Whitby Dunlops
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| Whitby Dunlops | ||
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| City: | Whitby, Ontario | |
| League: | E.O.S.H.L. | |
| Founded: | 1954 (Original) 2004 (Revived) |
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| Home Arena: | Iroquois Park, Pad #1 | |
| Home Arena (Original Era): |
Whitby Community Arena | |
| Colours: | Red, White, Black & Gold | |
| Head Coach: | Mike Posavad | |
| General Manager: | Wayne Kewin | |
The Whitby Dunlops are a team in the Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League. The "Dunnies" were revived in 2004, on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the original team. The Dunlops play home games at the Whitby Iroquois Park arena complex, on pad #1, in Whitby, Ontario.
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[edit] Original Dunlops
Two previous teams have played as the Whitby Dunlops. The first was an OHA Senior team from 1954-1960. The second was a junior team from 1962 to 1963.
[edit] 1954 to 1960
The original Whitby Dunlops were founded from the remnants of the former Oshawa Generals team of 1952-53. After the Hambly Arena fire destroyed the Generals home ice, the team was disbanded and some of the older players on the team along with manager Wren Blair, became the Oshawa Truckmen and operated from Bowmanville, ON for the 1953-54 season.
In 1954, the Oshawa Truckmen were relocated to Whitby and were temporarily known as the Whitby Seniors, playing out of the now-demolished Whitby Community Arena. The team was soon sponsored by the Dunlop Rubber Company, and renamed the Whitby Dunlops. The team started as a Senior B team, winning its division the first year. The following year the Dunlops moved up to the Senior A league.
1958 World Champions
The Senior A team would go on to win two Allan Cups (in 1957 and 1959) and a World Hockey Championship (in 1958). Notable members of the team are, former Whitby mayor Bob Attersley, former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Sid Smith and Boston Bruins president Harry Sinden. The Town of Whitby honoured this great team for their incredible achievements with their induction into the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame.
Harry Sinden was captain of the 1958 Dunlops, while former Leaf captain Sid Smith was a playing coach. The team took an ocean liner to the championships in Norway because team manager Wren Blair was terrified of flying. Everyone was sick for six days because of the rough waters but the chance to restore Canada's pride was worth it. After a 14 game exhibition tour of Europe the Dunlops competed at the World Championships in Oslo, Norway.
| It was a traumatic time for Canadian hockey. We'd lost at the '56 Olympics and nobody could believe it," recounted Sinden, noting Canada boycotted the 1957 worlds because the Soviets had invaded Hungary. "In 1958, when we finally went, everyone was anxious to get back what was lost. |
[edit] 1962 to 1963
The Senior A Dunlops folded after 1960, and were replaced in 1961 by a team in the Metro Junior A league known as the Whitby Mohawks. The Mohawks were a junior B team that was promoted to play in the new junior A league. After one season, the Mohawks were renamed the Dunlops. The junior team played for two combined years then folded.
Unlike the previous Senior A version of the Dunlops which descended in part from the Oshawa Generals, the Junior A team played against the revived Oshawa Generals in the Metro Junior A league during the 1962-63 season.
[edit] Modern Dunlops
2004-2005
The current Dunnies were revived by a group of 31 local business and hockey personalities led by former Bowmanville Eagles owner Mike Laing who became the revived Dunnies first president. The Dunnies play out of the Ontario Hockey Association's Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League. The first year back (2004) for the Dunlops was a success on the ice, finishing second overall in the league. The team played in the league finals versus the Norwood Vipers losing the series in 6 games.
2005-2006
The EOSHL was elevated in status after the 2004-05 season, becoming eligible to contend for the Allan Cup. The second year the Dunlops finished in first place overall. They prevailed in a rematch versus the Norwood Vipers, winning the league championship in a 6 game series for the Re/Max Upper Canada Realty Cup.
The EOSHL champion Dunlops played the Major League Hockey champion Dundas Real McCoys defeating them 3 games to 1 in a best-of-five series. for the Robertson Cup.
The Dunlops hosted the defending Allan Cup champions, Thunder Bay Bombers in a best-of-three series for the Renwick Cup played on three consecutive nights at Iroquois Park. The Dunlops defeated the Bombbers 2 games to 1 to win the Renwick Cup and the right to go to the 2006 Allan Cup, in Powell River, British Columbia.
After losing their first game, Whitby reached the Allan Cup finals. The Dunlops lost 7-1 in the championship game to the host team, the Powell River Regals.
[edit] Yearly results
Complete results from 1954-55 and 1955-56 unavailable.
Season GP W L T Pts Pct GF GA 1956-57 52 34 16 2 70 0.673 290 185 1957-58 36 27 6 3 57 0.792 197 116 1958-59 52 33 11 8 74 0.712 254 174 1959-60 54 34 20 0 70 0.630 220 199
1961-62 36 14 20 2 30 0.417 123 170 1962-63 40 11 21 8 30 0.375 167 225
Season GP W L OL Pts Pct GF GA 2004-05 30 20 10 0 40 0.667 --- --- 2005-06 30 25 5 0 50 0.833 219 109
[edit] NHL alumni
Listed in chronological order from first season played, with dates in parentheses.
- Harry Sinden (54-55, 55-56, 56-57, 57-58, 58-59, 59-60)
- John Henderson (55-56, 56-57, 57-58, 58-59, 59-60)
- Charlie Burns (56-57, 57-58)
- Connie Broden (57-58)
- Roy Edwards (57-58)
- Wally Maxwell (57-58)
- Sid Smith (57-58, 58-59)
- Pete Babando (58-59, 59-60)
- Bob Hassard (58-59, 59-60)
- Brent Grieve (2004-05, 2005-06)
[edit] External links
- www.whitbydunlops.com - Official team web site
- www.iroquoispark.com - Iroquois Park web site
- www.whitby.ca - City of Whitby web site
