{"id":70487,"date":"2021-02-10T13:38:42","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T18:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=70487"},"modified":"2021-02-10T14:50:24","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T19:50:24","slug":"history-on-ice-how-michael-nicholson-became-a-hockey-trailblazer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2021\/02\/history-on-ice-how-michael-nicholson-became-a-hockey-trailblazer\/","title":{"rendered":"History on ice: How Michael Nicholson became a hockey trailblazer"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Michael Nicholson (BA \u201970) was named captain of what was then known as the Brock Generals men\u2019s hockey team in the fall of 1968, his teammate Michael Rohatynsky (BA \u201971) thought little other than it was a deserving honour.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time when Mike was named captain, we didn\u2019t see it as a big deal,\u201d says Rohatynsky. \u201cNo question Mike was our leader and he had every right to be our captain.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact Nicholson was Black was never thought of as anything notable. He was just one of the guys and a talented hockey player known for his playmaking and skating abilities.<\/p>\n

\"\"

A photo taken during practice shortly before Mike Nicholson was named captain of the Brock men\u2019s hockey team in November 1968. From left: Wayne Kenyon, Bill Enovy, Nicholson, Ron St. Louis and head coach Ed Davis.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cMike was named captain 10 years after Willie O\u2019Ree broke the colour barrier in the NHL with the Boston Bruins,\u201d Rohatynsky says. \u201cIt was never a controversial topic among the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

But looking back half a century later, in an era of increased awareness of issues around equality and diversity, Rohatynsky started to realize that Nicholson was more than just a deserving captain. He was a pioneer.<\/p>\n

After discussing the issue with former Brock men\u2019s hockey coach Murray Nystrom in 2016, Rohatynsky says everything he has uncovered points to Nicholson being the first Black captain of a Canadian university hockey team.<\/p>\n

While U SPORTS hasn\u2019t been able to fully verify the claim, the governing body for Canadian university sport points out that other early Black university hockey leaders of record include Bob Beaulieu, who served as one of two alternate captains of the Alberta Golden Bears in 1973 and Darren Lowe, the first Black captain at the University of Toronto in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

Rohatynsky says it\u2019s critical for society to recognize the contributions of Black Canadians.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be asking the question \u2018who were the first Black captains in both men\u2019s and women\u2019s Canadian varsity sports?\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s important we recognize Mike\u2019s accomplishment and his contribution to Brock and St. Catharines as a Black hockey player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicholson isn\u2019t consumed with the possible title of being the country\u2019s first Black hockey captain, but rather more concerned with how the Black Lives Matter movement has highlighted a need for a harmony with Black Canadians, much like how the country is going through a reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and M\u00e9tis people.<\/p>\n

Nicholson is encouraged by the formation of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, which consists of current and former NHL players and was created to speak out against racism and racial injustice shortly after George Floyd was killed in May 2020 while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minn.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s happening today isn\u2019t unlike the state of the world when Nicholson was named captain in November 1968.<\/p>\n

That year, the world was disturbed by the assassinations of American civil rights heroes Dr. Martin Luther King in April and Robert F. Kennedy in June.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Teammates from the 1969-70 Brock Generals receive awards for reaching their fourth year. From left: Ron Powell, Mike Nicholson and John O\u2019Brien.<\/p><\/div>\n

Black athletes were making headlines as boxer Muhammad Ali opposed the Vietnam War and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar boycotted the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City because of the race riots happening in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking Mike captain was especially meaningful considering what was happening during those times,\u201d says Brock\u2019s first men\u2019s hockey coach, Ed Davis. \u201cA Black hockey player with a captain\u2019s \u2018C\u2019 on his chest was unheard of, but it was a natural decision to make him captain because of the quality of man he was. He was a gentleman on and off the ice. We were proud that he was the face of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis thought Nicholson was captain material from the moment he met him \u2014 at a time when Brock\u2019s hockey program was just starting.<\/p>\n

University founding President, James A. Gibson, tasked Davis to start a men\u2019s hockey program on a budget of $1,000. The Generals held their first training camp in the fall of 1966.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike was one of 30 players trying out for the team at our first camp,\u201d says Davis. \u201cHe came out on the ice and I thought he was one of the most captivating players I\u2019d ever seen. He was this smooth-skating forward that moved around the ice with ease. I knew right then and there he was going to be on my first line.\u201d<\/p>\n

The following year, Davis and Arnie Lowenberger negotiated for Brock, a school of only 760 students, to compete in the Ontario Universities Athletic Association (OUAA) against powerhouse schools such as Toronto and Western.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy for Mike as captain. He was our leader during those early, hard days for our program,\u201d adds Davis. \u201cHe led by example like being the first player to arrive at Thorold arena for our 6 a.m. practice time. He was also thrust into the leadership role after we lost our first captain Bill Walker to a season-ending injury.\u201d<\/p>\n

His teammates easily embraced Nicholson as their leader and voted him the team\u2019s Most Valuable Player during the 1967-68 season.<\/p>\n

Long before coming to Brock, Nicholson\u2019s talent as an athlete was known across the Niagara region. It was noteworthy when the six-foot, 165-pound forward enrolled at the University in 1966.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf the first-year students, probably the best known in local hockey circles is Mike Nicholson,\u201d stated a Brock recruit press release at the time. \u201cHe played his minor hockey in St. Catharines and had some experience with the Thorold Jaycees of the Niagara District Junior B before coming to Brock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicholson was one of the few St. Catharines-born players on the team including alternate captain Bruce Wormald (BA \u201970) and his good friend Dick Overholt (BA \u201970, MA \u201978).<\/p>\n

Overholt recalls Nicholson\u2019s do-it-all approach to the game with playmaking passes and a willingness to forecheck and backcheck.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Mike Nicholson (back row, second from right) first served as captain of the 1968-69 Brock Generals. Back row, from left: trainer Tom Kearney, manager John Vandergraaf, Tom McQuaig, Serge Girrard, John Kennedy, Wayne Kenyon, Eric Stevens, Tom McArthur, Dick Overholt, Jack Ballantyne, Ron St. Louis, John O\u2019Brien, Nicholson and coach Ed Davis. Front row, from left: Rick Sullivan, Richard Heeley, Ron Powell, Mike Rohatynsky, Miller Hicks, Cliff Truax, Bruce Wormald, Craig Morrison, Steve Latinovich and Wayne Spencer.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cMike was one of the better players in the area at the time,\u201d says Overholt, who grew up playing midget-level hockey in the region with Nicholson. \u201cHe was so smooth that he didn\u2019t look like he was working hard, yet he got everything done. Mike was a very smart player.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the classroom, Nicholson achieved high marks. He received a scholarship awarded for outstanding academic achievement during the 1966-67 year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose were good years at Brock,\u201d says Nicholson. \u201cAthletically, it was no comparison to the facilities that you\u2019ve got now. There was a little field house at the top of the hill near the tower that served as the Athletic Department. Now, they have more people contributing to athletics than we could ever dream of.\u201d<\/p>\n

To say Nicholson, who grew up in the ethnically-diverse Facer Street area of St. Catharines, comes from an athletic family is an understatement.<\/p>\n

The Nicholsons played a large role in the 1937 all-Black hockey team, the St. Catharines Orioles, who competed in the Niagara District Hockey League against white teams.<\/p>\n

Many members of the team were descendants of Adam Nicholson, a prominent member of the Black community in St. Catharines who arrived in Canada after escaping slavery in the 1850s.<\/p>\n

The Orioles were captained by Nicholson\u2019s father Hope, who made a living in excavation as a shovel operator and hoisting engineer.<\/p>\n

His grandfather on his mother Norma\u2019s side was the legendary Norman \u2018Pinky\u2019 Lewis, who was a trainer for the McMaster Marauders and CFL\u2019s Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Lewis also coached hockey and was named Hamilton\u2019s Citizen of the Year in 1971. One of Hamilton\u2019s recreation centres is named after him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHockey equipment wasn\u2019t expensive back then, but a good pair of skates were,\u201d says Nicholson. \u201cMy grandfather always made sure I had access to good equipment like cast-offs from the NHL or CFL. I always had unbelievably good equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Mike Nicholson (left) and former head coach Ed Davis (right) from the 1969-70 Brock Generals hockey team.<\/p><\/div>\n

Nicholson is also the godson of lawyer Lincoln Alexander, who was the first Black Canadian member of Parliament, Cabinet minister and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think all of these people played a role in the qualities that made Mike a great captain and person,\u201d says Overholt. \u201cHe was a quietly-intense leader. You wouldn\u2019t hear him yell or scream at anyone in the dressing room, but rather he would say something meaningful to get the point across that we had a job to accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicholson says his time at Brock and playing for the Generals set the foundation for his future.<\/p>\n

After he graduated at age 23, Nicholson worked at Stelco Steel in Hamilton before receiving an offer to play hockey in Erie, Pa., with the Erie Lions from 1970-73.<\/p>\n

He made an impact in his first year as one of the club\u2019s top scorers with 78 points in 41 games.<\/p>\n

Nicholson returned to Canada after his work permit expired and enrolled in the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. He would go on to start a family in Toronto, where he raised his children Laura, Pamela and Martin. He recently retired from a 40-year career as an English teacher in the Toronto District School Board.<\/p>\n

Nicholson continues to give back to Brock through donations or participating in University events, including lacing up for alumni hockey games.<\/p>\n

The Brock Badgers, which the Generals became known as in the early 1970s, now honour Nicholson with a Sportsmanship Award in his name given out annually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Michael Nicholson (BA \u201970) was named captain of what was then known as the Brock Generals men\u2019s hockey team in the fall of 1968, his teammate Michael Rohatynsky (BA \u201971) thought little other than it was a deserving honour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":70488,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,9794,7484,3319,1,4,58,4523],"tags":[256,9970,4437,698,9969],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70487"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70487"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70499,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70487\/revisions\/70499"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}