Latest news with #DurhamWasps
BBC News
30-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Durham Wasps founding member 'wished he hadn't left the team'
A founding member of one of the UK's most successful hockey teams wished he had not left it to play elsewhere, his son has Russell Proudfoot, known as Russ, was one of the first men to play for the Durham Wasps when it was formed in son, Chris Proudfoot, said his dad had "left his mark" and missed the Wasps when he started playing for Liverpool in the late 1940s, following a dispute with the owner of Durham Ice Rink. "To be at the conception of something and to start it off... he was one of the founders so you can't say more than that. He left his mark," Mr Proudfoot said. Russ's hockey past has been remembered amid a project to commemorate Durham's ice rink, which closed in is being collected and local artist Lewis Hobson is planning to create a mural celebrating the venue, which was demolished in about the project prompted his family to contact the BBC to offer some of his items and they shared his story. Russ was born in 1923 and briefly lived in Canada as a child before returning to County Durham in the late hockey did not find him until after the end of the war, which had brought Canadian pilots to the area."The locals saw them doing this and they started joining in and they formed a team," his son said. Mr Proudfoot recalls his dad telling him about the freezing cold ice baths he used to take after getting "a real good pounding on the backside with a stick" during a game."He remembered going into the changing rooms, virtually struggling to walk and somebody just filled a bucket of water and pushed them into the bucket."So he was left sitting in the bucket of water, to cool yourself down and stop it from bruising." Although the team went on to achieve remarkable success in the 1980s, Mr Proudfoot said it had humble beginnings."It was rough. I remember my dad saying that," the 68-year-old Proudfoot said the players had no protective clothing so his dad, who had served in the Navy, helped kit out the team with clothing such as thick jumpers."It was a violent sport, it still is a violent sport. Durham Wasps came out of nothing, but they were unbeatable, year after year after year," he left the Wasps in the late 1940s after a dispute over pay with the owner of the ice rink, John "Icy" went to play for Liverpool - but Mr Proudfoot said his dad later regretted his decision. "He said one of the things he wished he had never done was go [there]." Russ's hockey career came to an end in the early 1950s and he returned to his hometown Ferryhill and became a Proudfoot said his dad never took him to the ice rink but he went himself and watched the Wasps as a teenager. His mum was also a semi-professional ice dancer - but the skill did not rub off on him."I was a terrible ice skater. I could get around, but not good enough to play ice hockey," he Proudfoot, who now lives in Sunderland, said it was important to commemorate Durham Ice Rink because "it's not there anymore". "It's not as if someone can go down, a young kid, and say: 'How long has it been here? What's this?'," he said. "They can't do that, there's no-one there. There's no ice hockey. There's nothing. So the history is all there is." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'My dad was a founding member of Durham Wasps'
Russ Proudfoot, third at the back from left to right, pictured in 1947, was one of the first Durham Wasps players [Beamish, the Living Museum of the North] A founding member of one of the UK's most successful hockey teams wished he had not left it to play elsewhere, his son has said. William Russell Proudfoot, known as Russ, was one of the first men to play for the Durham Wasps when it was formed in 1946. Advertisement His son, Chris Proudfoot, said his dad had "left his mark" and missed the Wasps when he started playing for Liverpool in the late 1940s, following a dispute with the owner of Durham Ice Rink. "To be at the conception of something and to start it off... he was one of the founders so you can't say more than that. He left his mark," Mr Proudfoot said. Russ's hockey past has been remembered amid a project to commemorate Durham's ice rink, which closed in 1996. Memorabilia is being collected and local artist Lewis Hobson is planning to create a mural celebrating the venue, which was demolished in 2013. Advertisement Reading about the project prompted his family to contact the BBC to offer some of his items and they shared his story. Russ Proudfoot joined South Shields Marine School aged 16 and served in the Navy during World War Two [Supplied] Russ was born in 1923 and briefly lived in Canada as a child before returning to County Durham in the late 1920s. But hockey did not find him until after the end of the war, which had brought Canadian pilots to the area. "The locals saw them doing this and they started joining in and they formed a team," his son said. Mr Proudfoot recalls his dad telling him about the freezing cold ice baths he used to take after getting "a real good pounding on the backside with a stick" during a game. Advertisement "He remembered going into the changing rooms, virtually struggling to walk and somebody just filled a bucket of water and pushed them into the bucket. "So he was left sitting in the bucket of water, to cool yourself down and stop it from bruising." Russ Proudfoot, second at the back from left to right, helped the Wasps get clothing at the start [Supplied] Although the team went on to achieve remarkable success in the 1980s, Mr Proudfoot said it had humble beginnings. "It was rough. I remember my dad saying that," the 68-year-old said. Mr Proudfoot said the players had no protective clothing so his dad, who had served in the Navy, helped kit out the team with clothing such as thick jumpers. Advertisement "It was a violent sport, it still is a violent sport. Durham Wasps came out of nothing, but they were unbeatable, year after year after year," he said. Russ left the Wasps in the late 1940s after a dispute over pay with the owner of the ice rink, John "Icy" Smith. He went to play for Liverpool - but Mr Proudfoot said his dad later regretted his decision. "He said one of the things he wished he had never done was go [there]." The Durham Wasps, pictured in 1961, went on to reach great success in the 1980s [Beamish, the Living Museum of the North] Russ's hockey career came to an end in the early 1950s and he returned to his hometown Ferryhill and became a baker. Mr Proudfoot said his dad never took him to the ice rink but he went himself and watched the Wasps as a teenager. Advertisement His mum was also a semi-professional ice dancer - but the skill did not rub off on him. "I was a terrible ice skater. I could get around, but not good enough to play ice hockey," he recalled. Mr Proudfoot, who now lives in Sunderland, said it was important to commemorate Durham Ice Rink because "it's not there anymore". "It's not as if someone can go down, a young kid, and say: 'How long has it been here? What's this?'," he said. "They can't do that, there's no-one there. There's no ice hockey. There's nothing. So the history is all there is." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. More on this story Related internet links
The Courier
05-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
When Fife Flyers became British champions at Wembley in 1985
Fife Flyers were crowned the new kings of British ice hockey on May 5 1985 in front of then-record 7,300 fans at Wembley Arena. It was the biggest crowd to watch a game in Britain since the 1960s. The 9-4 win over Murrayfield Racers secured a first British Championship since 1978. It was the underdog tale no one saw coming. Club historian John Ross said the summer of 1984 was a watershed for the Flyers. 'The club had elite facilities, the highest attendances in Scotland, a productive youth development programme and considerable commercial and media interest – every indication of success except a trophy-winning team,' he told me. 'In a trail-blazing move, Flyers team manager John Haig and vice-chairman Jack Dryburgh undertook an extensive scouting mission in Toronto in June 1984. 'Their brief was simple – bring back three men who could transform a struggling side into a championship outfit. 'Along with a valuable transatlantic contact Cameron Killoran, the pair spent a fortnight assessing over 80 recommended players. 'Eventually they chose their three men, not solely on grounds of playing ability but mindful of maturity, marketability and adaptability to the British scene.' They signed Canadians Ron Plumb, Dave Stoyanovich and Danny Brown. Crucially, the club believed the trio was what was required off the ice as well as on it. Plumb became player-coach. He was 34 and had played in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers. Stoyanovich was playing for Nova Scotia Voyageurs in the American Hockey League. Brown joined from the University of Western Ontario. He was a Canadian Olympic trialist. The imports blended seamlessly with local talent like Andy Linton, Neil Abel, Gordon Latto, Dougie Latto, Gary McEwan, Brian Peat and Jimmy Pennycook. John said: 'In a still semi-professional era, coach Plumb understood the conflicting demands on time, family, and fitness and coaxed the best from weary limbs and minds. 'He got to know and charmed families and employers. 'He knew that the team was bigger than just a bunch of hockey players. 'Respected and liked by management, players and fans, Plumb valued the full squad and created the best team spirit the Flyers had known for years.' Anticipation was high. A crowd of 2,500 watched the opening game. Crowds doubled and ice hockey surpassed football. The Flyers were pulling in a bigger attendance than Raith Rovers. No mean feat given it was the time of the miners' strike and mass unemployment. Among the fans was world darts champion Jocky Wilson. He became so enthusiastic that he sponsored winger Chic Cottrell in 1984. The Plumb-inspired Flyers were challenging for silverware again. They finished runners-up in the Autumn Cup after being defeated by Durham Wasps. John said the Flyers could have been forever the bridesmaid that season. 'The league campaign had seen the Flyers first win in Edinburgh for six years and they were the first team to take a point against the Durham Wasps in the north east in that same time span,' he said. 'The reigning champions Dundee Rockets lost five of the six league and cup matches against the Flyers which was the exactly how the Flyers had fared against Dundee the previous season – the tide had turned. 'The Rockets were also defeated in the Scottish Cup final by the Flyers. 'The Flyers gained their first piece of silverware.' The Heineken Premier Division was a tight affair with the Flyers finishing second to the Wasps by two points in a title race which went down to the wire. The Rockets finished seventh after losing 8-5 to the Flyers in a midweek game. The top six in the final standings qualified for the Heineken Championship play-offs. The quarter-final involved a round-robin three-team group stage. Flyers won all four matches against Ayr Bruins and Cleveland Bombers. The classic 9-8 win against Ayr at Kirkcaldy Ice Rink was shown on BBC Grandstand. Stoyanovich got the winner with two minutes to the buzzer. Flyers and Ayr progressed to Wembley. They were joined by Murrayfield Racers and Streatham Redskins. Wasps were surprisingly eliminated. Flyers headed to Wembley on a 15-game winning streak. John said: 'For small-town Kirkcaldy, the Wembley weekend was an adventure in itself, with a scramble for transport and accommodation as it suddenly seemed possible that the dream could come true. 'By bus, car, plane and train, over 1,000 Flyers' fans journeyed south to London to roar their team on. 'It was the Flyers first appearance at Wembley. 'The town was riding the wave that had been created all season long by this team.' Flyers played the Redskins in the first semi-final on Saturday May 4 at 1.30pm. They won 12-3 with Abel, Brown and Stoyanovich all grabbing a hat-trick each. Plumb and Linton scored the other goals. Racers defeated the Bruins 13-4 in the second semi-final at 7.30pm. Wembley Arena was packed with 7,300 spectators and millions of viewers watched live on BBC Two's Sunday Grandstand in the company of Des Lynam. It was expected to be a close game between the two great rivals. But it was all over in the first period. Brown opened the scoring after only two minutes. He got his second four minutes later. Plumb made it 3-0 on 10 minutes with a power play goal. Murrayfield scored through John Hay before Chic Cottrell netted from close-range for Flyers and Stoyanovich increased the lead to 5-1. Brown completed his hat-trick with two fine goals in the last 90 seconds. Murrayfield threw everything at netminder Andy Donald in the second period. The 20-year-old was in brilliant form. The period ended goalless. Jim Lynch pulled one back three minutes into the final period. Stoyanovich struck for Flyers just 20 seconds later. Gordon McDougall and John Hay reduced the deficit to 8-4 but Jimmy Pennycook ended the Edinburgh side's hopes with a goal five minutes from time. The buzzer sparked wild celebrations on the ice and in the stands. It was an electrifying atmosphere. 'The obvious stars were of course the three Canadians – Danny Brown, Dave Stoyanovich and Ron Plumb,' said John. They were all chosen for the end of season all-star team. Plumb was awarded coach of the year and Stoyanovich broke the scoring records at that time in the Heineken League by eclipsing Roy Halpin of the Rockets. 'His 171 goals (and 277 points in total) across all competitions in the season also remains the most of any player in any season in history for the Flyers,' said John. 'That said it wasn't a three-man show. 'Despite winning 9-4 it was the netminder who picked up man of the match. 'Andy Donald was a key player throughout the season.' The majority of fans thronged the ice rink a couple of days later to celebrate with the team who were also given a civic reception at the Townhouse in Kirkcaldy. The last word goes to John. 'A near-perfect weekend's work left the opposition outplayed and outclassed and by the end of Wembley 85 nobody could deny that the Flyers were worthy British champions. 'The transformation was complete.'
BBC News
18-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Durham ice rink mural plan to rediscover lost history
A long-demolished ice rink, once home to one of the UKs most successful hockey teams, could be commemorated with a Lewis Hobson has been rediscovering the history of Durham Ice Rink, which closed in 1996, ahead of creating an artwork for the site on The Sands, where the passport office is now located, was home to the Durham Wasps and the centre of a thriving community hub. Mr Hobson, from Durham, has been collecting artefacts and memorabilia which are being exhibited along with an example mural celebrating the old rink. The artist said he grew up with stories about the importance of the rink and was inspired to find out what its closure meant to people in the city."I was really interested in what this loss means for the community and what has replaced it, if anything has replaced it," he over a year he has been collecting stories about the site and different objects marking people's experiences the accumulated memorabilia are knitted gloves, jumpers, hand-made banners and a handkerchief with the names of Wasps players from the memories and artefacts will inspire a final mural planned for later this year, with a documentary also under way. The ice rink opened in 1940, the vision of local ice seller John 'Icy' War Two brought Canadian pilots to the area, including a handful of National Hockey League professionals, and they formed a services hockey league."This is what really kick started ice hockey in Durham," Mr Hobson, 31, Wasps were founded by an Canadian airman, Michael Davey, and local men in 1946, but it was in the late 1980s and early 1990s that they became hugely successful. "They were like the Manchester United of British Ice Hockey at the time," the Durham artist said."But the rink closed and we haven't had a replacement, so the history was lost." The end of ice hockey in Durham came when the Wasps were bought by the then Newcastle United Sir John Hall, in 1995, who wanted to move the team north. "This meant the team and the community were split. Half went to Newcastle and half stayed in Durham," Mr Hobson rink was closed in 1996 and the building demolished in 2013. Mr Hobson has painted an artwork inside the Place Lab pop-up at the Prince Bishops shopping centre and is consulting with the community to find the "perfect" final design."Because so many people visited the ice rink and so many people really loved it and miss it, my hope is that someone who has a really nice wall also wants a mural," Mr Hobson his exhibition, called Blank Slate, runs until 27 April and also shines a light on Durham's ice skating and street skating Clark, head of culture, sport and tourism at Durham County Council, said the local authority was "in discussion" with Lewis about creating the is hoped the artwork will be painted in the city centre by the end of the year."This history is really important," Mr Hobson said."A mural is the final thing to say this history has been rediscovered." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
