pg 55 - full page FNL - Belleville Memorial Arena
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pg 55 - full page FNL - Belleville Memorial Arena
pg 47,48,49,50,51 - Feat hockey fnl 11/10/10 7:28 PM Page 1 HOCKEY HISTORY CELEBRATING T THE STORY OF THE 1958/59 WORLD CHAMPION BELLEVILLE MCFARLANDS photograph courtesy of the Author’s collection This is a story about a time, a hockey team and a town that loved them. The year was 1959. In early March the best teams from 12 countries met in Prague, Czechoslovakia to face off for the World Hockey Championships. Canada’s hopes rested with a team from Belleville. hey were called the Belleville McFarlands after the team owner, H.J. McFarland, a wealthy industrialist and avid hockey fan from nearby Picton. He paid the bills that brought together a team of local farm boys, promising rookies and hardened hockey veterans. They were the pride of hockey fans in the Belleville area. Belleville has always been a hockey town – the hometown of former NHL stars Bobby and Dennis Hull, and a new generation of players who have groomed their skills playing for the Belleville Bulls, a junior team in the Ontario BY PETER LOCKYER WATERSHED 47 pg 47,48,49,50,51 - Feat hockey fnl 11/10/10 7:29 PM Page 2 Allan Cup Champs Banner, 1958; telegram from John G. Diefenbaker to Belleville McFarlands on winning the Allan Cup. Hockey League. But it was the formation of a new Senior A hockey league in the mid-1950s that was the beginning of the McFarland era. Wren Blair, the manager of the fabled Whitby Dunlops, urged Belleville to form a team to strengthen the league. Blair worked closely with Drury Denyes, the General Manager of the McFarlands, to recruit players from across Canada. It was the beginning of an intense rivalry between the Whitby and Belleville teams that could often erupt into brawls on the ice. Former Boston Bruin player Charlie Burns remembers the powerful team Blair and Denyes created. “We always had a challenging time against the McFarlands,” he says. “That was always a tough game. I never really liked to go into their arena because they were always very physical.” Former Dunlop player, Sandy Aire agrees, “The Belleville McFarlands had a very good hockey club with players like Ike Hildebrand, Barton Bradley, Wayne Brown, Floyd Crawford and Gordie Bell in nets…Each time we played them, it was a battle to the finish.” ALL-NEW 2011 HIGHLANDER EXCELLENCE REDEFINED V I S I T B E L L E V I L L E TOYOTA F O R THE QUINTESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE y St N Sidne Dr rleaf Clove wy m Pk nniu Mille 401 62 Quinte Mall 48 Millennium Parkway, Belleville 613.968.4538 w w w. b e l l e v i l l e t oyo t a . c o m 48 WINTER 2010/2011 The war between the two teams wasn’t helped by Belleville’s rabid fans who weren’t above grabbing opposing players as they fought for pucks along the boards. As well, players shared the same penalty box. “You’d get a penalty,” says Floyd Crawford, the captain of the McFarlands, “and the two combatants sat in the same penalty box. You know you’re asking for trouble. Guys would get in there and they’d be heated up from a fight, and one word would lead to another, and another fight would erupt again the box.” Crawford should know. He had one memorable fight with Harry Sinden, the captain of the Dunlops, which spilled out of the penalty box into the aisle below. “The thing that sticks out for me was the old police gentleman by the name of Bill Evans who was down in the hallway when the fight started,” remembers Crawford. “He kept telling us in an English accent, ‘Now chappies, that’s enough of that. Now please be gentlemen.’ And we’re fighting for our lives down in the hallway!” And yet – after even the toughest of games – players pg 47,48,49,50,51 - Feat hockey fnl 11/10/10 7:33 PM Page 3 photos page 46 courtesy the Denyes Family collection; pg 47 courtesy Author's collection and The Hastings County Historical Society 1959 McFarlands vs. Russia; Sending the McFarlands off at the Toronto Pearson Airport 1959; McFarlands vs. Russia in World Cup, 1959 from both teams would meet with their fans for a few beers in the Queen’s Hotel, just 99 steps from the Belleville arena. “After the games were over,” says Crawford, “you’d see those guys and they were like your brother. They’d come in and have a beer with ya. But the next time you played them, they’d be right back to defend their team.” The Belleville McFarlands just got better and better. They boasted a high-scoring offence lead by players like Bep Guidolin, the youngest player ever to start in the NHL. Guidolin played for the Boston Bruins in 1942 at age 16. Wayne “Weiner” Brown was another Boston player who came back home to join the McFarlands. They had speed and scoring punch, a tough defence, and a seasoned goaltender named Gordie Bell, who had starred in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the New York Rangers the year before. The McFarlands were magic on ice. “I think you have to start in net with Gordie Bell,” says Belleville sports columnist Paul Svoboda. “All the players will tell you it was not possible without him in net. He had NHL experience with the Rangers and the Maple Leafs, and in the American league with several teams. He was the lynchpin starting in goal.” The praise still makes the Bell family blush. Gordie’s son, Bruce Bell, says his Dad was a very quiet, unassuming man. “These guys heap all kinds of accolades on him and talk about what a wonderful goaltender he was, and how important he was, and the first thing that always strikes me about that is how uncomfortable he would be with it. My father was such a believer in the team thing – always team first – and he wouldn’t have bought into any of this stuff.” But with Bell in goal, the team was talented, tough and unstoppable. As the 1958 season wore on, the McFarlands were becoming a championship team surprising “THESE GUYS HEAP ALL KINDS OF ACCOLADES ON MY DAD AND TALK ABOUT WHAT A WONDERFUL GOALTENDER HE WAS, AND HOW IMPORTANT HE WAS, AND THE FIRST THING THAT ALWAYS STRIKES ME ABOUT THAT IS HOW UNCOMFORTABLE HE WOULD BE WITH IT.” BRUCE BELL themselves, their fans, and team sponsor Harvey McFarland. “He really loved the hockey players,” says McFarland’s son Malcolm. “He always called them ‘his boys’ and I think he would do anything for them. And I think they returned it. They would do anything for him. And I think they played over their heads. There were other, better quality hockey teams out there with better hockey players. But they had the determination to win.” Their home rink was the Memorial Arena in downtown Belleville. “The closeness of the Belleville fans to the players was fantastic,” remembers Floyd Crawford. “They were like a seventh man on the ice.” On game nights, the Memorial was packed, noisy, smokey, and cold. But nobody cared. Fans lined up for hours to get into Friday night games. The team was so popular, there was a shortage of babysitters in Belleville and surrounding communities. In 1958, the team swept through their season winning the Ontario Championship finals against the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen. Next they travelled to British Columbia to face off against the Kelowna Packers for the Allan Cup, the ultimate trophy in Canadian Senior A hockey. It would turn out to be one of the most memorable hockey playoffs of all time. Belleville won the first game. But they were trounced 6-0 in the second and they lost the next two. They were now down three games to one against a determined Kelowna team sensing a championship victory. And they were injured. Star forward Davey Jones broke his neck in one of the first games. “I was standing in front of the net and looking to score a goal, and somebody cross-checked me from behind on the neck,” says Jones. “I went down in a big pile-up. And when everybody got up, I couldn’t move my head. They wheeled me off to the hospital, X-rayed me, and said, ‘You have a broken neck.’ That was scary.” “We had other injuries too,” remembers defenceman Lionel Botley. “We were down to quite a skeleton crew. I was normally quiet in the dressing room, but I remember I talked it up quite a bit. The goal for me was to win the Canadian championship and go to Europe for the World Cup.” Back home in Belleville, their fans were worried and sat glued to their radios listening to broadcasts of the game from CJBQ sports broadcaster Jack Devine in the middle of the night. They poured out their encouragement and hockey advice in an avalanche of telegrams to the team, and the McFarlands fought back from almost certain defeat to capture the Allan Cup. “We knew deep down in our hearts that we had as good a team as Kelowna and Kelowna had a very good club,” Floyd Crawford recalls. “And I think it was just that, the guys getting together. And one thing led to another. We won a game, made it 3-2, and then we tied the series up and went to a 7th game. And well, read all about.” Belleville went crazy. “All the citizens were up listening to the radio overnight. For some reason or another, some magnetic force drew hundreds of people downtown to celebrate,” says fan, Dr. Bruce Cronk. “And I recall there was a big pile of railway ties and logs on the junction of Front and Bridge Streets. There was a huge bonfire there and it melted a whopping big hole in the pavement!” WATERSHED 49 pg 47,48,49,50,51 - Feat hockey fnl 11/11/10 1:34 PM Page 4 PRINCE EDWARD C O U N T Y Why not live where you love to visit! HILL STREET, PICTON – Located on high demand street overlooking Picton Harbour, steps from the Prince Edward Yacht Club this lovely brick bungalow is ready to move in. This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home was totally renovated in 2004. Private beautiful back yard with attached garage. Easy walk to downtown, schools, hospital and downtown shopping. $425,000 MLS 2106549 Elizabeth Crombie, Sales Representative 1-877-476-0096 (613) 476-2700 [email protected] www.pictonhomes.com A N A D V E RT I S I N G F E AT U R E Prince Edward County... a place to call home. 50 WINTER 2010/2011 When the McFarlands arrived home by train, thousands of fans lined the city’s main street to welcome them back. Winning the Allan Cup was the team’s ticket to the World Hockey Championships in Czechoslovakia one year later. At the insistence of Canadian hockey league officials, they added players including rookie Red Berenson, a future NHLer to their roster. The McFarlands played a gruelling exhibition schedule during the first weeks of their European trip in the winter of 1959. The games were designed to raise funds to help pay for the costs of their trip. The exhibition series didn’t raise much money but their physical style drew plenty of complaints from European teams and their fans. “I know the first time they played the Czechs in the preliminary round, they beat them. And it was a really a rough game,” says Wally Laverne, who accompanied the team overseas. “And we had a group of soldiers sitting in front of us, and they kept turning around and shaking their fists at us. We were hoping to get out of there alive! They didn’t like it too much.” The exhibition games left the team banged up and tired, even before they began their world championship. But the mighty McFarlands went on to score decisive world cup victories using their speed, scoring and roughhouse play to dominate opposing teams. “We were constantly under surveillance,” says Crawford. “It didn’t matter if you went with one guy or 101 guys, their secret service people were everywhere, and so that was a little upsetting. But it just made us more determined.” It was the era of the Cold War. And the championship games were about politics as much as hockey. “Back then,” says team member Keith MacDonald, “there was a lot of friction between Canada and Russia. They were the team to beat and we did it, 3-1.” The exhausted McFarlands lost their last world cup game to the Czech team 5-3. It was their only defeat. But by then, the loss was meaningless. Their gritty play had already clinched the world title. “We were playing for Canada,” says high-scoring forward Wayne Brown. “We didn’t want to disappoint ourselves and we didn’t want to disappoint Canada, because we were told by a lot of people that we weren’t going to win. That made it all the better for us. We showed them.” And when the team arrived back home, Belleville went crazy…again. “You couldn’t move,” recalls George Zegouras, a fan and later, a mayor of Belleville. “You couldn’t breathe sideways for people. And when they came through from the CN train station, the streets were jammed with 50,000 people. That was just unbelievable.” The McFarlands played another two seasons, but there were never seasons again like the 1958/59 years. Within months of their international victory, the team fell from grace. They folded in controversy when an audit of the city’s finances showed the team had wracked up a deficit of more than $100,000 which taxpayers would have to repay. “Everybody in the area knew that they were being paid in some way or another,” says fan Don Leslie. “The poor boys – they were no longer heroes. For many years afterwards some people said, ‘We’re still paying for those McFarlands.’ They forget about the advertising Belleville got and the excitement we got.” “Somebody had to pay the bills,” states Belleville sports columnist Paul Svoboda. “These guys were professional hockey players…Senior A hockey at the time was like a minor pro circuit, and the top teams paid their players and the cities often would contribute, whether it was made public or not.” “It was strange how quickly people turned against the McFarlands when they found out that there was going to be a special levy,” recalls Belleville resident Paul Russell. “I know my father and I had to pay $16.05 a year for five years to repay the costs of the McFarlands. I thought it was the best $16.05 that I’d ever spent in my life!” The scandal was devastating for the McFarlands. In the following years, the magic that was once the McFarlands abandoned them. Many received bills from the Canadian government for unpaid taxes. High scoring Minnie Menard and goaltender Gordie Bell sustained eye injuries that ended their careers. Although he tried playing with a mask, Bell would never regain his winning form. “He tried to play with this rudimentary piece of fiberglass as a mask, and the first game back he let in four goals and they booed him out of the Memorial Arena,” says Bell’s son Bruce. “He learned pretty quickly there’s not a lot of value in a one-eyed goaltender, which was kind of a sad end for him because he’d had such a wonderful career. I guess he went in between the first and second periods and just took off his equipment.” And with that, Bell’s long hockey career had ended. Belleville is still a hockey town. It has a Junior A team – the Belleville Bulls – who regularly send a new generation of players into the big leagues. But over the decades, the McFarland legacy has endured. There are fewer of them now. However, the remaining members of the 1958/59 team can still draw a crowd at occasional public appearances they make, and they are still warmly remembered by hockey fans everywhere. In April 2009 on the occasion of the 50th pg 47,48,49,50,51 - Feat hockey fnl 11/10/10 7:32 PM Page 5 Celebrating the Canadian championship in 1958; Allan Cup victory parade, May 1958; Captain Floyd Crawford receives the World Cup in Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1959 “I KNOW MY GRANDFATHER SAID THAT IT WAS ONE OF HIS PROUDEST MOMENTS IN HIS LIFE WHEN THE BELLEVILLE MACS DEFEATED THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL TEAM AND THE CANADIAN FLAG RAISED UP ABOVE THE RUSSIAN FLAG.” JOHN MCFARLAND MACS defeated the Russian national team and the Canadian flag raised up above the Russian flag,” he says. For the remaining team players, it was a chance to remember again one great moment when they were the very best hockey players in the world. “You have no idea the feeling when we won,” says Keith MacDonald. “Floyd Crawford got up on that stage with both of the other team captains on each side of him. I’ll never forget it. And they played O Canada. I’m telling you something; it makes cold chills go down your back. It was really something I will never forget.” “It’s something you never forget, that’s for sure,” says star forward Davey Jones looking down at the championship ring he still wears. “I can still get choked up over it just talking about it sometimes. It doesn’t seem possible that it’s 50 years ago. But it’s something that I have on my finger and it’s there every day. And that’s something you don’t forget.” Their fiery captain Floyd Crawford struggled to find some last words. He thanked the unsung heroes behind the team – their wives who raised the kids and kept house while their husbands pursued their hockey dreams – before remembering fans and his teammates. “The fans gave us something to shoot for,” he said. “Thanks to all my teammates. Thanks for all the times guys. And I want to thank the guys who are no longer here. You are in our memories.” photos courtesy of Author's collection and The Hastings County Historical Society anniversary of their overseas victory, the team members were honoured with another parade down Belleville’s main streets, and a gala evening at the city’s new Empire Theatre for the launch of a documentary and book produced in their honour. The Belleville Sports Hall of Fame sponsored the evening, and another sell-out crowd came out to cheer the McFarlands once again. For both players and their fans, it was an emotional night. The Mayor of Belleville, Neil Ellis, announced the city would be installing signs to honour the team. It was a healing moment for these proud players who plummeted from heroes to outcasts within a few months in the spring of 1959. It was redemption. John McFarland, the grandson of team owner H.J. McFarland, regretted his grandfather, who died in 1974, could not attend the special night. “I know my grandfather said that it was one of his proudest moments in his life when the Belleville WATERSHED 51