Greensboro exhibition game 1954-55?

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Julius

Greensboro exhibition game 1954-55?

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Posts: 1

(11/05/08 19:07:11)

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Hello, my name is Bill, I'm a sports writer/editor from the Atlantic City, NJ, area. I'm hoping somebody on this forum with a good memory or knowledge of Greensboro's hockey history can help me with a research item for a magazine story I'm working on. I'm writing about a fellow named Art Dorrington who was the first black man to play pro hockey in this country back in the 1950s (he never made it to the NHL). He told me that in 1954 or '55, when he was with the Washington team in the old Eastern Hockey League, he played in an exhibition game in Greensboro that must have been one of the earliest ice hockey games in the south. This predated (I believe) the Baltimore Clippers' relocation to Charlotte in '56 or the Greensboro team's entry into the EHL for the 1959-60 season. It has cultural significance, as well, in that Art recalls plenty of racial tension in the area at the time - in fact, the local newspaper refused to run a photo of Art's team because of his presence in the photo. And it also predated by a few years the famous lunch counter protests in Greensboro that many credit with helping to launch the civil rights movement. In any event, if anybody with knowledge of this game or other insights as to where I might get more information could respond to this post, I would be much obliged. Thank you.

p.s. - Hockey fans here in Atlantic City share your pain over losing a minor-league team. The Boardwalk Bullies (now based in Stockton, CA) had a brief stint here, winning the ECHL title in 2002-03.

MBONDUR12

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Posts: 1644

(11/06/08 07:46:15)

Bush Tool

I remember reading something about this on this board a month or 2 ago. From what I remember of that post, I think the game in question was actually in Winston-Salem when the EHL had thoughts of expanding there (which never happened) after the old Winston-Salem Coliseum was built.

The EHL

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Posts: 44

(11/08/08 10:48:39)

Well, since the Greensboro Coliseum wasn't finished until right up when the Generals started playing, the question would be where did they play? I swear I read somewhere that there was a game of some sort in Winston-Salem (I thought the Baltimore Clippers played a game there), predating the Generals, but I cannot for the life of me find it. The Washington Lions were supposed to move to Winston Salem in 1956 (when Baltimore officially moved to Charlotte), but it fell through for a reason I have yet to uncover. The Winston Salem arena dates back to 1954 or 55, I think.
Hope this helps. I'd love to know more myself. Let us know when the article is out and where. I'd love to know more about Art Dorrington. (I was just noticing that the 1954-55 Washington Lions played a month of home games in Atlantic City - a natural fit with Dorrington in the lineup.)
Tom - http://TheEHL.com

The EHL

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Posts: 45

(11/13/08 18:46:41)

From the Washington Post

Jack Riley Seeks Job

Date:	Feb 24, 1956
Start Page:	61
Pages:	1
Section:	Great Outdoors
Text Word Count:	190

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Feb. 23 (AP) -- Jack Riley, former manager of Uline Arena in Washington D.C. conferred with officials here today about a job as manager of Memorial Coliseum where Eastern Hockey League teams have been playing two game encounters. You have to pay for the rest of the article. I'm assuming it talks about Riley, and not the games at Winston-Salem, but might be worth your effort. This was about a month (April 1) before the Washington Lions were scheduled to move to Winston Salem (and then didn't) The link is: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.c...desc=Jack+Riley+Seeks+Job

Last Edited By: The EHL 11/13/08 18:54:53. Edited 1 times.

TheEHL.toliveanddiewit...

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Posts: 3

(11/15/08 07:47:13)

If you go to this link: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.c...rical/advancedsearch.html

and search the Washington Post for "Greensboro hockey" (without the quotes), for 1954, the following article will come up...
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.c...ockey+Lions+Beaten%2C1

Hockey Lions Beaten, 8-1
The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959) - Washington, D.C.
Date:	Dec 23, 1954
Start Page:	29
Pages:	1
Section:	Sports AMUSEMENTS FINANCIAL CLASSIFIED COMICS
Text Word Count:	235

(Special Dispatch) NEW HAVEN, Conn., Dec. 22. -- The Washington Lions continued to act like hockey lambs on the road tonight, losing to New Haven, 8-1.

Again, one has to pay to get the rest of the article, and find out why the word "Greensboro" would be in this article. I did a quick search of hockeydb.com just to make sure that there were no players named "Greensboro". This may be the lead you need. Good luck!

The EHL

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Posts: 51

(02/05/09 07:13:08)

I got up to the library at Dartmouth yesterday, to peruse the Washington Post from the 50s. The article above from Dec 23, 1954 has no mention of Greensboro. The search engine must have included another article from the page. I'll check into the Winston-Salem articles next visit.
I've gone through most of the Worcester Telegram and Washington Post (2 of the 5 teams) sports sections from 1954-55 season, and am not seeing any mention of Greensboro or anywhere in North Carolina. My theory that perhaps some of the Baltimore Clippers non-Charlotte "home" games in 1955-56 after their arena burned down were play, has so far failed to hold frozen water.

Last Edited By: The EHL 02/05/09 07:15:25. Edited 1 times.

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