interest of the sport".

[15] As part of the committees, he oversaw the inspection of Winter Olympic Games ice hockey facilities on behalf of the International Olympic Committee, helped organize international under-20 tournaments, oversaw random drug testing, and promoted the growth of ice hockey worldwide.

Costello says it was partially due to the decision to wear pink jerseys, but he was prouder to have showcased the talent in the women's game to the International Olympic Committee.

[12] His older brother Les played with the Toronto Maple Leafs, was an ordained priest, founded the Flying Fathers in 1963, and died in 2002.

[36] Costello himself was able to reach the NHL coming from a poor background by using hand-me-down equipment, but he feared that "hockey is becoming an opportunity only for the people who can pay their way in", and suggested a return to wooden sticks for minors.