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b4 tribune march 9 1988 hockey star bill bradbury recalls the good old days by bruce stapley bill bradbury stands in front of his uxbridge home putting the finishing touches on a snow shovelling job that speaks well for a man who had two heart attacks 11 years ago the man whose dipsy doodle style made him a legend with the old stouffville clippers in the ontario intermediate hockey league in the late 40s looks fit as a fiddle as he opens up the old scrap book and pulls out a yel lowed copy of a clippers 194849 official program a flip through the pages and were immediately taken back to the magic of small town hockey in the post war years hockey that was intense but fun a style of play that was fast moving but cleanly played bills picture adorns the front cover of the program whose in ner photos include the likes of other bright lights of days gone by les clarke hal gibson herb rose polly minton gord lewis and bob lawrie bill bradbury sits back and re flects back in those days he recalls you could go into any small town in southern ontario and be entertained more than you would be today at most nhl games he admits to being a maple leaf fan these days but claims it breaks my heart to see the type of game theyre playing now its all money he laments and today you dish out a good check and youve got a goon on you bill recalls the day when play ers came to play not dare some one to knock the chip off their shoulder theres few good body checks now its all sticks and dir ty stuff i guess you could say i have a lovebate relationship with the game today the quick forward was born in oshawa and made whistle stops in kapuskasing sudbury mctier markham and claremont before settling down in uxbridge with his family in 1938 dad was a baker he explains he went to where the jobs were his father would buy a bakery in uxbridge giving bill the chance to get the feel of a town for more than just the wink of afi eye he developed his interest in hock ey and started playing in church leagues he remembers playing on the uxbridge pond where the local ice dealer would be con stantly cutting blocks out of the pond leaving a smooth surface that was ideal for skating on once it froze over again i remember playing puck hog on sunday afternoons with about 75 kids he laughs and then i played midget with the church we had a four game season play ing home and home against port perry and whitby at the age of 14 bill played in termediate for port perry he tried out for an oshawa junior team that included charlie con- acher and eventually auditioned for the toronto marlboros who had bob hassard in their lineup at the time i played a few exhibi tion games for the marlies he recalls i remember scoring a goal against terry sawchuk he didnt make the team and despite a request from the mana ger of the day one harold bal lard to play for the teams scar borough farm team bill went back to uxbridge he went to scotland for a year in 1947 when he was 19 playing hockey with the scottish ice hock ey federation the calibre was close to junior a he recalls they were mostly canadians and there were some army and navy guys i remember playing with ron ellis dad it was when he returned from his year in scotland he finally en ded up with the clippers he re members the rivalry with the markham millionnaires to have the edge on us but i think we beat them out one year bill recalls with pride the brand of hockey played in the intermedi ate league in those days guys knew how to play then they didnt just go down the ice and blast a slap shot in he laughs when he remembers the time the goalie for the visiting midland team staggered off the team bus obviously inebriated and proceeded to stone the clip pers for two periods but we finally caught up to him in the third and put ten pucks past him the camaraderie stands out in my mind he says of his days with the clippers even the guys you played against you enjoyed we played hard tempers would flare but then it was over bill would move on to play for the newmarket entry in the in termediate league for two years after a short retirement he came back to play for an intermediate a team put together in stouffvil le by exmarkham millionnaire great bob bangay bill toiled for that squad before finally calling it quits for good i was older and i was married with kids he says we wouldnt be back after some road games til 3 am it was too much today bill lives with his wife joyce in uxbridge and works at cherrydowns golf course he has three children and a grandchild while he hasnt been on skates for several years he boasts a suc cessful curling career in his post hockey days that saw him vice skip his colts division rink to the all ontario globe and mail title in 1964 an avid golfer he has five holesinone to his credit the most recent scored in south carolina last year does he miss his playing days stickhandling his way across opposition bluelines i would have liked to play some of that old timers hockey after i retired but they didnt have it back then he claims but im keeping fit i walk and kind of do a halfjog at age sixty bill bradbury can look back and still look ahead an exciting past and a satisfying fu ture bill bradbury born and raised in uxbridge still lives in town he played jr c with uxbridge in 194647 and the following year joined the scottish ice hockey association he was a member of the stouffvil le intermediate clippers in 194849 bill hopes to attend the m4r- khamstouffville oldtimers hockey reunion at the rec centre april 29 bruce stapley xuj mfa warehouse drug store r 1 1 kitchener v 1m o0 i t mmjc i l f i n 7489450 m0nfrl9am30pm satsum9m6pm