Brian "Butch" MacKay - Greensboro Generals and US National Team

The last few weeks, I've been collecting articles about the 1962 US World Championships. The Canadian team had EHLers Butch Martin (Johnstown), and future EHLer Bobby Brown (Johnstown, Long Island, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Jersey). The US team had EHLers Don Hall & Dick Roberge (Johnstown), Reggie Meserve (Philadelphia), Gord Tottle (Charlotte) and the Greensboro Generals defenseman and captain, Brian "Butch" MacKay. These articles are posted on the EHL Discussion Boards http://theehl.yuku.com/topic/71/EHL-stars-at-the-1962-WORLD-CHAMPIONSHIPS As you read through, you'll see that the EHLers, including MacKay represented the U.S. and Canada well.

Butch MacKay was one of a handful of Troy Bruins (IHL), who stayed with the team when they became the nucleus of the EHL Greensboro Generals in 1959, along with Pat Kelly, Don Carter, and Max Szturm. The first year Kelly was team captain, with MacKay an alternate. The next three years MacKay was team captain, until his retirement after the Generals won the EHL Championship in 1962-63 to work at a meat packing company in Greensboro. MacKay was a high-scoring, yet rugged defenseman, as the article on the right would suggest - and that's before he entered the EHL. He was an EHL 2nd-team All-Star in 1960-61.

The photo below is from a game at Clinton on November 7, 1962. MacKay, #2, has the "C".
The program cover is from the Generals first season, with MacKay wearing the "A".





















Butch MacKay's Obituary from the Greensboro News & Record, May 19, 2011
http://obituaries.news-record.com/obituaries/news-record/obituary.aspx?n=brian-edward-mackay-butch&pid=151134587&fhid=6071

Brian Edward "Butch" MacKay Sr. Visit Guest Book

GREENSBORO — Brian Edward "Butch" MacKay, Sr., 78, passed away on May 17, 2011 at Moses Cone Hospital.
A graveside service will be held on Friday, May 20, 2011 at 2 p.m. at Westminster Gardens Cemetery with Father John Eckert officiating.
A native of Montreal, Canada, Brian was born September 29, 1932 to the late Louis Edward Turner MacKay and Agnus Brady MacKay. He was self-employed and worked in the beverage industry.
Butch MacKay's stats at hockeydb.com:
http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=12768

Floyd "Butch" Martin of the Johnstown Jets

Butch Martin was a two-time 2nd team EHL All-Star winger(1963 & 64) with the Johnstown Jets. He was also first team All-Star coach in 1963.

Here's an article from the Globe and Mail on Butch, mostly about his Canadian Olympic Bronze and Silver medals:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/floyd-butch-martin/article1151394/

Same article, different site:
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=10965.html?cid=rssctv

..Martin later returned to play for the Dutchmen and, after his two Olympic appearances, played pro for the Johnstown Jets of the Eastern Hockey League and briefly for the Pittsburgh Hornets of the AHL.

...After a stint at player-coach with the Jets, Martin returned home to become the second head coach of the Kitchener Rangers. In his one season with the major-junior club, he helped develop future NHLers Walt Tkaczuk and Mike Robitaille.

Martin continued to play old-timers hockey into his early 70s and still plays golf a few times a week at the Westmount Golf and Country Club. (Martin was asked if his handicap was still under 10. "No. When your age increases, so does your handicap," he said.)

From: The Waterloo County Hall of Fame:

FLOYD "BUTCH" MARTIN
b. 1929
Floyd Martin was born in Floradale in 1929. He began his hockey career with the Waterloo Siskins Jr. B., Guelph Biltmore Jr. A and the K-W Dutchmen. Because of his Mennonite upbringing, he wouldn't play hockey on Sundays and in October 1950, he quit the Dutchmen. He also cancelled a contract which he had signed with the New York Rangers. He resumed his career with intermediate and senior teams in Elmira but returned to the Dutchmen in 1956. He went with them to the Olympics in Cortina, Italy (1956) and Squaw Valley, California (1960) where they won bronze and silver medals. In 1961 he travelled with the Chatham Maroons on a goodwill trip to Russia and Sweden. From 1961 to 1964 Martin played for the Johnstown Jets of the Eastern league, including two years as coach.

He joined the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL as coach for one season. He spent three years as playing coach of the Guelph Regals and coached Guelph Junior B's in 1968 and 1969. He has played Polar Kings old-timers hockey since 1975.