From this morning's Syracuse Post-Herald, The Eastern Hockey League Syracuse Blazers' Brian Elwell will be inducted into the Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame. He is the first Blazer to be so honoured. (Photo left is an ad from a 1972-73 Syracuse Blazers Program. Photo Below is Brian on a Program Cover from Groundhog Day 1792 - yes 1792 - read it.)Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame rewards nine for their work
Published: Friday, June 17, 2011, 5:10 PM Updated: Friday, June 17, 2011, 11:26 PM
http://blog.syracuse.com/sports/2011/06/greater_syracuse_hall_of_fame.htmlThe stay was supposed to last 30 days.
Brian Elwell was sent down from Tulsa of the Central Hockey League to the Syracuse Blazers of the Eastern Hockey League in 1969 to rehab from a separated shoulder. Two days before Elwell, a Montreal native, was scheduled to leave the Blazers, he tore up his ankle.
Forty-two years later, Elwell still hasn’t gone anywhere. Friday, he was forever linked to the city with one of its highest sporting honors.
Elwell was announced as one of nine new entrants into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame. One bum wheel turned him to a life centered around helping his new home.
“As soon as I left Montreal, I think I really liked the size of this city more than a big city,” said Elwell, 68. “I knew I wanted to stay here after I spent a couple of summers here.”
Elwell decided he wasn’t going to make the NHL, stuck around
three more years to play for the Blazers and then ran the team as general manager. He made the city his full-time home, and two decades later he was the driving force behind bringing the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL to town.
He has also been a member of the Syracuse Sports Committee and currently oversees facility operations at Alliance Bank Stadium.
“I like people,” Elwell said of his efforts. “Somehow, I ended up being captain of the teams I played for. I enjoyed the leadership role.”
This year’s class, the 25th in the history of the hall, brings its total membership to 190. The inductees will be officially installed at a dinner at Drumlins on Oct. 17.
Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame:
http://www.syracusehalloffame.com/pages/frame.html
The Atlantic City Boardwalk Trophy:
Brian was the one who re-discovered the EHL's Atlantic City Boardwalk Trophy at his Tavern. Read all about it, along with a lot of other good EHL history at...
http://www.chuckthewriter.com/ehl.pdf
Brian Elwell's Stats at: http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=11478
The EHL: http://TheEHL.com/
Talk about Brian Elwell and the Eastern Hockey League at: http://theehl.yuku.com/forums/66
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