The following transcript of Red Hamill’s interview on Memories and Music (broadcast September 5, 1982) was created by Videoplus Transcription Services in 2013. Page 1 00:00:00 Track starts. SCOTT TURNBULL: Good afternoon and welcome to Memories and Music on CIGM FM 92.7 Sudbury. I’m your musical host, Scott Turnbull and joining us now with an introduction to today’s guest, here’s Gary Peck. GARY PECK: Today our guest will be Red Hamill. Red Hamill played professional hockey from approximately the 1937/38 season until the 1950/51 season playing for initially the Boston Bruins, latterly the Chicago Blackhawks. And also, Red Hamill has been involved in local sports. And today our guest is Robert Hamill, better known as Red Hamill. And welcome to the program, Mr. Hamill. RED HAMILL: Thank you. GARY PECK: Red, you were involved in professional hockey for a number of years and that’s really what we’re going to focus on today in the program. But before we actually concentrate on that aspect of your life, would you share with us some biographical information beginning where you were born, when, what general area, and follow through from there? RED HAMILL: Well, Gary, I was born in Toronto, 1917 and I spent my first 15 years there in Toronto with the family and then I moved north to get a job. That was during the depression years, 34/35 and I went up to South Porcupine. I got the job up there in the mine because I had a little talent as a hockey player. I spent 14 months working in the mine and then Mac Silverman from the Sudbury Wolves approached me to come to Sudbury and play for the Sudbury Wolves. Another fellow, John Godfrey and I came down here and, in fact, that’s the same time Murph Chamberlain came to play with-, for the Tigers, exactly the same year. GARY PECK: What year would that be? RED HAMILL: 1936, July the 1st. I’ll never forget it. I think it was back something that they brought Murph Chamberlain to Sudbury. When we got here, we got a job with International Nickel after a few days. And then about a week or so before training camp was to start, we found out that Sudbury didn’t have the money to sponsor the team and International Nickel took over as Page 2 sponsor. All the players got jobs at Copper Cliff and we played in the Nickel Belt Senior League, which at that time, in my opinion, was the best league in Canada. We were the only junior team in the league but they had-, they won the Memorial Cup or the Allen Cup that year, Gary. And Copper Cliff went to the Memorial Cup finals and you couldn’t wish for anything better than that. GARY PECK: What teams were in the league at that time? What were some of the teams? RED HAMILL: Well, if I can remember right, Frood Tigers, they won it all. Falconbridge Nickel Mines, Creighton, Coniston and… GARY PECK: Did Garson have a team? RED HAMILL: No. Garson didn’t have a team but the iron-, not the iron-, refinery… GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. RED HAMILL: …refinery had a team in the-, I think it was six teams in the… GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. RED HAMILL: …in the league. GARY PECK: Now, what-, how would you account for it being such a good league? RED HAMILL: Well, I think the players they brought in here because of the depression. GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. RED HAMILL: They brought in the best hockey players from Western Canada down in the Maritimes and throughout every province, every hockey player was scouted and I think the best hockey players in Canada came here to form that league. GARY PECK: The mining companies were bringing them… RED HAMILL: Well, they were… GARY PECK: …in? RED HAMILL: …involved in, in all the teams. GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. And these, these individuals would not only have an opportunity to play hockey but would also have a position or have a job? RED HAMILL: Well, I think they came here for the job. GARY PECK: Right. Page 3 RED HAMILL: And I think hockey really was secondary. If you had the talent then you could get a job, no question about it. GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. RED HAMILL: And that went on for years here in the mining camps. And not only here in Sudbury, but in Timmins and Kirkland Lake, fantastic hockey teams and soccer teams, baseball teams. GARY PECK: Built up along with the, with the same idea in mind. RED HAMILL: Well, we’re certainly lucky to have the mines in those days. GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. Now… RED HAMILL: It’s a little different today. GARY PECK: Pardon me? RED HAMILL: It’s a little different today. GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. RED HAMILL: There just aren’t the jobs available. GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. Now, there would be a number of players that would have gone on to the NHL, I would assume… RED HAMILL: Oh… GARY PECK: …from that, from that period of time? RED HAMILL: …fabulous bunch from the north country and particularly from this league here in Sudbury. Murph Chamberlain, Bingo Kampman, Mel Hill, Pat McReavy. Several players… GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. RED HAMILL: …several other players went to the professional ranks and a lot of them to the NHL, directly to the NHL. GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. Now, you played was it one season with that-, in that league? RED HAMILL: Yeah, I was here with Copper Cliff, just for the one year, and it entailed 14 months when we worked at INCO. GARY PECK: That was 36/37? RED HAMILL: 36/37. In the fall of ’37, Mel Hill and I turned pro with Boston. Murph Chamberlain turned pro with the Toronto Maple Leafs and so did Bingo Kampman. Page 4 GARY PECK: All from the same team? RED HAMILL: No. They were from… GARY PECK: Same league? RED HAMILL: …Frood Tigers and… GARY PECK: But from the same league? RED HAMILL: From the same league. GARY PECK: Now, what we’re gonna do is we’ll, we’ll, for the moment, we’ll, we’ll bypass your career in hockey and pick up what your activities were following your retirement, 50/51. It think that was your last season with Chicago? RED HAMILL: That was the last season, yes. Then I went to coach their farm team in Milwaukee in the United States Hockey League. And then we saw a lot of Sudbury players, too, in that league that were coming up through different National Hockey League farm systems. I remember the kid line played down there one year, that’s Tatter McLellan and Mauno Kauppi and Yakker Flynn. Some of the players, there’s-, all the players I think are still living in the Sudbury area. GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. RED HAMILL: I remember playing-, they were in St. Paul at that time which was a Ranger team. Then we spent the year there. That team folded out of that league because of poor attendance. It was the first time they’d ever had a pro hockey club in there and the attendance was terrible. You couldn’t give seats away. Maybe it was the way we played, I don’t know. But then the next year, I went to the Galt Black Hawks and coached the Galt Black Hawks, which was a Junior farm team for the Chicago Black Hawks at that time. I spent two years in Galt. Then I thought it was time I started looking for permanent employment. At that time, I got attached to a Caterpillar dealer in the province and worked 10 years for them selling equipment and was transferred to Sudbury in 1954. GARY PECK: What was the company? RED HAMILL: It was the Caterpillar Company. Page 5 GARY PECK: Caterpillar? RED HAMILL: Yeah. GARY PECK: So that’s what brought you to Sudbury for the second time then? RED HAMILL: That’s right. GARY PECK: In 1954? RED HAMILL: Coming back, and I’ve been here ever since. GARY PECK: And are-, you’re now retired? RED HAMILL: Retired and living here in Sudbury. GARY PECK: All right. On that note, we’ll, we’ll take a break. We’ll hear from our music host and when we return, I’d like to focus in on your, your career in the NHL. Welcome back to the interview portion of Memories and Music. Our guest today is Red Hamill. And, Red, you turned pro, I believe it was in the season of 1937/38? RED HAMILL: That’s right, Gary. GARY PECK: And hockey is very-, hockey was different then than it is today in terms of well, one difference, of course, would be the numbers of teams. RED HAMILL: Well, when I turned pro in 37/38, I played I think 13 games with Boston and I spent the rest of the time in Providence, Rhode Island… GARY PECK: Mm-hmm. RED HAMILL: …the farm team along with Mel Hill and Frankie Brimsek and Johnny Crawford, fellows like that. And Johnny Crawford had played the previous year in Kirkland Lake. And then in 1938/39 season, Johnny Crawford, Mel Hill and I all went up and Frankie Brimsek, we all went to Boston. That was the year we won the Stanley Cup. I was on that team and we had Eddie Shore, Jack Portland, Flash Hollett, Bill Cowley, the Kraut Line, Schmidt, Dumart and Bauer, Charlie Sands, Eric Pettinger, Getliffe.