YORKTON - Some memories remain sharper than others, they are moments in a lifetime which linger for a variety of reasons.
For Richard Propp he has always held tight to memories of the Yorkton Junior ‘B’ Eagles.
The season was 1953-54, and while it is indeed clichéd, the Eagles soared.
“We won just about everything around,” said Propp.
From The Enterprise 1954; “Yorkton Juniors, the most amateur championship team outside minor hockey ranks in Canada, won the disputed junior “B” title for Saskatchewan and Manitoba here Saturday evening by a score of 8-3, when they downed Sperling, the Manitoba champs, at the Yorkton Arena.”
Propp would go on to play hockey in places from Saltcoats and Russell, MB. to Regina and even on a team with the likes of former National Hockey League players Jim Neilson and Fred Sasakamoose, but the Eagles stood out.
Propp said the team was fun to play on.
“This was a bunch of friends playing hockey,” he said.
And, Propp still looks back on what they did as “unbelievable.”
Propp had hung onto to his memories of the Eagles, had newspaper clippings in a box, but when he sold the farm, the box was lost.
So, when he wanted to tell his grandson about the team, Propp headed to the Yorkton Public Library for help.
“I started coming here to find some of the stuff,” he said, adding he fondly recalled the team, but at 88, the details had faded.
What Propp found at the library was a staff that was more than willing to help, and access to old Yorkton Enterprise newspapers on microfilm telling stories of the Eagles.
“They (staff) have been very helpful in every which way they could,” he said.
What the library staff and Propp found included from The Enterprise in 1954; “Yorkton took a commanding six-goal lead in the first game of a home-and-home series with Melfort here tonight when they drubbed the pride of the central Saskatchewan town 8-2 before a small number of spectators. This the first of a two-game, total-goal series for the junior “B” championship of Saskatchewan. As defending champions, the Printz-coached local outfit set up a five-to-one margin in the first period and never looked back. The calibre of hockey dished up a fast sheet of ice was hardly up to the standard one would expect in a provincial final.
“Glen Griffith, the starry right-winger for the Yorkton squad, paced the Yorktonites by turning in a hat trick, scoring two goals in the first and one in the final canto. The Homenuik brothers split a duet of markers between them while Glen Zacker accounted for two and John Halabuza got the other. Lyle Wright and Keith Belleveau were the marksmen for the visitors.
“The officiating was not of the best and it is understood there will be a change in officials for the final game in Melfort on Saturday.
“The Melfort team can be expected to offer much stiffer opposition on their home ice this weekend. Archie Bruce and Chuck Gilhooley are two big bruising defencemen and should they ever catch up to Yorkton’s midget performers like the Homenuiks, they could make it awfully tough. As it looked Monday, it is well that Yorkton established a four-goal lead in the first period or things might have been different.”
The young Eagles – as a junior team players had to be 20 and under -- took on all comers that season, often on the ice against senior teams with players with vastly more experience, but the exuberance of youth carried the day more often than not.
“There wasn’t a weak guy here,” he said, adding “. . . One guy would score tonight and another night it was a different guy.”
Propp said the team was organized by a Gordon Printz, and he built a winner, putting countless hours into organizing games and arranging things for the Eagles.
“He (Printz), was a very, very good guy,” said Propp, “a very nice guy . . .
“He should be in the (Yorkton) Hall of Fame for all the work he did. Why he’s not in the Hall of Fame I have no idea.”
Printz’s efforts paid off as the Eagles headed to provincial play topping teams such as Melfort and Gull Lake and finally Kipling, recalled Propp who played on the team.
After topping things in Saskatchewan the Eagles played Manitoba.
“It was only one game, winner take all,” said Propp.
And we look to The Enterprise of 1954 to complete the story.
“Paced by Glen Zacker and Phil Pfeifer, who accounted for the margin of victory between them, the Yorkton lads were full measure for their victory. They counted on three occasions in the first period, while blanking the visitors. They were outscored two to one in the sandwich canto, and then slapped home four markers in the final go to the lone tally registered by Sperling.
“The visitors, who held the mid-western championship of Canada last year, presented a smooth-working machine that was only pushed over by the dogged determination of the Yorktonites. Gordon Printz has instilled in his local juniors that all-necessary ingredient of local pride to a degree that can stop at nothing short of victory – if victory is possible. The visitors went the route without a penalty.
“The game was played before about 500 fans and was just nicely under way when Glen Griffiths bested Jim Anderson on a relay pass from Phil Pfeifer and Ron Popein. Midway through the frame, Glen Zacker made the best use of John Halabuza’s assist to let Yorkton go two up. Richard Propp gave Yorkton its third goal on help from Homenuik two minutes later, and shortly afterwards Gerald Propp drew the first penalty of the game for cross-checking. As the period drew to a close the same Yorktonite returned to the sin bin for the same offense.
“In the second frame the visitors went all out in a desperate effort to regain lost ground. Ken Waddell was rewarded when he shot s hot crossfire past George Shaw after receiving a pass from Howie Larke to give them goal number one. Five minutes later, Marc Kajotte brought the visitors within one goal of tieing the score when he beat Shaw again with a well-earned effort on help from Jim Grundy. Gerald Propp was resting with the timers for elbowing when Sperling got goal number one and M. Kuryluk was banished for slashing shortly before the visitors got their second counter. Phil Pfeifer got the winning goal for Yorkton on a pass from Glen Griffiths midway through the centrepiece time of action to end the score sheet’s decoration for the period.
“In the final frame, Gerry Gabel picked up a quickie from the first face-off on a pass from R. Homenuik, and three minutes later Phil Pfeifer added another to Yorkton’s mounting score on help from Walt Tytula and Glen Griffith. R. Homenuik was banished for slashing at 7:35 and he no sooner returned to play when his teammate Fred Evans, replaced him in the box for a similar offense. It was while Freddy was away that the visitors claimed their last goal when Paddy Gimmell bested Shaw with a dipsy-doodle effort after accepting a pass from Jim Grundy.”
