HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-06-22, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Seaforth's Ron Mason dies, his NCAA legacy lives on
Second best
coach ever in
college hockey
Shaun Gregory
Huron Expositor
On June 3, the world said
farewell to Muhammad Ali,
who is arguably the greatest
athlete of the 20th Century.
A week later, the second
NHL all-time goal scorer, Mr.
Hockey (Gordie Howe) left
the highest populated city
(Detroit) in the Midwestern
state of Michigan with a for-
ever scar. 72 hours later and
approximately 144 km away
in East Lansing, Michigan
another death has rocked
the sports world.
A passing which has not
only affected the U.S., but
right here in Seaforth as well.
Both communities are also
dealing with the loss of Ron
Mason. Last Monday, he
passed away from what's
believed to be a heart attack-
he
ttackhe was 76 -years -old. Com-
parable to Howe, instead of
an NHL legend he was an
NCAA marvel. Mason cur-
rently sits comfortably as the
second best all-time coach
in college hockey history.
Originally born in Blyth
Ont., the Mason family
landed in Seaforth a short
time later. From what many
childhood friends say, they
dwelled in a large yellow
brick house behind the Sea -
forth Manor Nursing &
Retirement Home. In the
1940's, Mason like many
boys in Huron County, got
hooked on hockey. His
father, Harvey who had a
shorter leg, and was known
to always wear a fedora
drove him "all over the
place," said Bruce McFad-
den, who had been friends
with Mason since they were
about five -years -old.
From peewee and bantam
all the way to midget, the two
played together. McFadden's
father recognized around
town as Ralph the "farmer,"
coached the boys at the start
of their young hockey
careers. Around that time,
before arenas were popular,
practicing on natural ice is
what most kids in the area
were accustomed to.
"We actually played in the
very first Goderich Young
Canada Peewee Hockey Tour-
nament, if it wasn't the first it
was the second one," stated
McFadden on the phone June
15 from his home in Grand
Bend. "We didn't win it, but
we played well, we had a
really good team."
Along with not having the
privilege of playing in recre-
ation centres like most chil-
dren do nowadays and well
before Zambonis were avail-
able internationally to clear
and clean the ice. When the
local arena was not availa-
ble, the youngsters had to
resort to the streets, which
had neither salt trucks nor
sand to help with the snow
in the colder winter months.
This might have been a pet
peeve for the locals of Sea -
forth, not for McFadden and
Mason.
"We used to skate on the
road on John Street, that
road used to pack really
solid," McFadden, 76, said.
"Ron would skate from his
place to meet me."
After midget, skipping
juvenile, the two went their
separate ways; Mason would
end up with the Peterbor-
ough TPT Petes, pretty much
when the team was first
established. McFadden
played Junior B in Burling-
ton and Junior A in Hamil-
ton. Even though the child-
hood friends lost contact
Al Goldis/The Associated Press file photo
A March 7, 2001, file photo shows original Peterborough Petes player Ron Mason posed in East Lansing, Mich. Mason, who led
Michigan State University to a national title in hockey and won 924 games, has died. He was 76. Spartans assistant coach Tom
Newton, surrounded by Mason's family Monday morning, June 13, 2016, says Mason's death on Sunday night was "sudden."
ii
"If you were talking to Ron's friends, they would probably tell
you the impact of his wins compared to the impact he had on
so many young men's lives, probably outweighed wins,
championships, inductions that he ever had," said Huron -
Bruce MP, Ben Lobb. "Ron had an awesome career, we just
thank him for being a great representative of Huron County."
over the years, McFadden
told the Expositor, he will
always cherish the memory
of those years of when the
duo traveled up and down
the streets of Seaforth with
bikes and sometimes a pair
of skates as their mode of
transportation.
It was shocking when
McFadden heard the news of
his buddy's death. "Holy
crap, Ron Mason died, I'm
about six months older than
him. I thought oh crap, I'm
the same age, I need to be
careful what I do:'
From television, news
outlets and the Internet, the
Grand Bend local has
followed Mason's career.
From 1966-2002, Mason
stood behind the bench for
the Michigan State Spartan's
hockey team where he man-
aged to walk away with a
coaching record of 924-380-
83, according to the NCAA.
He was also awarded the
National Coach of the Year,
21 NCAA tournament
appearances (which is the
all-time record), which
resulted in 44 of his players
continuing their hockey
careers in the NHL. This was
preceded by a long list of
other achievements.
"If you were talking to
Ron's friends, they would
probably tell you the impact
of his wins compared to the
impact he had on so many
young men's lives, probably
outweighed wins, champi-
onships, inductions that he
ever had," said Huron -Bruce
MP, Ben Lobb. "Ron had an
awesome career, we just
thank him for being a great
representative of Huron
County."
"He never forgot where he
came from:'
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