The children of Stouffville
played what we refer to as 'Pond Hockey' up to about 1932
when there seems to be some history recorded. The first-ever
indoor rink was in the basement of the old Stouffville Creamery.
They use to flood the sand floor and let it freeze. The
one drawback was having to skate around the support beams.
In 1947-48 the Stouffville
Red Wings won the O.H.A. Senior B Championship. The following
year a group of local Merchants purchased the team and in
1948-49 renamed them the
Clippers after the Tall Ships. The Clippers again won the
Senior B Championship in their inaugural ye
ar and set the
tone for all future Clippers Teams to follow.
The Stouffville Minor
Hockey Association formed the very next year and is now
53 years old. In those 53 years the Association has seen
many Championships and undergone many changes. We have also
graduated our fair share of Players to the Pro and College
ranks. The most notable being Keith Acton, currently Assistant
Coach to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It would be interesting
to be around 50 years from now to see what new history develops
for the Association and to see if the game is still played
with the basics (SKATES, STICK, GLOVES, AND HELMET).