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“You have to be a showman in this business, people want to be entertained. They want to get mad, they want to laugh." Good enough. Meeting Lord Athol Layton is an experience not unlike driving your car into a rock cut. Sort of shattering. 1-Iâ€"v!\ ___,1 Ulluvw- u. Espezially when you're my size (5’5”) and you’re idea of conflict is an early-morning wrestle with your first piece of toast, first cup of coffee. “A A“ .1 17:" ml “Wrestling has beer: good to me over the years. It’s been very good for wrestling fans. It provides an emotional release for them. "u.“ vw -.- _- J r-- ~ 7 , _ Imet Athol the other night at a Richmond Hill El Shamaly Shrine Club meeting at the local Legion. Athol, to the uninitiated, is a wrestler who reaches 6’5 inches into the air and punishes the weigh scales at 270 pounds. A . v . . , , 7 r_”_ 'Vl’h‘ich simply meant that I insisted on a few ground rules being set out before I would interview him. Like he had to remain seated throughout while I stood wnfioh’t understand it. I still came out of it with sore neck. Loses ear Athol also recalls the time the late Yukon Eric lost his ear in a match. f‘At the time the spectators thought it was a gag. His ear was just lying there on the mat.’ Well so much for that Athol, incidentally, is an Australian who has resided in Toronto for a' number of years. He now mostly promotes wrestling. Witty, articulate Now don’tget me wrong. Chatting with Athol is a gentling experience as he comes off a very ar- ticulate, witty, businessman which, of course, he is. It’s just that he’s so very very big. Y‘ I ,lf,, -- .. J7.-. , Iwoulidibe less than tnuthfu] to gay I’m a dyed-inâ€" the-wool wrestling fan. I’m not. But I’ve got nothing against the many fans who think it’s the greatest sport goingj , , 1- _Ll“ At just that moment, Bulldog looked around and down at me and growled that “if there’s anything that makes me mad is someone to ask me if wrestling is for real or not. ” I didn't ask the question. I'vehever forgotten that moment of tranma and so I prudently avoided any similar question while talking to Athol although he did comment that: -r- Tgnleuit’s good entertainment, the type I still recall had its real hey day in the 1950’s via the television tube. . Amateur boxer Some of his early background includes starting out as an amateur boxer at the age of 16 and even- tually winning the championship of Australia before taking up wrestling. He also gotâ€"the Handle ‘Lord’ because he wore a coronation robe in his early wrestling days. “i wés forced t5 be tough in those days," he said. ”When you’re born with a name like ‘Athol’ you have to do something desperate.” Oh yes, I asked him if he has ever been challenged by the usual saloon types who think they are tougher than he is and how he handles such situations. Some are mean It can also be a rugged, sometimes very rugged business. “We‘re all big men and like in any other en- deavour you run into some fellows who enjoy being mean. That’s the serious part of it.” Athol, in his time, has been the “bad guy” and “the good guy.” He’s been the good guy lately because, at the age of 55, he’s starting to mellow a little. “I’m back in the ring now,” he continued, “after retiring for awhile due to an eye injury. I picked up a detached retina during a match.” “It really doesn‘t happen that often. When it does I just tell them that I only fight for money. “If they Want to cross my palm with it, I'll consider it. That usually ends the matter.” Somehow I believe him. Besides, he‘s got two sons bigger than he is. That's a lot of family to argue with. The residents, headed by Ralph Sawyer, president of the Richvale Minor Ball Association and representing the Richmond Hill Ball Association, were appearing before council‘s parks and recreation committee. A delegation of 40 residents were prac- tically assured Thursday night of getting lights for Pearson Park ball diamond in Richvale but were left in the dark as to exactly when. They were assured by the committee there was no question about the need for lights and a recommendation for same would come before regular council April 21. Sawyer later urged that all interested residents be on hand for that meeting. There was less optimism by the com- mittee about the possibility of installing the $28,000 diamond lights in time for the up- Athol Layton . walk softly (Continued on Page 20) Lights for Pearson Park, in dark about When That’s when a lot of people really took it seriously 'and if you even dared suggest it was well, not really all serious, you were fortunate if all you received was a dirty look. I’ve got a feeling there are still a lot of those people around. Bulldog Brower As late as five or six years ago I sat in a local bar shoulder to shoulder (so to speak) with Bulldog Brower trying to summon the courage to ask him how seriously he took wrestling. Fred Simpson Involved Procedure Parks and Recreation Director Dave Hamilton said that the procedures involved in dealing with the lights â€" such as coun- cil’s approval, calling of tenders, the awarding of the contract etc. â€" could take as long as 16 weeks. Yet another drawback could be council‘s hesitancy at adding the $28,000 figure to its already project-committed present budget at such a late date. Matter of priorities Councillor Andy Chateauvert stated he was “well aware of the need for lighting at Pearson Park" but could see no way of adding “$28,000 to our current budget for parks and recreation at this stage of the game. It’s a matter of priorities." He was in favor of adding the $28,000 to the capital forecast for 1975 and setting the Thornhill Peewees champions! By Fred Simpson What’s it feel like to win the OMHA Double A All Ontario hockey cham- pionship? “Why, super. just super.‘ That’s the way Thornhill Fisher Bros Peewee Coach A] Morris kept putting it Wednesday night of last week after his team had downed London Oakridge Optimists 5-1 to win the final series four games to zip. v What was Coach Morris’ strategy in the series? Simple “We checked like hell,” said Morris. “That and the fact that everyone did his job was the key. It was a tough series but not as tough as we thought especially when you consider this London team won the All Ontario last year The Thornhiil Thun- derbird Bantams will be a tie away from the OMHA grand championship tonight (Wednesday) when they skate out on the ice against Stratford in the fifth game of Three jubilant members of the Thornhill Fisher Bros. Peewees accept All Ontario championship trophy from OMHA executive Elmer McFadden following Wednesday night’s 5-1 win over London WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 1975 Richmond Hill will be the scene of a big “Table Hockey Tournament" April 26 tfrom 10 am to 7 pm. The ioumament. to be staged in the North Mall of the Richmond Heights Centre. is open free of charge to any youngster between the ages MS and 15 years. Registration applications are available at the following stores: Bob's Bottoms. Seafood Corners. Elk's Mens Wear. Music Centre. and Alliance Sports. Trophies will be presented to the champion teams. For further information call Bob Moulton at 884-7060. Table hockey Thornhill Bantams need tie for title That final game saw Oakridge jump into an early lead at 2:49 only to have Rick Seeley score the equalizer five minutes later on a lead pass from Paul Howson and John Rennicks. That got the Thornhillers rolling and Kurt Pearson made it 2-1 from Todd McKnight and Duhee Lee; then it was Rob Bagg from Dante Anderson and Steve Mallett; Howson again from as minor peewees. Forecheck to death “Our strategy was to forecheck them to death and it worked. They never got untracked. We were especially concerned with a player on their team by the name of David Simpson. For a good reason. He was in on every goal.” decision Sunday night Stratford. the series after losing a 4-1 Thornhill leads the series five points to three. Suhday‘s game saw the Stratford team playing an stage for 'early approval of the lighting project for 19761 In his earlier presentation, Sawyer had outlined the need for lights in detailed form and had also listed the contributions to be directed at the project by interested bodies. Contributions This included $3,000 from the Richmond Hill Ball Association, a $1,000 from the Richvale Lions Club, and a likely $7,000 grant from the recreational division of the province. Committee member Glen Philip, also of the Richmond Hill Ball Association, added that $8,000 had already been approved in the budget to go toward the renovation of the concession booth at the town park. “There's no way we’ve been able to get any contractor to touch the booth unless it' s sports] in Thornhill was unable to solve the Londoner‘s defence until the 11 minute mark when Jim Jones and Paul Howson scored within 30 seconds of each other. Rick Seeley assisted on both goals with Howson and Jones each getting one assist. Sim gets winner Early in the second period. The third game of the series last Sunday saw London surprising Thornhill with a goal just 37 seconds after play got underway. Seeley and Mark Wiltshire; and, finally, Duhee Lee unassisted. Morris outstanding Goalie John Morris, playing in his 76th game of the season, was a standout as he continued to make the big saves. Scoring for Thornhill were Mike Egli, Scott Howson, Daryl Marchant and Rick Buchan. aggressive forechecking game which held the Thunderbirds to the lone goal as scored by Scott Howson. Thornhill opened the series with a 4-4 tie which included an overtime session as Goalie James Davidson turned in an outstanding game. He stopped 47 shots. The Thunderbirds were thundering in the second game as they came up with a 7-2 win with Scott Howson contributing {our goals and assisting on two others. Other, goal scorers were Can'tuse38,000 Councillor Chateauvert would have no part of transferring the $8,000 toward Pearson Park stating that “we've already committed it to the concession booth renovations." He also clashed slightly with Philip over “priorities” with the latter contending that an additional $25,000 to $28,000 to the town’s budget this year would amount to “roughly an additional $1 to each home which doesn’t seem out of the way to me.” a package deal with improvements to the entire diamond. Philip added thatr“if we needed a road fixed for $25,000, it would be fixed.” “We re willing to turn this $8, 000 over to the Pearson Park people for this year, which would account for $19,000 of the $28,000 price-tag." Thornhill scored twice in the third period. It was Seeley from Howson and John Rennicks; Howson from Jones and Paul Myers to make the final score read 6-2. ‘ Steve Sim scored what proved to be the winning goal slamming in his own rebound off the backboards after beating the London defenceman to the puck. Less than a minute later Oakridge scored its second goal. Late in the second period. Mark Wiltshire blasted a power play goal from his right point position. Assists went to Howson and Kurt Pearson. Mike Egli, Daryl Marchant, and Rick Booker‘ Excellent performances were also turned in by Jim Ferguson on defence, Egli (four The Ed Marchant-coached Thornhill team reached the finals by sweeping past the Township of Kingston in three straight games. assists) and Davidson. The third encounter on Friday saw a change in tactics by the Stratford team leading to a tight defensive battle. Scott Howson’s goal in the first period was offset by a Stratford reply in the second. Rick Buchan came up with the only and winning goal in the third period. Big line Coach Morris noted that (Phnio by Elbert) goalie James Coach Morris said the secret of his team‘s success was the fact that every “forward and defenceman got at least one scoring point in the final two games. That’s balance along with discipline, conditioning, and it spells a winner.” How sweet The championship was doubly sweet for Coach Morris and assistant Yvon Laforge, manager Bob Pearson, who shaped last year’s York Simcoe champs into the potent championship one of this season. “We added strength this season by picking up house league kids like Lee, McKnight and Myers who has that big slap shot which intimidated a lot of goalies this season. his big line of Paul Howson between Jim Jones and Rick Seeley dominated scoring in the series with Howson, in particular, getting five points in one of the victories. “This line played exâ€" tremely well.” The aforementioned Morris played tremendous hockey throughout the season in goal compiling an amazing 1.46 goals against average in York Simcoe Hockey league play. “Lee was second on the team in assists, McKnight was third in scoring. Not bad for kids just out of the house league." Leading playoff scorers were Howson with 15 goals and 11 assists; Seeley, nine goals and 14 assists; Wilt- shire, five goals and 14 assists; Pearson, seven goals, 12 assists. Was Coach Morris sur- prised at winging it all? “No, I told the parents early in the season that if this team worked hard it could go all the way. They worked hard. It was fun coaching a team but there’s no doubt that it’s twice as The never’sayvdie home team rallied to tie the game at 7-7 and then it was the beginning of the end for Oak Ridges as they ran into an unending string of penalties with Waterford scoring its final three goals on power plays. Smith gets 2 goals Leading the Oak Ridges scoring offensive was Paul Smith with two goals and two assists; Bruce Wilton, two goals, with singles going to Dale Roffey, also one assist; Jim Gerber, a goal and an assist; Brad Jotham, one goal and an assist; Tony Roffey, three assists; Ted Clague, one assist; Chris Sunday’s game saw the Brockton boys leading Waterford by 3- 2 at the end of the first and 7-5 going into the third. The Oak Ridgestlex Brockton Midgets were one period away from winning the OMHA C hockey championship at Waterford Sunday but that was one period too much. Waterford poured home five unanswered goals to skate away with a 10-7 victory and send the bestâ€"of- seven series back to Bond Lake Saturday for the fifth and possibly final game. Oak Ridges leads the series three games to one winning 7-5 Friday night at Waterford after trailing by 5-1 at one point. ’Ridges Midgets miss chance to wrap up title Chateauvert again objected contending that expenditures on recreation had jumped from 40 to 45 percent in the last few years “although Iagree we still have a long way to go.“ , Philip was also of the opinion that when “it comes to priorities recreation seems to be always at the end of the line." Disgruntlement There was also some disgruntlement among ratepayers in the Pearson Park area who felt that the town had gone ahead and redesigned the park without “letting us It was Spokesman Sawyer’s contention also that the actual cost of adequate lighting for the Pearson Park diamond could be less than $28,000, something like $20,000. Chateauvert still thought it was a “matter of prioritiersj’ Take All- On tario ti t/e oust London in four win final game by 5-7 much fun bringing home a a thrill. It‘s the first All winner. Ontario winner I've ever ' coached.” “It’s only happened about What’s there left to. say four times in the last 10 except: years. That‘s got to give you Super! Shawn Parker became an instant hero early in the third as he took a pass from Tony Roffey and tied the game at 5â€"4 and Clague was a super hero when he put Oak Ridges ahead to stay from Daley Roffey and Paul Smith. Friday’s night game saw Oak Ridges off to a poor start trailing 2-0 at the end of the first period and 5-1 early into the second. Smith, one assist Brockton‘s get going That‘s when the Brockton team got going with Tony Roffey making it 5~2 from Karl Taylor and Bernie Engel; then it was Jim Gerber from Dale Roffey and Ted Clague; and Tony Roffey from Bernie Engel to make it 54 going into the third period. Waterford pulled its goalie twice and it backfired on the second one as Dale Roffey scored from Jim Gerber and Chris Smith with only one second remaining in the game. Lion Juveniles The Oak Ridges Lion Juveniles managed to pick up a 5-4 win over a powerful Mount Forest team Satur- day at Oak Ridges but fell by 6â€"3 Sunday away from home. They now trail their bestâ€" of-seven championship finals by three games to one with the fifth game slated for It’s obvious by the smile that Thornhill Fisher Bros. Coach Al Morris isn’t about to “drown” his sorrows. Those are bubbles he’s surrounding after the big game. know what was happening.»” The question of council‘s approval of lighting for the tennis courts in the same park popped up briefly when it was pointed out by town officials that a survey of the Richvale area saw tennis favored over softball. Some $22,000 will be spent on lighting for the tennis courts this summer. "a“ _,,,o , , Committee member Philip stressed that “no one is opposed to having lights far the tennis court or objecting to it. We’re not asking that ball be given precedence over tennis. We’re just saying that lights are also needed for ball. ” It was observed earlier by Philip that “the present diamond situation is sufficient to handle the children in the daylight hours but this leaves little or no time‘for the adults. “We could double the capacity of our diamonds by lighting Pearson Park.” Oak Ridges {hen scored a go-ahead goal while shor- thanded as Terry Legge took The first period saw Lenneville putting the boys in from on passes from McConnachie and Brian Jones only to have Mount Forest tie the game. a flip pass from Wayne Roffey and blasted the puck home. Mount Forest tied the game at 2-2. There was just 15 seconds remaining in the second when Gueran scored from Jones and Dale Roffey to make it 3-2 and then Legge made it 4-2 in the third from Gueran. Mount Forest got one back but the local heroes wrapped up their first win of the series With a goal with four seconds remaining. Triggering it was Gueran from Wayne Roffey and Terry Legge. Saturday’s dramatic win saw Gueran scoring the winning goal with only four seconds remaining in regulation time. Assists went to Wayne Roffey and Terry Legge. Mount Forest Tuesday night. Sunday’s game saw Wayne Roffey scoring a goal and an assist with single goals to Peter McConnachie and Terry Legge. Assists went to Albert Shaw, Larry Gueran, John Lenneville, Alan Heintzman, and Robert Herd.