An Ordinary Boy from Ontario

An Ordinary Boy from Ontario 

A collection of Tales, Poems, Stories and Lyrics 

About Ron Deval....... by Ron Deval 

PREFACE 

RONALD GORDON DEVAL 

08/17/1952... of course that's 17/08/1952 to a Canadian. 

Born at EAST YORK, Ontario, Canada 17/08/1952 to Gordon Vincent Deval and Joan Frances Ivory (Deval).  

I am going to postpone comments about my parents for now. 

IT IS JANUARY in the year 2005 and I am starting this chronological history of my life, because sometimes I fear it is the only legacy that I will leave. 

Paternal Family Paternal Grandparents I knew while I was growing up were Al and Helen Harrington of Fallingbrook Drive in Scarborough, Ontario.   I never met my paternal grandfather, I don't really know his real name, except that he was known as Roy Ward Dixon, in fact I didn't realize that he existed until long after I was old enough to understand why we always called my "grandfather", Uncle Al.  I knew my "grandparents to be loving, fun, energetic, honest people and I am very grateful to them for the attention they they gave me, when I was a little guy.  

Maternal Family grandparents were John and Carmel Ivory, of Hambly Avenue in Toronto.  They were wonderful, kind, caring people. Apparently my maternal grandmother died while my mother was still a child, and things like this were just never discussed, because I really know nothing about her either, except that my mother was born in January of 1929, in Guelph, Ontario.  She was just like her parents... the kindest person I have ever known.  My Grampy was a true British Gentleman, and I often think that I picked up some of my more obvious personality traits and my blind trust in people.... from him.  I lost my Mom to cancer 14 years ago, and all my grandparents are gone now.  My Dad just survived an incredibly scary medical situation in March 2004 and he seems to be back to normal now.  

FAMILY  My sister Constance June (6/51), ME (8/52), my brother Randall Franklin (2/54) and sister Wendy Helene (5/55).... you do the math.... all my siblings stayed in the Toronto area, after we went our own ways from our "nest" in Scarborough.  Although over the years they have dispersed... as well as their children (nieces & nephews)  

OTHER PEOPLE who have had a profound effect on my life.  Not in any particular order. 

James L. Erb, Sr. 

Don & Janet Robertson 

Robert Paoletti 

Marco (Nenad) Marcovic 

Peter Grinbergs 

Susan Katch, John Eisner, Jim McConnell, Gary Thompkins (My band - Valhalla) 

I am sure all these people have their life stories to tell as well... but this is about me, mine.  And I am going to lay it down and let it unfold... it fascinates me, when I consider the trail that I have left .... where I have been and the experiences that I have had.... and shit.. as I write this I am only 52.  Like most young men growing up in Canada in the fifties, I was "funneled" into hockey by the never-ending machine that was producing hockey players in Toronto... the self-proclaimed hockey headquarters of the world.  My life from the time I was five, was all about hockey.  There was naturally family, and holidays and fishing and school and living in a 900 square foot house with 4 children, two adults, 2 dogs, a few pheasants, ducks and lots of fish.  Lots of fish. I will account for a lot of that as time goes by but for now let's just admit that all of that part of my life was "taking place"... while I waited for the next time to play hockey. 

1958 - 1964   The second six years of my life had 2,190 days in it just like yours... but, so you can put this in perspective,  I played or practiced hockey at least 2,000 times over that period. A day without a game or a practice was very, very rare.  There are arenas everywhere in Ontario.... well... all over the continent... and I felt like I played in all of them.  In my first 10 years, in hockey terms I can claim that I won several scoring titles and a couple of Most Valuable player awards, and numerous championships, including having the distinction of having scored the over-time goal to win the World Championship of 12 year old hockey in Quebec City, Le Tournoi International De Quebec. I have a hard time believing my own clippings that say that "Deval scores 96 goals in 39 games..... (it's been all downhill since then { :> )   By the time I was twelve I had proven that I had a future in hockey... to everyone that is but Peter Butler my grade school teacher, who beat the crap out of me with a thick belt, because I didn't do my homework. He told me I was too small to be a career hockey player and I had better concentrate on my schOOOOlwork.  Yeah right Pete.  I wanted to get you for that, for a very, very long time.... you are one of the people that I have held an everlasting grudge against. There have only been a couple.  Actually, I recall that at the time I wanted to get my Dad to go slam you against a wall or something because I was in the sixth grade and I really couldn't do much about it.  Hell.. today you would be toast.  For your information I paid my own way in the world from age 16 to age 29, almost exclusively playing hockey.... after my second son was born in 1979 my minor pro "career" really came crashing down, and I changed my focus to the point where I could no longer compete.  But right up to the end I was always a very valuable player... a top or second line center at 5 foot six and a little bit.  Five nine in the program!! ha ha ha...... in 1979 I acquired an insurance license in Wisconsin after being released by the Milwaukee Admirals, and in 1987 I was hired as the Director of Manpower & Agency Development for the Northwestern Mutual Life General Agency in Tampa, Florida.  In 2003 I acquired a Real Estate license and I am now a Realtor & an Estate Planner in Tampa. I've done okay.  I've made more mistakes than most, I think... but I've made my way in the world even though I didn't do my homework to your satisfaction.  Thank you very much.  I think you can tell that was one of the worst experiences of my life... getting whipped by my teacher with a thick, black belt.  I am 52 now, and I am playing in a hockey game at 3 o'clock this afternoon.  Hockey has been my life.  

So here I was playing around 100 games a year..... and practicing whenever I wasn't playing, because I was actually playing for two teams at the same time... like all the players who were producing massive points in their leagues, I was playing at my age bracket, and above my age bracket, in the same year.  By age 9 or 10 I was getting called up and moved around by hockey people.  I was literally taking the bus, subway and GO train from Scarborough to play Midget (for you non-hockey people who don't know what that is - it's an age bracket designation) for Dixie Beehives and Jr. B for Whitby Steelers at the same time.... and bouncing all over Toronto to get in extra games... really.. it's hard to believe but that was mostly in the Winter.  And I was far from the only kid doing it!!  My Dad and my mother and car-pooling handled the majority of the getting to games and tournaments all over that part of the country. 

If only I would grow.  I played Junior "B" at 14 ... at 5 foot-five and 135 pounds.  Nobody in the Province of Ontario could skate with me, and I played around the bigger guys, but stayed completely out of their reach and scored and set up goals.  That is, until one day in a game in Markham against the Toronto Marlies  (Jr. B) team I took a cross check to the temple that laid me out. (back then they were known as the Marlboroughs) I woke up at home that night wondering what the fuck hit me.  The assumption through all of this was that I would grow, at least enough to have a shot at a pro career.  My father's only mistake in planning my pro career was marrying a woman who was 5' 1" tall..... with him standing 5' 5" the chances of me being 5' 10" were pretty slim... and 5' 8" was very small in the NHL. 

So the idea was that I would be "turned out" to a pro career, wherever I could land a "job" playing hockey.  Problem was I was still 5' six and 155 pounds at age 19.  I have played in the Maple Leaf Gardens, The Montreal Forum, Le Colisee in Quebec City, The Boston Garden, Chicago Stadium, The Bradley Center, U of Wisconsin (Dane County) and numerous other famous buildings.  The most beautiful building I ever played in was in Roanoke.. against the Philadelphia Blazers in a World Hockey Association contest... I was playing for the New England Whalers... I have played a lot of games with a lot of teams in a lot of arenas in a lot of cities..... too many to list.  My coaches have included private tutoring from Carl Brewer, Dave Keon, Billy Harris, Dick Duff.... and Johnny Bower.  Ronnie Lalonde's dad Leo, was my first real coach after my Dad passed the reins on to the All-Star coaches.  In 1967 I hitch-hiked to Peterborough to try out with the Peterborough Petes, coached by Roger Neilson... when I went into his office, he said something to the effect of..."you gotta be kidding me, you're a fucking midget!"... I played against him later that year for Niagara Falls Flyers and I caused a riot when I challenged his entire bench after scoring a sweet goal.  I was a real prick on the ice.  I hated playing against players like me. 

In addition to my Dad, who is quite likely the best coach to never make the big leagues, my coaches have been Leo Lalonde, Phil Dalgleish, Leo Bossy (Mike Bossy's dad), Claude Provost, Yvon Cournoyer, Jack Kelly, Richard Green, Arnie Garber, Andre Caron and Gene Ubriaco... I competed against Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt, Bobby Brown, Derek Sanderson, Steve Vickers, Hilliard Graves... my team-mates included Ronnie Lalonde, Ted Sator, Reggie Fleming, Howie Young and I played several full seasons against the real Hanson brothers (Jeff and Jack Carlson) in the old United States Hockey League..... God what an experience that was.  If you've seen Paul Newman's movie, "Slapshot"... you know what I mean.  I think the big Indian in the movie was actually Ernie Dupont... from Winnipeg.... I saw him try to take my team-mates head off in a game in Green Bay against the Green Bay Bobcats in the 70's.  He was not even in the game, having been ejected from the league, and escorted out of the country.  Somehow, he had come back in for a playoff game and was in the crowd... I was on the ice and a fight was starting between some players near the benches.... I saw Ernie coming down behind the bench .. he lunged over the glass behind our bench and grabbed a stick from our stick rack and whacked Johnny Blaylock, from Vancouver... across the side of his head... I couldn't believe my eyes..... as he turned and ran towards an exit, I tried to get somebody to stop him but I was on the ice and John was convulsing on the bench...... and the fight was still going on... on the ice.... what a great league that was.  I had played against Ernie 20 or 30 times but I never saw him again after that. 

Sept. 1972 - Boston ...... no time for girls there.... whew!  When I was 19, I took a bus from downtown Toronto at 11pm. to be in Boston in time for the open invitation tryouts for the New England Whalers...... I'll come back here and write more about this experience later. 

January 1973 - Chicago.... my first serious "relationship"... talked about marriage kinda girl, Carol Garde.  More later. 

July 1973 - I met (Kimberly) Kim Morrison in Toronto but she was from Prince Edward Island... I had driven to Toronto to visit family and friends and spent some time at the Sportsmen's Show to compete in the casting tournament and to have some fun.  She was there to work at the Prince Edward Island travel bureau booth.  She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.  Kim was definitely the first girl that I fell head over heels in love with. It was a whirlwind for two weeks and then she was gone, back to P.E.I. .....and I was off to Milwaukee to start a new season in another new town.   

In August 1973 I signed a contract to play for Lloyd Petitts' Milwaukee Admirals, and with Phil Whitliff an undiscovered Phil Esposito kinda player.   Phil was a great guy... a good team-mate and some of the other guys on that team were tremendous friends for what seems like a very long time... Eddie Boucha, Mike Tardani, John Womack, Mike Mallinger, Louis Caputo, Rob Mackness.  Shortly after arriving in Milwaukee I moved in with a couple of hockey groupies, Kathleen Skogstrom and Karen ?, along with my team-mate Bobby Macioci - (MACHOCHY) from East Ohange, New Joisey... I seem to recall that Bobby's dad was one of the original Four Seasons singing troupe.... you know the "Sherri, why don't you come out tonight"..... group..... anyway, as the season went on Bobby was released from the team, and I was "stranded" in an apartment with 2 beautiful women for the balance of the year.. my memory is fading at age 52 and I wish could remember having a threesome with them.. but somehow I can't remember it...... well... it's a good guess that it never happened.  I went back to Montreal in the off season and then went down to Nova Scotia and Summerside, Prince Edward Island to try to rekindle my flame for Kim Morrison.  We had stayed in contact with each other and were reaching out to each other throughout the season.  I think I might have got her pregnant but her father chased me off for good when I called on her in Summerside, PEI to try to scoop her away to Toronto with me, and I never heard from her again. 

So in September 1974, Karen moved out and I eventually married Kathy (Kathleen Mary Skogstrom)........ yah.. she vas Svedish.  

In 1976 I played against the United States Olympic team in Madison, Wisconsin when they were tuning up for the Winter Games in Innsbruck.  I kinda grew up in Milwaukee.. got my first big dose of responsibility when my wife Kathy gave me my first of two beautiful sons, Colin Matthew Deval on July 31, 1977... and then on March 31, 1979, Kevin Bradley Deval. 

I coached high school hockey at the Milwaukee University School as assistant Varsity and Jr. Varsity coach to Tony Fritz (Lake Forest College) and a second and third year with Lowell MacDonald.  His sons Lane and Lowell Jr. were high schooled there, just before they were of age to play in the Olympics.  I certainly can't claim responsibility for their success... Lowell Sr. was a tremendous coach.  And then I refereed, yes that's right.. I refereed high school and college hockey around Milwaukee for 10 years. 

I coached the Wisconsin Flyers Senior A team to the National Championships in Denver in 1986 or something like that.HOCKEY & GIRLS 

1966 - Dixie Beehives (& Whitby)...... Judy Ford 

1967 - Whitby Steelers ...... Judy Ford 

1968 - Junior A in Nova Scotia at 15.... Linda Sylvester, Maggie Mariner 

1969 - 1971  - Junior A in Montreal.... Maggie Mariner, Vasso Stefanatos, Arlene Holden, Susie Wileman, Dorothea Hamm...  

SO THAT'S A START, EH? 

I'm 67 years old now and my name is not relevant. I've been writing this story about my background now I grew up with my involvement in hockey probably up to where I am now I'm dictating this I'm gonna go back later and edit it it's easier than trying to type it all out but it just follows right along so I can see what I'm saying and think out loud and put it on paper English I didn't say English so i had to practice this dictation type thing because I haven't done it in years let's start with me being 5 years old growing up in Toronto In Canada and getting my first pair of skates. I headed down to the local park outside our school where are we park area or we played in the summer it was frozen so that we could scate there was a large area cleared for hockey actually it was big enough for 3 or 4 matches going on at the same time and players who are there skating around would naturally gravitate over to the area that was most suited to their abilities In other words if they thought they were playing in a group where they would never touch the puck they would give it up and move to another area where there were more let's say novice players  

I guess it's true that the old iced backyard was every young man's starting point in hockey in the Toronto area at least I course I can't speak for Edmonton and other areas in the country but another kids all over the country that played in their backyards and then played in their school area and then played in the local arena and then went up and up and up and up as long as they could as long as they wanted to and as long as they were physically able to compete they kept going so by the time I was 9 years old I was playing in union Ville and still down in Oxbridge end all the other little arenas around the Toronto area Tam O’ Shanter became my home arena when I first got into local competitive hockey Cortina local sponsor and we played our hearts out against other groups and other little Burrows around the city it was only the start of a path that was going to take me through numerous years numerous different pairs of skates end gave me an introduction to thousands of other young men who had the same aspirations. I know obviously now that there is no way And I understood the hierarchy hockey leagues now I see that from the Top down it was The NHL Olympic hockey AHLEIHL USHL NCAA high school had all the way down to recreational harmony in recreational hockey you have senior a head on down to local pickup games the beer leagues are everywhere they're called bare legs because players paid to play read the ice time form teams 10 playoff against other hopefully evenly matched teams as i'm looking back at what is recorded here I can see that this is going to take a lot of editing but that's OK it's easier than typing all of this.  

And I have to learn how to dictate. including punctuation.,; : see All I have to do is say it in this fricking machine types it.  

so here I am at 67 And I just figured out how to hold a microphone in my hand and say what I want to say and have my computer type it. What could be better than that?