ESTEVAN - The Estevan Strippers old-timers hockey club has honoured a man regarded by many as the Godfather of Hockey in Estevan.
The Strippers retired the No. 80 jersey of Frank John Saturday during the Rod Boll Memorial Trapshoot event at the Estevan Wildlife Federation’s range.
During the ceremony, Rick Rohatyn, a long-time friend and teammate of John’s, noted that John was one of the original members of Team Estevan, a 35-plus team that was organized in the early 1970s to participate in the George Reed Tournament in Regina.
“The team needed a real name so several suggestions were put forth. Frank reluctantly agreed to the Estevan Strippers as long as everyone knew that it was to draw attention to the coal strip mining in the area,” said Rohatyn.
John started a history book of the Strippers that contains many pictures and stories of tournaments the Strippers attended, as well as other activities that occurred with the team.
Rohatyn noted that John had several jersey numbers for the Strippers. He started with the number 20 and wore that number until 1997, when the Strippers split into two teams – 35-plus and 45-plus. He decided to wear 68, as that was his age when the 45-and-over team received new uniforms. This lasted until 2008, when the team was 50-plus and once again new uniforms were purchased.
In 2008, he switched to No. 80, which again was his age at that time. It was the No. 80 jersey that the Strippers retired on Saturday. John was wearing his No. 68 at the ceremony because that’s the sweater they could find.
John played his last game in 2015 at the Snoopy Tournament in Santa Rosa, Calif., at the age of 87. This was the sixth time that many of the Strippers played in that tournament.
He had been playing hockey for more than 80 years.
John continued to be actively involved with the team until 2019.
“The Estevan Strippers are proud to retire Frank’s #80 jersey to honor the many years of dedicated service Frank gave to the Estevan Strippers,” Rohatyn said.
John said he had no idea the recognition was coming, and he was surprised with the award.
“I thought a lot about the past years and all of the involvement with all of those good guys,” said John.
The trips to the Snoopy tournament in California were a particular highlight.
He kept playing for as long as he did because he thought he was a pretty good skater, and as long as he could move on the ice, he didn’t want to retire. And he enjoyed spending time with his teammates.
John has held on to many of the jerseys and the team jackets that he has worn over the years, and they certainly reinforce the idea that John is the Godfather of Hockey in the Energy City, because he played for so long and was involved at so many different levels.
The Strippers previously retired Barrie McKinnon’s No. 7 and Rod Fagerheim’s No. 14. Both died when they were active players with the team.
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The trap shooting tournament in honour of Boll was a first-time event. He hailed from Fillmore, and played hockey for the Strippers, who sponsored for the tournament.
The winning team was comprised of Rohatyn, Kevin Pastachak, Cam Hart, Clarence Durr and Greg Milbrandt.
Boll gained fame as a trap shooter. He represented Canada at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He was recognized nationally, and is a member of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.
He passed away in February.
