News/Events
HOCKEY NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR ANNOUNCES NAMES OF NEW MEMBERS BEING INDUCTED INTO THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME
May 19, 2009
Grand Falls-Windsor, NL
Four new members have been elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame.
Names of the four have been announced by Provincial Hockey President Gerry Evans.
Players Al Bargery of Grand Fall-Windsor, Ford Metcalfe of Conception Bay South and Ed Oates of St. John’s, and Media member John Murphy of Mount Pearl will be inducted during a June 6 banquet held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador at the Albatross Hotel in Gander.
In naming the four new members, Evans cited them as “exceptional hockey people. They all enjoyed outstanding hockey careers and will certainly add to the prestige of the Hockey Hall of Fame. They are very worthy additions.”
Evans thanked “the individuals who were interested enough to submit nominations. They are the backbone of the Hall of Fame and we need them to continue to submit nominations for consideration. There are many others who deserve to be considered.”
He paid tribute to the Hall’s Selection Committee of Chair George Fardy of St. John’s, Eric Dawe of Gander, Bern Tricco of Labrador City, Don Johnson of St. John’s and Art Barry of Stephenville.
The inductees:
AL BARGERY
Al Bargery excelled defensively and offensively at every level of hockey from minor to senior during an impressive career that lasted more than 15 years. His outstanding play in all types of situations was such that he earned recognition as one of the top players to perform with teams from Grand Falls in a variety of competition.
He took full advantage of the excellent coaching that was available in Grand Falls, playing on teams that were coached by experts like Wes Trainor and Joe Byrne. His determination was a major asset to every team of which he was a member, especially in shutting down the top scorers of opposing teams.
He understood hockey well and was known for the all-out effort he put into every game. He was certainly a credit to Grand Falls hockey during his complete career.
From his exceptional minor hockey record through high school, junior and senior he established himself as a tremendous team player with valuable individual talent and skill. From the mid 1950’s to the early 1970’s Al Bargery simply played high level hockey for numerous teams.
He was still in a very rewarding minor career, when his ability gained him a spot on the Grand Falls Academy high school club in 1957. He was a valuable contributor as the team won the Sir Vincent Jones Shield, Grand Falls Memorial Trophy and the Grand Falls Junior League Trophy for 1958-59 and 1959-60.
Within the Grand Falls Senior League, he played from 1960 to 1962 with his Guards team taking the 1961-62 title. Al Bargery was a leader for the Vocational School entry in Grand Falls senior hockey that won the 1965-66 championship and he was the playoff Most Valuable Player.
On the provincial level, he stood out with the Grand Falls Junior Jays for three seasons, winning the Veitch Memorial Trophy as 1959-60 junior champions.
In senior provincial play, he had two Herder Memorial Trophy titles with the Cataracts and two Evening Telegram trophies for first place. On two occasions he performed in Allan Cup competitions.
As both a Cataract and an Andcos member he earned great respect for the manner in which he represented his home town and was voted an all-time all-star for the community in a newspaper poll.
Al Bargery’s love for hockey is clearly demonstrated by the fact that he has played with the Oldtimers Green Machine for 30 years.
FORD METCALFE
The finest athlete to ever come out of Conception Bay South, Ford Metcalfe enjoyed a nine-season provincial senior career that equals the vast majority of players within Newfoundland and Labrador hockey.
The manner in which he conducted himself on and off the ice and the great skill he displayed in every game in which he played were vital aspects of encouraging boys and girls, men and women to become fine hockey players.
He declined a tryout offer from the Saskatchewan Quakers of the Western Hockey League.
Since there was no school or minor hockey in Conception Bay South during his younger years, Ford Metcalfe was forced to play his starting hockey on ponds and lakes prior to moving into the St. John's Junior League as a member of the Guards.
He won the league scoring title in his first season, 1966-67 and continued to play top level local hockey with the Guards in the St. John’s Senior League.
In provincial junior play, his rights were owned by Bell Island and he was the top performer for the Islanders in the 1966-67 provincial junior competition.
As a member of the St. John's Capitals during his nine-year senior career, he was a vital factor in St. John's winning three Herder Memorial Trophies and three provincial senior hockey titles. Always among the Capitals' top point getters, he saw a great deal of service killing penalties and on the team's power play.
Playing during an era that had a large number of imported, paid players, Ford Metcalfe was so good that he would have been a starter on any of the teams entered in provincial senior hockey during that time.
He was an excellent senior hockey player who could score, assist, skate and hit, always demonstrating his exceptional desire to be a “team” player. Because of his great ability to perform with excellent efficiency defensively, he was often put on a line with two top offensive players.
In addition to his often amazing ability to back-check with the very best, he was very effective along the boards, in the opposing corners and behind the opposing goal.
His 215 games in the regular schedule of provincial senior hockey accounted for 98 goals, 89 assists, 187 points and 241 penalty minutes. He added 13 goals and 14 assists in Herder Trophy playoffs and scored one goal in the 1970 Allan Cup series.
He is a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall of Fame, the Conception Bay South Sports Hall of Fame, the provincial softball hall of fame and the St. John’s softball hall of fame.
JOHN MURPHY
From his 1963 start with radio station CKCM in Grand Falls, John Murphy created an extremely knowledgeable, certainly unbiased and very popular hockey broadcasting career that played a major role in the overall acceptance and growth that the sport developed in all areas of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Blessed with a natural talent, he was willing to devote the time and effort to generate a radio style that attracted listeners, especially hockey fans, to an impressive number of hockey broadcasts. John Murphy earned listeners’ respect with his high level professional approach to his broadcasters.
An open approach to all aspects of the game allowed him to gain the confidence and respect of players, coaches and team staff, fans and the listening public. He gained in-depth knowledge of each player, was always aware of team situations and simply displayed plenty of knowledge about hockey.
John Murphy knew hockey and his association with hockey people resulted in informed and entertaining broadcasts.
While the Grand Falls teams were the main recipients of great radio coverage, the excellence of his efforts was of apparent value to every club within provincial hockey. They were all treated fairly and with respect as John Murphy earned his credit for a great hockey broadcasting career.
He brought the same high level skill to Allan Cup games that he demonstrated in Herder Trophy competition, thus providing important coverage for hockey listeners in every area of the province when local clubs were involved in national play.
His reputation was such that he often provided his services for a variety of events as guest speaker or as master of ceremonies. His presence added to the successes and importance of such events and was greatly appreciated.
He was a hard worker with Mount Pearl Minor Hockey for four years after moving from Grand Falls to head VOCM and the radio network. He worked well and hard within the organization in several capacities.
It should be noted that after a series of promotions limited his broadcasting, John Murphy continued to demonstrate his love of hockey in promotional decisions that were important and valuable to the growth of hockey locally and provincially.
ED OATES
Ed Oates owns a hockey career that features exceptional achievement as a player and an extremely impressive record as a coach. Overflowing with successes, his career is a model that can be used for anybody in hockey and he earned everything it contains.
He started his great career with St. John’s minor and continued winning in high school play with Brother Rice. He was a major factor in the Celtics team that won the junior Atlantic, provincial, St. John’s and Newfoundland and Labrador Winter Games championships prior to moving into senior competition.
Ed Oates displayed his valuable talent at a young age and he added greatly to any club of which he was a member. He was a leader with a succession of teams that won titles and provided excellent example for his teammates and opponents of how the game should be played.
He was a member of the St. John’s Capitals who won the Herder Trophy as provincial champions in 1987 and 1990. He moved to the Flatrock Flyers when the provincial senior hockey format changed and led the Flyers to Herder titles in 1993, 1997, 1998 and 2003.
His outstanding ability to produce as an offensive player is shown in his 14-year career in the Avalon East Senior Hockey League. He is the second highest all-time league scorer with 129 goals, 225 assist for 364 points in 206 games.
As a player, Ed Oates was a determined, talented and productive performer who refused to back down from any obstacle and demonstrated a great ability in all areas of the ice. He was simply a tremendous player.
And he continued this level of performance when he moved into the coaching ranks. His record of coaching equals the great record he compiled as a player. The in-depth knowledge that he acquired while playing was very evident in teams that he coached. They displayed the Ed Oates approach to the game with remarkable success.
The Conception Bay CeeBees Stars that he began to coach in 2004 compiled an impressive record of 128 wins, 26 losses and three ties in the 155 games they played under his control during five seasons. This record came while the CeeBees faced the best senior teams of the period.
The overall record of the CeeBees from 2004 to 2008 under the leadership of Ed Oates works out to be a phenomenal winning percentage of 83%. This is certainly a clear indication of the manner in which he achieved five AESHL titles and three consecutive Herder Trophy championships. He was simply a tremendous coach.
MEMBERS
Members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame include:
(The Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame inducted its first members June 11, 1994.)
1994 –
Athletes -- Frank “Andy” Cahill, Alex Faulkner, George Faulkner, Doug Grant.
Athlete\Builder – Jack Reardigan, Terry Trainor
Builder --Msgr. George Bartlett, Hon. Robert S. Furlong, Donald S. Johnson, Brian Wakelin
1995 –
Athletes --Jack Faulkner, Jim "Bucky" Hannaford, Joe Lundrigan, John Murphy, Bill Scott
Athlete\Builder -- Joe Byrne, Roger Howse, Hugh Wadden
Builder -- Walter Clarke, Carl Hansen, Harold Hillier, Vince Rossiter, T.A. "Gus" Soper
1996 –
Athletes -- Frank ‘Danky’ Dorrington, Al Dwyer (Jr.), Frank Finlayson, Robert Petrie, Frank Walker
Athlete\Builder --Herbert Augustus “Gus” Herder
Builder --Claude Anstey, Cliff Gorman
1997 --
Athletes – Stan Breen, Cal Dunville, Hugh Fardy
Builders -- Eric Dawe, Ron Taaffe
1998 --
Athletes -- Watson John “Wats” Goobie, Wilson “Copper” Leyte, Harry “Moose” Watson
Builders -- George “Daddy” Dawe, Samuel James “Sam” Rose
1999 –
Athletes -- Charles “Charlie” P. Cahill, Michael “Mike” D. Kelly, William Clifton George Martin, Leo Murphy
Athlete\Builder -- Walter “Walt” Davis
Builders -- Arthur Johnson
Media -- Robert “Bob” Cole
2000 –
Athletes – George Connors, Jimmy Dawe, Zane Forbes, Merv Green, Donald Howse, Jim Kennedy, Ed Philpott, Terry Ryan Sr., Harold Stanley
Athlete\Builder – Bob Badcock
Builders – Neil Amadio, Peter J, Duffy, Ambrose O’Reilly, William Parrott
Media – John M. Tobin
2001
Athletes – Terry Gilliam, Rob Gladney, Jim Temple
Athlete-Builder – Rick Babstock
Builder – Mel Andrews, Charlie McCarthy
Media – John Mayo
2002 –
Athletes – Randy Pearcey, Jim Penney, Tony White
Athlete/Builder – Ray Bowe
Builder – Ron Healey
Female – Colleen Tapper
Media – George MacLaren
2003
Athletes – Ian Campbell, Brian Gibbons, Ernie Hynes, Dick Power
Athlete-Builder – Joe Maynard, Gerry Taylor
Builder –Don Walsh
Female – Glennis (Thorne) Thomey
Media – Joe Mullins
2004
Athletes – Ted Gillies, James Guy, Hubert Hutton, Gerry Lahey, Cyril Power
Athlete-Builder – Stan Cook
Builder – Claude Browne, Howie Meeker, Wayne Mercer, Mike Squires
2005
Athletes – Bill Breen, Roger Dean, Bern Fitzpatrick, Alfie Hiscock, Andy Sullivan
Athlete-Builder – Wes “Bucko” Trainor
Builder – Frank Moores
Female – Debby Power
2006
Athletes – Nigel Face, Roger Kennedy, Doug Squires
Builder – Francis Wiseman
Media – John Gibbon
2007
Athletes – Mike Anderson, Alex Blanchard, Leo Kane, Harry Katrynuk
Builder – Len Butt, Gerry Kelly
Media – Bill Callahan
2008
Athletes – Eg Billard, Jake Critch, Clar Goulding
Athlete-Builder – Ed O’Brien
Builder – Wayne Russell
2009
Athletes – Al Balgery, Ford Metcalfe, Ed Oates
Media – John Murphy
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