Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

LETHBRIDGE SUGAR KINGS

Date

1969

Materials

NYLON, POLYESTER, STEEL

No. Pieces

1

Length

71.5

Width

55.0

Description

RED NYLON EXTERIOR. FRONT OPENING HAS 7 WHITE PAINTED, STEEL SNAPS. EMBROIDERED ON LEFT BREAST IS A HOCKEY SKATE WITH WINGS ON IT, AND "LETHBRIDGE 68 69 SUGAR KINGS ALBERTA CHAMPIONS". THERE ARE TWO DOUBLE-BESOM POCKETS ON FRONT WAIST. CUFFS ON SLEEVES ALSO HAVE A WHITE PAINTED, STEEL SNAP EACH. INSIDE OF JACKET IS LINED WITH A WHITE SILKY MATERIAL. TAG INSIDE BACK OF NECK READS "BONWITT OF WINNIPEG CHAMPIONSHIP ATHLETIC WEAR". LINING HAS A FEW HOLES NEAR NECKLINE, AND IS SLIGHTLY DISCOLOURED IN PLACES.

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

SPORTS

History

JACKET OWNER, SYD HALL, WAS BORN (1928) AND RAISED IN LETHBRIDGE. IN HIS EARLY YEARS, HE PLAYED FOR THE LETHBRIDGE NATIVE SONS AND THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS. HE FOUNDED THE LETHBRIDGE MINOR HOCKEY ASSOCIATION, LETHBRIDGE SUGAR KINGS AND THE ALBERTA JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE. HE SERVED ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS, AS WELL AS THE SOUTHERN ALBERTA HOCKEY ASSOCIATION AND THE LETHBRIDGE OLDTIMERS HOCKEY ASSOCIATION. FROM 1963 TO 1972 HE WAS PART OWNER AND MANAGER OF THE SUGAR KINGS, A JUNIOR A TEAM. THE TEAM WAS FORMED USING THE BEST HOCKEY PLAYERS IN THE MINOR LEAGUE (AND MIDGET) SYSTEM. IN 1969 THE SUGAR KINGS WON THE ALBERTA TITLE, AND ADVANCED TO THE THIRD ROUND OF THE MEMORIAL CUP BEFORE LOSING TO THE REGINA PATS, ENDING THEIR PUSH FOR THE MEMORIAL CUP. THE TEAM ENDED AFTER THE LETHBRIDGE ARENA BURNED DOWN. THE TEAM TRIED TO PLAY, UNSUCCESSFULLY, FOR ONE SEASON AT HENDERSON LAKE. SUGAR KING TEAM JACKET WAS WORN BY ALL MEMBERS OF THE TEAM AND WAS TEAM PURCHASED. HE GUESSES IT MAY HAVE BEEN CATALOGUE ORDERED. HALL WORE THE JACKET UNTIL HE NO LONGER FIT INTO IT. FOR DETAILED HISTORY OF THE LETHBRIDGE SUGAR KINGS (1966-1972) SEE ARCHIVES DONATION P20011006000. *UPDATE* IN 2017 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT RUTHANN LABLANCE CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF CLOTHING, INCLUDING A JACKET DONATED BY SYD HALL. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION WAS COMPILED USING ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. A HERALD ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON MARCH 30, 2008 RECOUNTS SYD HALL’S INVOLVEMENT IN SPORTS IN LETHBRIDGE. THE ARTICLE EXPLAINS THAT SYD HAD JUST TURNED 80 AND THAT “THE LIFE-LONG LETHBRIDGE RESIDENT HAS BEEN REFERRING HOCKEY GAMES SINCE HE WAS 15 … ‘I GUESS YOU CAN SAY I’M STUBBORN BECAUSE I WON’T QUIT’ SAYS SYD, WHO CELEBRATED HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS AT THE LEGION SATURDAY … ‘I TRIED HOCKEY, BUT I WASN’T ANY GOOD’ HE RECALLS. ‘SO I DECIDED TO TAKE UP REFEREEING SINCE THEY HAD NO ONE TO REF THE GAMES BACK THEN.’ THROUGHOUT THE DECADES, SYD CONTINUED TO BLOW HIS WHISTLE AND MAKE THE CALLS OFFICIATING GAMES AT THE PEE-WEE, BANTAM, MIDGET, JUNIOR AND SENIOR LEVELS OF HOCKEY. FOR THE PAST 30-PLUS YEARS, HE’S DONNED THE PINSTRIPES FOR THOUSANDS OF OLDTIMERS HOCKEY GAMES, NOT JUST IN LETHBRIDGE, BUT IN B.C., THE U.S., AND EVEN EUROPE.” THE ARTICLE CONTINUES: “SYD HAS BEEN AN INSTRUMENTAL FIGURE IN HOCKEY IN LETHBRIDGE AND THROUGHOUT ALBERTA OUTSIDE OF HIS OFFICIATING. IN THE ‘50S, HE WAS ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE LETHBRIDGE MINOR HOCKEY ASSOCIATION. HE WAS ALSO PART OF A GROUP IN THE ‘60S WHO FORMED THE LETHBRIDGE SUGAR KINDS – A JUNIOR A CLUB HE MANAGED FOR ABOUT A DECADE … SYD’S DEDICATION AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GAME OF HOCKEY EARNED HIM AN INDUCTION INTO THE ALBERTA SPORTS HALL OF FAME, LETHBRIDGE SPORTS HALL OF FAME AND THE ALBERTA HOCKEY HALL OF FAME.” AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 19, 2009 ABOUT THE 55-PLUS ALBERTA WINTER GAMES READS: “A CORNERSTONE OF MINOR HOCKEY IN LETHBRIDGE SINCE 1946, SYD HALL WAS ALSO AMONG THOSE SELECTED TO CARRY THE TORCH AT WEDNESDAY’S CEREMONY … WHILE HE WON’T BE COMPETING IN THIS YEAR’S GAMES, HALL WILL NONETHELESS BE A PRESENCE. IN FACT, ANYONE LOOKING TO GET AWAY WITH A HOOKING OR HOLDING CALL CAN BANK ON GETTING BUSTED BY THE LONGTIME OFFICIAL. ‘I’M GOING TO REFEREE IN THEM TOO,’ SAID HALL, WHO STILL CALLS THE SHOTS WITH THE OLDTIMERS GAMES ON MONDAY AND THURSDAY MORNINGS.” SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR COPIES OF THE ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD.

Catalogue Number

P20010085000

Acquisition Date

2001-12

Collection

Museum

Less detail