Showing results by author "Tim Harwood" in All Categories

Hearing about hockey is not the same as being at the rink on game night, but these stories present a portrait of a small city’s team, playing a sport that has been ever-changing and always exhilarating.

The Waterloo Black Hawks’ first Thanksgiving game was not on the original United States Hockey League schedule in 1964/65. Nevertheless, the Black Hawks played on that holiday evening, starting a tradition which today draws thousands of Eastern Iowans to the rink each November after turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie.

For more than half a century, generations of hockey fans in northeast Iowa have given their allegiance to the Waterloo Black Hawks. Few realize that decades before the Black Hawks arrived, a long forgotten club captivated Waterloo during the late 1920s, playing in front of crowds even larger than those who come to the rink today, and beating teams from Chicago, the Twin Cities, and Canada. The Legion Team: Forgotten Hockey in Waterloo, 1927-1930, seeks to revive the memories of this overlooked era.

Hockey sprang to life in Waterloo, Iowa, when the Black Hawks and the United States Hockey League arrived in 1962. Immediate success on the ice allowed the franchise to put down deep roots. Paul Johnson, Jim Coyle, Bill Dobbyn, and a full cast led the Hawks to five consecutive championships in the 1960s against rival teams featuring players like Herb Brooks, Bill Masterton, and Paul Coppo. The Hawks' early accomplishments built a tradition that helped the sport through many leaner seasons in Waterloo.