For more than 70 years, nothing could keep Bobby Holmes away from hockey.
One winter, he hitchhiked from Greenwood to Halifax, with a hockey bag and a suitcase in hand, to play in a weekend tournament.
Holmes’s time on Air Force teams took him across Canada and Europe.
“Once when he was in Moose Jaw,” friend Jerry Meade recounts, “he was so excited he scored a goal and threw his gloves up. They landed in the rafters and he couldn’t get them down.”
During his last posting at 14 Wing, Holmes – dubbed “the mayor of Fales River Subdivision” - played for the Greenwood Bombers and then went on to found the Valley Apple Pickers.
“He was one of the best face-off men in the country,” Meade said. “Nobody could beat him. He taught me quite a bit.”
Last year, injuries kept Holmes off the ice for part of the season, but come September, he was lacing up his skates again. Approaching 80, however, he’s almost done – he’s down to playing just once a week.
“My career is coming to an end slowly. It’s time to hang ‘em up,” Holmes said.
The Montreal native wasn’t ready to slow down 20 years ago, however. When the over-35 oldtimers league became a bit much for Holmes and his buddies, they formed an over-50 team.
“He’s the icon of the Golden Oldies,” Meade said. “He started it back in ’93 when we got the golden sweaters. We were over 50 and we couldn’t compete in over 35 anymore.”
More than 50 guys joined, he added, and they didn’t lose a tournament in their first two years.
Younger players were less interested in the weekend tournament travel, teammate Dave Kennedy said. They were busy with children, “jobs and what not.”
Travelling the Maritimes was a highlight of the Golden Oldies era for Holmes. The team has also represented the province at 55+ games.
And then there was the big one: Quebec City for the World Oldtimers’ Tournament of 2008.
“We went by chartered bus and took our wives and lost in overtime of the semi-finals,” Meade said. “It was heartbreaking in a sense, but it was a great time.”
Holmes might be preparing to hang up his skates, but the Golden Oldies will continue on. Seventy-year-old Meade and Kennedy, 73, scrimmage with about 30 players hailing from Wolfville to Yarmouth, ages 50 to 85.
One weekend in February, the team added four new members.
“They all said to me, ‘jeez, you gotta be old to be on that team,” Meade said. “I said, ‘you are old now, buddy!’”
He loves the challenge of drawing new faces, Meade said.
“We get players out who haven’t played in 10, 15 (years),” he noted. “I’ve got one guy out we recruited this year who hasn’t played in 20 years. He’s 70 years old now and he says he wished he would have stayed with it.”
There’s also a charitable cause – the annual spring Golden Oldies’ masters hockey tournaments at the Greenwood Garden.
Founded in 2002, the weekend tourney raises funds for Valley charities, like the patient navigator program, the Lodge That Gives and the local Heart and Stroke Foundation.
More than 125 players come – some from across the country – to be rated, drafted and to play at least four games in two divisions: over 50 and over 60.
“We have a guy come up from Tancook Island who’s 83… we have a guy drive in from PEI, one fly in from Ottawa,” Meade said. “We have a guy who flies in from Texas for that. He actually used to fly in from the China Seas.”
Gentlemanly play is expected at the fun tournament: no aggression, no hitting and no slap shots.
Love of the game and the friendships made over those weekends keep the group going, Kennedy said.
“The camaraderie, it’s unbelievable, and you meet people from all over,” he said. “And you gotta love it to play this long.”
Another perk for Kennedy?
“You can have a shower and a beer afterwards.”
See a slideshow of photos from a recent scrimmage here.
All the details
What: Greenwood Golden Oldies’ Masters Tournament
When: April 5 to 7
Where: Greenwood Gardens
Registration: $55
Information: Jerry Meade, 765-6059
Weblink: www.greenwoodgoldenoldies.com
