Pat McReavy:
Three Time Champion

Pat McReavy enjoyed a long hockey career which brought him three championships, the Stanley Cup, the Allan Cup and a World Hockey Title

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There have been some Owen Sound hockey players who have been on Stanley Cup championship teams and there are several more who played on an Allan Cup champion. But one Owen Sounder, Pat McReavy, did not just play on Stanley Cup and Allan Cup champion hockey teams, he has also been a member of a Canadian World Hockey Championship team!

McReavy was born in Owen Sound. He honed his hockey skills playing minor hockey in this city with the St. Mary’s school hockey team. Like most youngsters in Owen Sound at that time, Teddy Graham, Butch Keeling and Jack Markle were his heroes. Little did he realize at that time that he would be the idol of young hockey players in his hometown!

In 1935 he left his home town to begin a hockey career which would take him to the very pinnacles of the sport that he loved so much. That year he attended St. Michael’s School in Toronto, playing hockey for their Junior “B” Buzzers. The next season he moved north to play hockey and work in Copper Cliff, Ontario.

Pat McReavy: World Champ!

The next season, 1937-38, was like a “dream come true” for the young Owen Sound hockey player. It began in Sudbury where he had signed to play for the Wolves in the NOHA and ended on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in Czechoslovakia. McReavy remembers the World Championships as “terrific experience”. The tournament was played in an “open air” ice surface and one day the games had to be canceled because there had been a snow storm and the ice surface could not be kept cleared. From the start of the tournament there was little doubt that Canada would win. Ironically, their closest competitors were the British, who had many Canadians playing on their team.

Once the championships concluded, McReavy’s team played in Germany and Vienna Austria. The evening of the game in Austria, Hitler took over that country. While they were in Germany, the Canadians witnessed a military parade in Munich and Pat remembers that “it took a half a day to go by”. The Canadian team was scheduled to play in England for a month, but the sense that war was imminent caused many of the older players on the team to want to go back to Canada.

Next Stop: The Stanley Cup

After winning the World Hockey Championships, McReavy returned home and signed a C-form with the Boston Bruins of the NHL. Pat split the next two seasons, 1938-39 and 1939-40, playing with the Bruins and in their minor league system. He started the 1940-41 season with Hershey Bears, but he was called up to Boston and played in the Stanley Cup play-offs. After two hard-fought series against first, the Toronto Maple Leafs and then, in the finals, the Detroit Red Wings, the Boston Bruins were crowned Stanley Cup Champions.

The Bruins were a great team featuring players such as Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart, Bobby Bauer and Flash Hollett. But that club had a strong Owen Sound flavour. Besides Pat McReavy, the coach of the Boston club was “Cooney” Weiland who had starred with the Memorial Cup Champion 1924 Owen Sound Greys!

The next season Pat was traded to the Detroit Red Wings and once again played in the Stanley Cup finals. However, this time his team was unsuccessful in their quest for hockey’s holy grail. In fact, McReavy’s team were the only team in NHL history to win the first three games of a Stanley Final and then lose the final four games as they were ousted by the Toronto Maple Leafs who were coached by another Owen Sounder, "Hap Day".

The 1941-42 season was Pat McReavy’s last in the NHL. He enlisted in the air force and for the next three years was absent from the professional ranks. At the end of the war, he played two seasons with the St. Louis Flyers in the American Hockey League. In 1947-48 Pat returned to his home town and played for the Owen Sound Mercurys.

McReavy Claims 3rd Title: At Home!

In 1949-50 Pat completed his “triple crown” of hockey championships when the Owen Sound Mercurys captured the Canadian Senior Hockey Championships. After the Allan Cup victory he retired as a player and became the coach of the Mercurys.

Many Canadians dream of playing on a Stanley Cup Champion, or winning a national championship, and still others envision playing for their country and bringing home the world championship. Pat McReavy, a boy from Owen Sound, enjoyed the remarkable success of completing all of these dreams!

A version of this story first appeared in my Sports History column in the Owen Sound Sun Times. For more information about Owen Sound's hockey history, check out my latest hockey book, Journey Through Owen Sound's Hockey History.

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About Owen Sound Hockey History

The 1920s Owen Sound Hockey Stars made there mark in amateur ranks and then many of them went on to careers in the NHL and other professional hockey leagues.

The 1927 Owen Sound Greys with a priest serving as coach named Jack Spratt and not one experienced defenseman were an unlikely Canadian National Hockey Championship team.

Benny Grant: Memorial Cup Champ grew up in Owen Sound and enjoyed a hockey career, which included a surprising turn of events that led to a stint in the NHL.

"Buck" Jones, like most Canadian boys, dreamed of playing in the NHL. Little did he realize that one day he would wear the sweater of an NHL club and would be the idol of youngsters like himself!

The Chin Brothers dominated in their hockey league which drew attention from the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ralph "Cooney" Weiland skated from a Memorial Cup championship in Owen Sound, to a Stanley Cup in Boston to fame as a U.S. college hockey coach.

The Crescent Club has a long history of sponsoring sports teams and leagues in Owen Sound providing consistent management and financial assistance to athletics.

"Cyclone" Taylor was hockey's first superstar. Born in Tara Ontario, he was involved in a controversy in Ottawa which still has not been resolved.

Doug Brindley: From Maple Draft Choice to a role in Slap Shot: a Memorial Cup champ; coached by Don Cherry; and he played in the WHA; what more could a Walkerton Ontario native ask for in a hockey career?

The Durham Yellowjackets hockey team was a force to be reckoned with in Ontario Intermediate hockey in the 1930s.

Goalie "Red" Henry: An All-Star Netminder: Another great Owen Sound goalie who played for the love of the game.

"Hap" Day was a Hall of Fame hockey player, coach and general manager as well as a life-long Toronto Maple Leaf.

Norm Locking Chicago Black Hawks & Former Owen Sound Grey was known for his hard and deadly shot in Al Capone's Chicago.

Harry Lumley spent his Hall of Fame hockey career tending the nets for four NHL clubs and he spent one period of a hockey game goaltending for a fifth NHL team.

Henry Kelso: Owen Sound Sports Legend not only contributed to the sporting life of his students, he also had a significant influence on the rest of their lives.

Junior Hockey Commentary: Should there be controversy about the use of non-local hockey players? This article was written in 1998 in response to a letter to the editor in the Owen Sound Sun Times.

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Newspaper Sports: Owen Sound Hockey History was detailed in the pages of the Owen Sound Sun Times in detail in the days before the radio and television eras.

Owen Sound Hockey's early history some references suggest started in the 1880s. However there are records of organized hockey teams beginning in the early 1900s.

Owen Sound was a Hockey Hotbed in 1950-51: Their fans were hockey crazy during this OHA Senior A Championship season as their star-studded team marched to an Allan Cup victory.

The 1959-60 Owen Sound Greys: A Tough Act to Follow: Tragedy struck this hockey team of young men, yet they persevered.

The 1960s Owen Sound Greys Stars who went on to NHL action including Brian Perry, Doug Brindley, Jim Schoenfeld, and Jack Lynch brought Owen Sound a reputation as a hockey hotbed!

Owen Sound Attack: The arrival of this new OHL team is the latest chapter in the Owen Sound region's rich hockey history.

Owen Sound Goalies: Why does Owen Sound produce so many fine goaltenders? There must be something in the water!

Some Great Owen Sound Greys. The history of this hockey team is a story of players who were not only local boys, but came from many locations to hone their skills.

Owen Sound Hockey Heritage stretches from rural farmhouses on Saturday night to backyard rinks to cheering for local hockey successes and hockey heroes.

Owen Sound Junior Hockey History began almost one hundred and twenty years ago and is rich with championship teams, great players, and dedicated fans.

Owen Sound's New Arena in 1938 opened a new era in Grey and Bruce counties with the first artificial ice making machine in western Ontario north of Kitchener.

Owen Sound Platers: Ray McKelvie the quiet and knowledgeable leader behind the success of the 1999 hockey team.

Pat McReavy enjoyed a long hockey career which brought him three championships, the Stanley Cup, the Allan Cup and a World Hockey Title.

Paul MacDermid, born in Chesley Ontario, through hard work and determination enjoyed a 12 year NHL career, before keeping junior hockey alive in Owen Sound by working with a group citizens to purchase the Attack OHL franchise.

"Red" Armstrong, a fiery spirited hockey player, known more for his fierce checking than his scoring prowess surprised even himself on his first NHL shift.

Red Leckie was more than a good hockey player. He played for the team, not for himself. Outside hockey, he responded when he saw a need in his community.

Southampton hockey history in the early years featured a distinct line of defense in the local arena, and stories of interesting "road" trips.

Tommy Burlington: the Greatest North American Never to Play in the NHL captured scoring titles in every league that he played, bringing comparisons to NHL greats.

Owen Sound Hockey History is rich with stories of championship teams, star hockey players, and community support.