Chesley first organized a hockey club in January of 1899 after having a good turn out to a practice. It is noted in an edition of The Chesley Enterprise that most of the surrounding villages had hockey clubs and they didn’t want to be behind. That same edition mentions that the posts in the current rink were detrimental to hockey and that a new rink should be built immediately. Ice conditions played a huge part of the hockey season, and from the newspapers, it seems the Chesley team spent many of their home games on Paisley’s ice. The club won its first Western Ontario Hockey Association (W.O.H.A) championship in 1936.
1936 Season
By the middle of February 1936, the Intermediate Colts had finished their game schedule and waiting to know who they would meet int their group play-offs – either Hanover or Paisley. The snow must have been heavy that winter as the newspaper mentions that many games were postponed due to the impassable roads. In the end, they met the Paisley Cardinals, for a best two of three series. The Colts won the first game, the Cardinals the second, but the Colts were victorious in the “Sudden Death Game” winning 5-2.
In the semi-finals Chesley met Inglewood and played their first game in Erin. Of that series, Chesley won the first game, Inglewood the second. The third game was played in Arthur, where the Colts were once again victorious with a score of 6-3. With this win, they met their next opponent, Listowel. This series they too won, outscoring Listowel 11-4 in the series. The next series was the finals where they met the Kaufman Rubber Co. team of Kitchener.
The series, a best of three, was taken by the Colts in two straight wins with the scores 5-2 and 7-4. The Colts were down 4-0 halfway through the first came and staged a great comeback, then kept that energy going for the second game which was played in Chesley. The Chesley Enterprise noted that “…the victory is all the sweeter in that the feat was accomplished without a single import being on the line-up, the newly crowned champs presenting what is probably the greatest collection of strictly “home brews” that is performing in the amateur ranks today…”. Out of a team of 13 players, only one was not born in Chesley.
1938 Season
The 1938 season marked the third time in a row the Chesley Colts won the W.O.H.A. championship, for which they were awarded the London Free Press trophy. This season’s victory was especially special as it was the first time that two Bruce County teams were in the final, with Chesley playing against the Paisley Cardinals. The Chesley Enterprise, dated March 10th, 1938 noted that the Colts and Cardinals were likely the two teams in the district with the largest fan base and that for weeks a controversy had raged over who would be the victor if the teams met. The Enterprise notes at the first game “…the house was a sellout and window ledges and rafters were decked with spectators who jammed the rink for the first tilt of this fist all-north W.O.H.A. final series.”. Chesley won the series in two games. Many of the 1938 players, were the same as those that had won the two years previous and included Joe Pickard, Eric Marklevitz, George “Luke” Allen, Jasper Phillips, Douglas Crozier, Jack Fenton, Eldon “Snitz” Schneider, Frank “Butch” Murphy, Fred Graper, Archie Phillips, Douglas Murphy, and Allan Durie. The watch seen here is one of the ones awarded to the team upon their victory. This one belonged to Fred Graper, who played right wing on the 1936, 1937 and 1938 championship teams. The coaches during these years were Jack McDonald (1936 and 1938) and Bert Krug (1937).
1956-57 Season
The Chesley Colts didn’t win another championship for 20 years, until 1957 when the Colts won the Ontario Hockey Association title in the Junior D division. After winning the Bruce division, and defeating Arthur on the W.O.A.A. finals, they met with the Wingham Spitfires in a best five of nine series. Several games of the series were to sell out crowds as people turned out the cheer the team on. After defeating Wingham, the Colts faced off against Acton and swept the series in four straight games. They then met the Alliston Hornets for the O.H.A Junior D Championship in a best of seven series. The Colts suffered their first loss in 12 games when the Hornets took the fourth games of the series, avoiding another Colts sweep. Upon their win, the team was presented with the John Ross Robertson trophy.
After the win, the fan celebration followed the players returning home to Chesley. When they were within one mile of Chesley, they were met by the firetruck, and Chesley band. When they reached Chesley, it was all lit up and cheering fans were everywhere. The players then got into the firetruck and were paraded through town. Members of the winning team were Walter Henkel, John Nickel, Chuck Wallace, Wilmer Lamont, Don Franks, Les Kingston, Bob Wood, George Maxwell, Frank Trushinski, Danny Trushinski, Jack Flewelling, Mel Miller, Jimmy Black, Bev Woods, Harvey Davidson and Howie Walmsley. The team was coached by Ross McCurdy, trained by Jack Lettau, and managed by Bob Ankenmann.
A month after their victory and banquet was held in honour of the team. Here the team was presented trophies from the town, jackets from the Chesley Colts club, and medals from the Ontario Hockey Association.
1957-58 Season
During the 1957-58 season the Junior D Colts were O.H.A champions for the second time in a row, and the W.O.A.A champions for a third. They met Mount Forest in the W.O.A.A. final and won in four straight games. They then went on to play the Unionville Jets in the O.H.A finals and swept that series in four straight games as well. With their win taking place in Unionville, located in Eastern Ontario, the celebration wasn’t as large as the one the year before, however the team was still met by remarks from the mayor and a ride in the firetruck. Once again, the team was thrown a banquet by the Chesley Athletic Association and the town. Here they were presented with the W.O.A.A. and O.H.A trophies, and each player was given a crest, medal, jacket, and team photo, like the one seen here. The players that year were George Maxwell, Howie Walmsey, Jack Nickel, Doug Leith, Walter Henkel, Russ Hearn, Jack Thomson, Dave Grant, Herb Zippel, Frank Trushinski, Les Kingston, Bob Meyers, Danny Trushinski, Bob Woods, Wilmer Lamont, Chuck Wallace and Mel Miller. The coach was Ross McCurdy, and the manager was Bob Ankenmann.
Sources
BCM&CC. Print Photographic. 1958. A985.035.002. Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre.
“Hockey”, The Chesley Enterprise, January 12, 1899, Vol. 23 No. 17
“Sportlets”, The Chesley Enterprise, February 13, 1936, Vol. 60 No. 34
“Sportlets”, The Chesley Enterprise, February 20, 1936, Vol. 60 No.35
The Chesley Enterprise, February 27, 1936, Vol. 60 No.36
“Colts Cop Group Championship”, The Chesley Enterprise, March 5, 1936, Vol. 60 No.37
“W.O.H.A Makes Draw for Games”, The Chesley Enterprise, March 5, 1936, Vol. 60 No.37
“Colts Win Sudden Death Game”, The Chesley Enterprise, March 12, 1936, Vol. 60 No. 38
“Colts Take Series from Listowel”, The Chesley Enterprise, March 19, 1936, Vol. 60 No. 39
“Chesley Colts Win Intermediate W.O.H.A. Championship: Take Finals in Two Straight Games”, The Chesley Enterprise, March 26, 1936, Vol. 60 No. 40
“Colts and Kincardine Win First Senior Group Semi-Finals”, The Chesley Enterprise, February 10, 1938, Vol. 62 No. 34
“Colts Take First of Group Final”, The Chesley Enterprise, February 17, 1938, Vol. 62 No. 35
“Colts Win Game and Take Group Championship Third Year in a Row”, The Chesley Enterprise, February 24, 1938, Vol. 62 No. 36
“Colts Win First of W.O.H.A. Finals”, The Chesley Enterprise, March 10, 1938, Vol. 62 No. 38
“Colts Win Their Third Straight W.O.H.A. Senior Championship”, The Chesley Enterprise, March 17, 1938, Vol. 62 No. 39
“Chesley Colts Open Best of Nine Series with Wingham, Starting Last Night”, The Chesley Enterprise, February 14, 1957, Vol. 81 No. 26
“Colts Trounce Spits 7-2 at Wingham”, The Chesley Enterprise, February 28, 1957, Vol. 81 No. 28
“Colts Enter O.H.A Junior D Finals; Defeated Action in 4 Straight Games”, The Chesley Enterprise, March 28, 1957, Vol. 81 No. 32
“Colts First Loss in 12 Games, Alliston Wins 5-3 on Monday”, The Chesley Enterprise, April 11, 1957, Vol. 81 No. 34
“Chesley Colts are O.H.A. Champions, Defeating Alliston Handily in Finals”, The Chesley Enterprise, April 18, 1957, Vol. 81 No. 35
“A Long, Long Time Between Championships”, The Chesley Enterprise, April 25, 1957, Vol. 81 No. 36
“Chesley and District Pays Tribute to its WOAA-OHA Champions”, The Chesley Enterprise, May 9, 1957, Vol. 81 No. 38
“Colts Win Opener of WOAA Finals”, The Chesley Enterprise, March 20, 1958, Vol. 82 No. 30
“Chesley Colts Win W.O.A.A. Title for Third Consecutive Time”, The Chesley Enterprise, March 27, 1958, Vol. 82 No. 31
“Colts Tenth Straight Victory; Defeated Unionville 8-4 on Tuesday”, The Chesley Enterprise, April 3, 1958, Vol. 82 No. 32
“Sportlets”, The Chesley Enterprise, April 10, 1958, Vol. 82 No. 33
“Colts Captain Receives O.H.A. Trophy”, The Chesley Enterprise, June 5, 1958, Vol. 82 No. 41
“Champion Colts are Honored with Jackets, Trophies and Medals”, The Chesley Enterprise, June 5, 1958, Vol. 82 No. 41
