Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire ” proudly sponsored by Pete’s Auto Body.
Pete’s Auto Body; because we care about our community……
I often talk about the Knights of Meaford of the Greater Metro Junior Hockey League.
But decades before the Knights of Meaford of the GMHL, there was the Knights of Meaford of the Metro Toronto Senior B Hockey League.
Author Brad Wilcox has completed a book titled ” Too Far Back In The Bush ” that chronicles hockey history in Meaford, specifically highlighting the 1957-58 Ontario Senior B Champion Knights
The title of the book comes from a column written by prominent Toronto Star columnist Milt Dunnell who documented the opposition to the Meaford entry by the existing Toronto-based franchises who cited that the Knights were ” too far back in the bush “.
Some have suggested the opposition wasn’t based on geography but rather on the talented roster the Knights had put together from the region which included some former Owen Sound Mercury players along with talented players out of Collingwood.
And in fairness, there was reason to be wary of the Knights when you look at the fascinating list of hockey names from the area; Henry, Jamieson, Kazarian, Keeling, MacDonald, McComb and many more- players I never saw play but have heard tales of their talent for decades.
In 1957-58 the Knights of Meaford beat Collingwood, the Oakville Meteors and the Woodstock Athletics to win the W.A. Hewitt Trophy.
More than 60 years later, that championship and so many other stories from the era are documented and accompanied by old tyme photographs, scoring stats and game scores in ” Too Far Back In The Bush “.
For Pete’s Auto Body I’m Fred Wallace