Doug Grimston
Douglas George Grimston was a Canadian ice hockey administrator who served as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association from 1950 to 1952. He oversaw the establishment of the Major Series for the Alexander Cup and implemented a new deal for player contracts in senior ice hockey, in response to the Allan Cup championship being dominated by a small group of teams who sought to protect themselves from professional leagues recruiting their players. He opposed the National Hockey League wanting its junior ice hockey prospect players on stronger teams, which led to limits on the transfer of players to keep balanced competition for the Memorial Cup. After the 1952 Winter Olympics where the Canada men's national ice hockey team won the gold medal, Grimston recommended withdrawal from Olympic hockey since European nations would never agree to ice hockey rules which allowed physical play. Grimston later accused International Ice Hockey Federation vice-president Bunny Ahearne of financially exploiting of the Edmonton Mercurys on a European tour, which led to a physical altercation between them.
Grimston served as president of the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association from 1942 to 1947, and was credited by The Canadian Press for keeping junior ice hockey operational despite the lack of facilities and dwindling attendance during World War II. He also sat on the national committee to oversee minor ice hockey in Canada, and sought for the transparency of finances in amateur hockey. He served as a director for the New Westminster Royals and played a leading role in their successful bid to join the Western Hockey League in 1952. He was a vocal supporter of the Penticton Vees and led a committee to oversee travel arrangements for the team as it won the 1955 Ice Hockey World Championships for Canada. He was a member of multiple community service groups, served four terms as chairman of the New Westminster Parks Commission and was president of the local Rotary Club. He sought for the construction of the Queen's Park Stadium and to expand and beautify city parks. Grimston died in 1955 at age 55, was posthumously recognized by New Westminster with Grimston Park named in his honour the same year, and was described by Jimmy Dunn as "one of the most colourful and aggressive presidents the CAHA ever had".
Early life and family
Douglas George Grimston was born on May 18, 1900, in New Westminster, British Columbia. He was the son of George Grimston and Jean McCormack, both of whom were Protestants from England. Grimston played baseball, soccer and lacrosse as a youth. He was a member of the British Columbia Manufacturing Company baseball team who were the New Westminster city champions in 1920 and 1923, and was a member of the Sapperton AFC team who won the second division and the Lower Mainland Cup championship during the 1923 and 1924 soccer seasons.Grimston married schoolteacher Marjorie Evelyn Gilley on September 5, 1928, in New Westminster. They had one son and three daughters, and were married until her death on October 4, 1952.
Business and community life
Grimston worked for Westminster Ice Limited, a trucking company which delivered ice and was owned by his father. Grimston later worked at Westminster Hog Fuels for 25 years and was a managing director for the company. He was a member of the local Masonic lodge and the Elks of Canada; and served as a president of the New Westminster Rotary Club, the junior board of trade in New Westminster, and the Vancouver Golf Club.Grimston was a director for the New Westminster Royals, and insisted on the continuation of a smoking ban at the Queen's Park Arena. Despite criticism by the local parks commissioner that the ban had a negative effect on attendance, Grimston indicated that he would take financial responsibility for lost attendance. He also served as president of the New Westminster Athletic Association, and played a leading role in a successful bid by the Royals to join the Western Hockey League in 1952. He later served four terms as chairman of the New Westminster Parks Commission. He sought to expand and beautify parks in the city, and for the construction of the Queen's Park Stadium. He was defeated for re-election to the commission in 1954.
BCAHA executive
Grimston first joined to the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association executive in 1938, and was elected its vice-president in 1941. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he announced the cancellation of games until the end of blackout orders along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, and hoped to resume games with adjustments made for the blackout.In 1941, Grimston predicted the collapse of senior ice hockey in the province due to rumours that sponsors from the British Columbia Interior were tired of supporting expensive amateur teams, and that the Kimberley Dynamiters and the Trail Smoke Eaters would drop down to the lower intermediate level classification to save money. The Trail Daily Times denied the rumors and stated a desire to remain at the top level and be eligible for the Allan Cup. The teams played in the West Kootenay League which subsequently suspended operations in 1941 due to World War II.
Grimston was elected president of the BCAHA to succeed A. W. McDonald in 1942. At the next CAHA general meeting in 1943, Grimston was appointed to the committee to oversee minor ice hockey in Canada, and was named one of three trustees for the Edmonton Journal Cup. The trophy had been donated by the Edmonton Journal and was to be awarded as the championship for Western Canada intermediate level ice hockey.
In December 1944, brothers Norm and Jack Kirk who played for the Nanaimo Clippers, went on strike and demanded more pay for amateur play. Although the brothers faced a possible suspension since the demands were too high, Grimston stated a preference to have amateur finances in the open rather than under-the-table bonuses being given.
In February 1945, Major Ian Eisenhardt, the director of physical fitness for the national fitness branch of the Ministry of Health, stated that his department would be the future liaison between the Government of Canada and sports organizations in Canada. Grimston felt that hockey had been successful since its leaders sacrificed personal gain for the betterment of the sport, and stated that "the government is missing the boat if it's going to try and regiment sports as it has regimented business".
The BCAHA was scheduled to host the 1945 Allan Cup final in Vancouver, but only two of the nine teams eligible for the Eastern Canada championship from the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association were willing to attend the final series. Grimston recommended the championship series be cancelled due to the lack of interest in travelling across the country due to financial constraints during World War II. CAHA president Frank Sargent announced the cancellation of the 1945 Allan Cup playoffs, which was the first season in which the trophy had not been contested since the inaugural 1909 Allan Cup.
The national senior hockey championship resumed with the 1946 Allan Cup. The Vancouver Canucks and the New Westminster Royals expressed interest, but both teams played in the Pacific Coast Hockey League which had a playoffs schedule which overlapped with the CAHA's Allan Cup playoffs structure. Grimston's appeal to accommodate the teams by extending the Allan Cup deadlines was declined, and only the New Westminster Royals entered the Allan Cup since they did not qualify for the PCHL playoffs.
The CAHA had accepted an invitation by Grimston for the BCAHA to host the 1945 general meeting, but hosting the meeting in Vancouver was deferred until after the war in 1946. He entertained delegates to the 1946 meeting with sightseeing visits in Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo. During five years as president of the BCAHA, Grimston was credited by The Canadian Press for keeping junior ice hockey operational in British Columbia despite the challenges of the lack of facilities and dwindling attendance during the war. He was succeeded as president by F. F. Becker in 1947.
CAHA vice-president
Grimston was elected second vice-president of the CAHA in May 1947, receiving more votes than Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association president Jimmy Dunn. The general meeting in 1947 discussed a new financial agreement with the National Hockey League to increase payments for amateurs signed to contracts, and proposed creating a higher level of senior hockey competition since a small group of teams were dominating the Allan Cup playoffs. In his first season as a vice-president, Grimston sought a new agreement to govern player transfers between leagues, since the movement of players had been a recurring issue with teams in Western Canada and the PCHL.In the weeks leading up to the 1948 general meeting, the CAHA considered two proposals to semi-professionalize player contracts in junior and senior hockey. Grimston sat on a special seven-person committee which deliberated on the ideas submitted by NHL president Clarence Campbell and Ontario Hockey Association president George Panter, then declined to present the proposals for voting on by the delegates to the general meeting. The committee also rejected calls to drop the word amateur from its name, and stated that the CAHA was built upon teams which operated as a community efforts and that profits were invested into development of minor hockey.
Grimston was elected first vice-president of the CAHA, to fill the void left by the unexpected death of Norman Dawe, and was named chairman of the CAHA's resolutions committee. The committee sent an invitation to the Newfoundland Amateur Hockey Association to join the CAHA, since Newfoundland had become Canada's tenth province on March 31, 1949. The committee wanted to balance competition for the Memorial Cup and Allan Cup, and avoid a repeat occurrence where no team from British Columbia entered the 1948 Memorial Cup playoffs due to the difficulty of being competitive. The committee allowed BCAHA junior teams to import four players per team during the playoffs, compared to two players elsewhere in Canada. In senior hockey, the committee allowed BCAHA and Maritime Amateur Hockey Association teams to import six players per team, compared to four players elsewhere in Canada. The committee also agreed that the CAHA should seek for the professional-amateur agreement with the NHL to be amended with respect to the placement of players and avoid concentrating talent in certain geographic areas. Grimston felt that the NHL could determine when a junior player became professional, but should not be allowed to dictate player transfers and tell the CAHA which team the junior-aged player would be on.
Grimston was re-elected first vice-president in June 1949. He served as chairman of the rules and regulations committee which debated at great length several proposed changes to the icing the puck rule. Grimston sought to delete the existing rule which further penalized a team that was playing short-handed, whereas other delegates favoured keeping the rule which made the defending team carry the puck past their own blue line. A compromise was reached, where an icing infraction would not be called if a player on the defending team attempted to gain control of the puck.