Page 26 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 128
P. 26
Presents Jim Riddell’s Sports Talk
with Area Senior : Bob Deschamps
Serving You Since 1937
milk door to door with a horse and By age 13, Bob was playing
buggy at the time, with Bob saying with Jr. B hockey with St. John
that the frozen “Road Apples” Bosco in the Holy Name Society
(horse droppings) were heavy and League. The team was coached by
made great pucks. In the mid-fifties his dad, Bruno Deschamps, and
the Deschamps family moved to Bob’s older brother Nick played
By Jim Riddell Fifteenth Street, which was mostly defense. The Toronto Maple Leaf’s
a field at that time. “There was a Organization held player rights for
“We would play hockey little pond in what we used to call the league and scouted it regularly.
anywhere we could, the street, Fetterly’s Bush and we would play Many players from the Holy Name
outdoor rink, a pond, or a quarry, there. They had dug a quarry near League would move up to play for
it didn’t matter” Bob recalled. the train station, and we would take the Gordon Refrigeration Royals,
“We lived on McConnell between our scrapers and clean it off. Late in (Cornwall Royals), in the Central
First and Second. Nativity had the winter when it started to thaw Jr A Hockey League. Bob made
an outdoor rink and my brother there would be water around the that move at age 16 and played with
Nick, and I, used to skate down the edge and we would have to jump the Royals for the next four years.
sidewalk to the rink with sparks out onto the ice. If a puck went into “My first game was near the end
flying - I don’t think that either of the water one of us would have to of the season and my brother Nick
us ever had a pair of sharp skates.” reach into the water and try to find asked me if I wanted to ‘come and
The Eastside dairy was delivering it.” play for Red’.” “Red Laselle was
Photo Submitted Continued on page 27
