Dave Paul Organized ball hockey was a pretty big deal 40 years ago. Played indoors during the summer the sport even attracted NHL players looking to stay in shape in the off-season.
Dave Paul
Organized ball hockey was a pretty big deal 40 years ago.
Played indoors during the summer the sport even attracted NHL players looking to stay in shape in the off-season.
There were leagues throughout Ontario and the best advanced to provincial and even national championships. Though the big tourneys still exist the sport lacks the draw it did in its heyday.
In the summer of 1981, a local league champion sponsored by Wilding Doors made the unlikely climb to the top to capture the Canadian ball hockey championship in Edmonton.
On Saturday, that team will be inducted into the Sarnia Lambton Sports Hall of Fame at the 34th annual enshrinement dinner at the Camlachie Community Centre.
“Back then, it was pretty amazing for a little town like Sarnia” to win a national title, said Randy Waring, a member of the squad.
“People were asking us, ‘Where’s Sarnia?’”
The team emerged from a very competitive local league.
“Almost everyone played Junior B or Junior C hockey,” said Waring, who was one of the exceptions. His experience was limited to street hockey.
The Wilding team had one member already playing in the National Hockey League – future hall-of-famer Dino Ciccarelli.
Another, Kraig Nienhuis, went on to play for the Boston Bruins.
Dino Ciccarelli’s brother, Rob, was team manager.
Waring said he was asked to join because he’d played football with Rob Ciccarelli and “I think he wanted someone on defence that knew how to hit.”
The league was full contact and the play often chippy with the occasional fight breaking out, Waring said.
“It was pretty rough … things got ugly sometimes,” he said.
“(It was) similar to lacrosse, except they wear equipment in lacrosse. We just wore a cup.”
The 1981 Wilding team was so good it defeated the defending national champs from Toronto, 7-1, to win the Ontario title. A week later they travelled to Alberta and went undefeated (6-0) at the national championships.
They were really only challenged in the second game, Waring recalled.
“We were down 3-0 but we came back. We scored three times to tie it and won 4-3 in overtime.
“It was exciting. We had a really good team. I still say, to this day, Mike Houle was one of the best ball hockey players I have ever seen. He was great on the power play and he was an incredible penalty killer. He would just take the ball and run around with it for a minute or a minute-and-a-half.”
Waring said it’s a “big deal” for team members to be recognized by the Hall of Fame. “I think we’re all pretty happy about it.”
Kraig Nienhuis will actually be inducted twice on Oct. 1, as part of the Wilding Doors ball hockey team, and as an individual in the professional athlete category.
Other Hall inductees include Bob Andrews and Vicki King (Amateur Athletes), Rick Taylor (Bud Morrison Award), Kent Helps (Special Achievement Award), Dave and Liz Brubaker (Builders), Herb Burdett (Earl Mackenzie Award), Wilf Clothier (Rose Hodgson Award). Cole Anderson of Sarnia and Cassidy Blunt of Watford are the recipients of the Pappy Burr Award. Tom Gabriel will be presented the Joe DeRush Award.
