Photo Courtesy of Nancy Ford / Hamilton College
Spirits were high in Clinton, N.Y. this weekend as the village celebrated its 100th year of ice hockey. In collaboration with the Village of Clinton and many local businesses, Hamilton College co-hosted a series of events titled “100 Years of Hockey.” The weekend, organized by Andy Burns ’78 and Ted Molloy ’78, numbered over a dozen, and took place both on and off College Hill.
Although the main focus was on the Saturday evening men’s hockey contest between Hamilton and Connecticut College, which the Continentals fought to a 2–2 overtime tie, the weekend’s lineup inlucded an artifacts display and historical lecture in Burke Library, a community keynote at Clinton High School, and a Kirkland Art Center-hosted youth hockey fundraiser. The Alexander Hamilton Institute also put on an autograph session with the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets.
The weekend’s slogan, “Thank you, Albert Prettyman,” paid tribute to the former Hamilton Athletic Director who, in February 1918, iced over a tennis court to create Clinton’s first hockey rink. Prettyman went on to coach the bronze-medal United States hockey team at the 1936 German Winter Olympic Games in Berlin.
Burns began planning for the event began over two years ago, when his personal passion led him to begin filming a documentary about Clinton hockey history. As he progressed with the film, Burns sensed that there was community support for a Clinton-based event. “I said ‘why don’t we throw a massive reunion?’”, Burns explained. He then reached out to Molloy, a former captain of the hockey team, and began organizing the 100 year celebration.
The celebration drew droves of alumni back to campus, including Hamilton’s most famous hockey alum, Guy Hebert ’89. Hebert played as Hamilton’s goalie before moving onto the National Hockey League (NHL), where he tended net for the St. Louis Blues, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and the New York Rangers before retiring in 2001. Herbert is now an associate host for Fox Sports Prime Ticket, covering Anaheim Ducks games.
For his contribution to the Clinton hockey community, President Wippman gifted Hebert with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. As he accepted the honor, Hebert expressed his gratitude to the Clinton community, while at the same time kept the ceremony light hearted, joking that “[my] roommates are probably jealous. Some of them spent eight years working to become a doctor.”
Also in attendance this weekend was Stan Fischler, an announcer for the New York Rangers who used his time to share with the community some of his favorite hockey stories. Fischler recalled the story of Francis Baker, a former Continental who served as backup goalie in the 1936 Olympics. Baker used the German language skills he acquired at Hamilton to communicate with then-German Chancellor and Olympic host Adolf Hitler on behalf of Team USA.
Fischler took to Twitter at the close of the weekend to reflect on his visit, posting: “I’ve never, ever, had a better hockey time than today in #Clinton, N.Y. To me, it’s the Hockey Capital of America.”
Burns himself also considered the event a success, noting that “[I’ve] never seen so many smiling men in [my] life.”
