In celebration of Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey Association鈥檚 50th anniversary, a section of road leading to the ice rink in Maple Ridge where many youth practice and play will be renamed Jim Robson Way.
What is currently 105 Avenue is to officially be renamed after Robson at the end of January, when a host of events are scheduled and which Robson will attend to commemorate the anniversary.
A city staff report for Tuesday, Dec. 5 recommends that renaming the section of 105 Avenue to 鈥淛im Robson Way鈥� be approved.
The city proposed renaming the road and approached minor hockey about c0-ordinating efforts, said Derek Gullmes, RMMHA vice-president.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a legend in the sports world,鈥� Gullmes said of Robson, a Maple Ridge secondary graduate.
鈥淗aving him be part of the celebration is great.鈥�
Robson was born in 1935, in Prince Albert, Sask. His family moved to Maple Ridge when he was eight years old. He graduated from Maple Ridge secondary, as valedictorian, in 1952.
He was briefly a sports reporter for The Gazette.
At 17, Robson started covering senior men鈥檚 basketball for CJAV radio station in Port Alberni. In 1955, he started working for CHUB radio in Nanaimo, where he covered the Mann Cup lacrosse finals.
By 1956, Robson started covering the B.C. Lions, the Vancouver Mounties baseball team, then WHL鈥檚 Vancouver Canucks hockey team on CKWX.
When the Vancouver Canucks became an NHL expansion team in 1970, Robson moved to CKNW to announce the team鈥檚 games. He remained the voice of the Canucks for nearly three decades.
For the first seven years, he mostly worked alone. For road games, he broadcast the game without a colour commentator and provided the pre-game, intermission, and post-game shows.
In 1977鈥�78, he was joined by former B.C. Lions player and broadcaster Tom Larscheid. He also worked alongside ex-Canuck Garry Monahan.
Robson also covered the Vancouver Canucks on television broadcasts on BCTV, CHEK-TV and VTV throughout his career.
Robson also worked for CBC鈥檚 Hockey Night in Canada, mostly covering games in western Canada. It was for HNIC that he broadcast the Canucks鈥� first NHL game, a 3鈥�1 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings on October 9, 1970.
His covered the Stanley Cup Finals in 1975, 1980, 1982 (in which the Canucks faced the New York Islanders), and 1983.
Robson鈥檚 most memorable call came during the 1994 playoffs, in Game 6, when he said about then Canucks captain Trevor Linden, who had struggled to the bench after getting high-sticked and knocked down: 鈥淗e will play. You know he鈥檒l play. He鈥檒l play on crutches. He will play. And he will play at Madison Square Garden 鈥� 鈥�
Game 7 was his last radio broadcast. Robson stepped down as the radio announcer for the Canucks in 1994 and moved to television full-time.
Robson was also well known for taking time to say 鈥渁 special hello to all the hospital patients and shut-ins, those of you who can鈥檛 make it out to the game,鈥� during each broadcast.
Robson retired in April 1999 and now lives near False Creek in Vancover with his wife, Bea.
Robson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992, the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
In 2002, he was selected to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
The broadcast booth at Rogers Arena in Vancouver is named after him.
Now so is a street in Maple Ridge.
Also part of鈥檚 , and to assist the , it will host former Canuck defenseman Dave Babych at Haney Place Mall for an autograph and photo session on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 2-6 p.m.
The association also had a special logo and third jersey made up for the anniversary, and plans to honour alumni who have gone on the play professionally, from Cam Neely, Brendan Morrison and Andrew Ladd to Brad Hunt, Victor Bartley, Patrick Wiercoich and Brandon Yip.
The jersey, with gold trim, arrived this past week and RMMHA teams are now wearing them.
鈥淪o far the feedback has been incredibly positive,鈥� Gullmes said of the special edition jersey.
Further celebrations are planned for Saturday, Jan. 27, all day and evening at Planet Ice, on Jim Robson Way.
Gullmes said teams from the association, and the Meadowridge Barracudas will play back-to-back games throughout the day at Planet Ice. The association is working with NHL alumni to be part of the event, which will be capped with a game featuring the local junior B team, the Ridge Meadows Flames, and the 91原创 Trappers,
Robson is to drop the puck for a ceremonial faceoff to start that game.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be a pretty exciting day,鈥� Gullmes said.
Further to the 50th anniversary celebrations, the association is raising money for the Jim Lindsay Memorial Fund, created last year and awarded to a graduating midget. was a long-time coach and volunteer with the association, serving on the committee that developed the moniker 鈥楻ustlers,鈥� and helped develop the traditions of red leather sleeves on the midget A1 team jackets.
Teams in the association are currently selling raffle tickets to raise money for the fund. One prize, donated by Lindsay鈥檚 family, is a rail travel package.
Raffle tickets will be sold at the annual Rustlers Winter Round-up, Dec. 27 to 30 鈥� featuring teams in initiation levels 2-4, as well as atom A and C 鈥� and at a new event Jan. 3-6, called the Jim Lindsay Midget Tournament.
From the Maple Ridge Museum: This poem was written by a young Jim Robson (May 14, 1950), who would grow into one of Canada鈥檚 top sports reporters and commentators. He has captured with amazing skill the atmosphere and spirit of the first league baseball game held a week prior in Pete Telosky鈥檚 new Haney Baseball Stadium.
OPENING DAY AT PETE鈥橲 PARK
By Jim Robson
鈥楾was a glorious day, how the band did play,
And the sun shone down so bright.
Though the paint was wet, everything was set,
A really wonderful sight.
A few fans roared, when Hammond had scored
In inning number one.
This was only a few, as most of them knew,
The fun had just begun.
That Cliffy was fast, how I hoped it would last,
And Merv wasn鈥檛 doin鈥� so bad.
Our Pete was all smiles, the fans stood in aisles,
As each team gave all they had.
One man was on base, in this tight scoring race
When a youngster stepped up to the plate.
It made your spine tingle to see that boy single,
There鈥檚 a kid that surely does rate.
A towering fly ball went back to the wall
And then some, as over she sailed.
Oh, My! What a roar, as he came in to score,
The fans just hollered and wailed.
That gave Chuck a lead as in came Reid,
Though Minty was doing so well.
Things went just fine, till round number nine,
And then the roof she fell;
A hit plus a walk, then the crowd did talk,
As up came a rookie named Clent.
The bases were full, o鈥檈r the park was a lull,
Then into right field it went.
The score was even, as fans stopped leavin鈥�
Oh, who would win the game?
The innings went by. Would it end in a tie?
As Cliffy kept peggin鈥� the same.
Yes, it came to a stop, with Hammond on top,
In Haney they almost cried.
Our Cliffy had won, his best he had done,
He was 鈥淢ill-town鈥檚鈥� glory and pride.
But the tops of them all, is a guy with a drawl,
He鈥檚 Pete! That guy with a grin.
HANEY, listen to me, I鈥檝e just got one plea:
Be champions just for him.
