Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “, brought to you by Hal Wright Chevrolet-Cadillac-GMC-Buick on the Sunset Strip in Owen Sound.
You know who I got thinking about the other day ? Art Diegel.
From 1987 to 1993, Art Diegel was the affable President of the Kitchener Rangers.
He was at the helm of the Rangers in the Winter of 1989 when the potential of an Ontario Hockey League team coning to Owen Sound surfaced; first as the transplanted Kingston Raiders in March & April of 89, and then officially in May-June of 89 when Joe Holody moved the Guelph Platers here.
Of course, the all knowing hockey intelligentsia in Southern Ontario quickly cited two major drawbacks any time Owen Sound came into the conversation.
One, the weather. There would be nothing but snowouts and cancellations they claimed if Owen Sound entered the OHL.
And two, crowd support. How could a tiny community of 20,000 people support such a major sports operation ?
Into the fray stepped Art Diegel, who as Kitchener’s President had some clout around the league.
In a backhanded fashion he fully supported Owen Sound’s ability to support the club, uttering the famous line, ” what else is there to do in Owen Sound on a Saturday night ? “
As for the weather, well based on the events of last week, the experts were right 25 years after the fact, maybe our climate is just too rugged to possibly operate an OHL franchise.
Thanks, Art Diegel.
I’m Fred Wallace