Grimsby Peach Kings
| Grimsby Peach Kings | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Grimsby, Ontario |
| League | Provincial Junior Hockey League |
| Conference | South |
| Division | Bloomfield |
| Founded | 1922 |
| Home arena | Peach King Centre |
| Colors | Maroon, White, and Gold |
| General manager | Don Kilgallen Dan Neilson |
| Head coach | Dave Brownridge |
| League Champions | 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 |
| Clarence Schmalz Cups | 1940, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2012 |
The Grimsby Peach Kings are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team from Grimsby, Ontario. They play in the Provincial Junior Hockey League.
One of the oldest hockey clubs in Ontario, the Peach Kings officially joined the Ontario Hockey Association in 1922, however the "Peach Kings" moniker had been used for local sports teams for several decades prior. The name refers to Grimsby's unique ability to cultivate peaches, a fruit that cannot be farmed without proper conditions. Grimsby's location between Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment plus soil types allow for this.
In the early 1920s Col. Roberts had built a large cold storage facility for fruit in the summer that had ample capacity to make ice in the winter. In turn, work began on an arena in the summer of 1921. When the arena opened in January 1922, it was one of only 8 arenas in the world and the Montreal Canadiens soon took advantage of it for their training camp. Shortly after, the professional Saskatoon Sheiks (who were later sold to New York to become the Rangers) also held training camps in Grimsby, and the town became an overnight hockey hotspot.
For the 1924-25 season, sponsors got involved and began scouring Ontario for the best hockey players to play for the Peach Kings. When this squad took to the ice in the fall of 1924, they skated on the same ice as Hall of Famers Howie Morenz, Georges Vézina, and Aurel Joliat skated on for training camp with the Canadiens. With Pud Reid as their captain, they took the league title that year playing against Brantford, Niagara Falls, Welland, Port Colborne, and Dunnville. In the OHA Intermediate A playoffs, the Peach Kings eliminated Paris, Toronto, and New Hamburg on their way to the finals. They beat Kingston in a two-game series to take the OHA championship.
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