JC Hockey 50th YouTube Trailor

Big Drive on for CJHL's 50th Anniversary Dinner

Hockey 50^th story

By Mel Tsuji

PR Drive in High Gear for CJHL’s 50^th Anniversary Celebration

     For over a year, a group of eight Japanese Canadians  has been meeting regularly to plan a historic occasion --- the 50^th anniversary of the

Canadian Japanese Hockey League.

     Today, they might not look the part, but these are the men who created and were the top players in the league.  They’re mostly in their 60s and 70s, going grey, some white already, but they’ve been the driving force to the big celebration taking place on Saturday Oct. 22 at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.

     Meetings have been stepped up recently, now once a month.  They’re aimed at updating drives to inform as many people about the anniversary as they can reach by phone, email, publicity flyers, posters or word of mouth.

     Everybody’s invited to the big shindig – former players, fans, family members.  An estimated 5,000 probably played in the league over the 50 years, so it’s been a big net to cover.

     Everything starts at 3pm on ct 22 with a social and reception when old friends can get together.  Dinner starts at 6.30pm with a sumptuous buffet of all the great

JC favorites

     Tickets are $85 a couple or $50 singles.  To register, send checks made out to “CJHL Reunion” c/o Rick Matsumoto, 10 Dunmurray Blvd, Scarborough, On. MiT 2J9.

More information can be obtained by contacting Rick at rmast@rogers.com.  Also available are Mel Tsuji at meltsuji@yahoo.ca and Bob Miwa at aniwa9@yahoo.ca.

     You can also find us on Twitter, Facebook and google us at JChockey50@blogspot.com.   (Mel Tsuji)



Japanese Canadian Hockey League Celebrating Its 50th Anniversary

By Mel Tsuji

Hockey League Celebrating Its 50^th Anniversary

          Old time friendships and distant memories will be freshly renewed next fall when the Canadian Japanese Hockey League celebrates its 50^th anniversary.

          Hundreds of players, past and present, are expected to attend a celebratory dinner gathering being held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto. It’s to commemorate the league’s founding on Oct. 22, 1961.

          The big occasion will be held at the JC Centre on Sat Oct 22, 2011.  A reception-social with a cash bar will be held from 4pm to 6pm in the Shoko Kai Court.  Dinner is scheduled to begin at 6.30pm to about midnight in the large Kobayashi Hall.  A buffet of all the old time Japanese Canadian delicacies is being planned.

          Ticket can be purchased for $85 a couple or $50 for singles.  Proceeds from the night are aimed at helping the Centre’s fund-raising efforts.A smaller portion is being designated to help the hockey league with its expenses.        

          An organizing committee of former players has been working since last year, trying to reach as many former and present players to come to the celebration.

“I think we can get 200 out from our group alone,” said Gary Kawaguchi, president of the JC Cultural Centre as well as a former player himself.

          Kawaguchi says he stays in touch with his group, who mostly played in the 1980s.  A select squad from league players of that era toured Japan in 1982.  His team-mates included present CJHL president Wayne Yamashita.

          It was the second select squad from the league to tour Japan.  The first visit was made in 1971, organized by Gen Hamada, a former top university player with McMaster University.

          Players on that team included stars from Double S. Tile, the Nisei dominated team that won a top city championship in 1956.  They included team captain Roy Kobayashi, George Anzai and Satch Fujimoto, who are all on the 50^th anniversary organizing committee

         

Organizers say they’ve received enthusiastic feedback about the celebration, with most former players saying they would attend.  It’s because of that kind of reaction that people are urged to buy their tickets early to ensure their availability  --  and to help organizers plan the dinner buffet.

Ticket registrations can be purchased by sending checks made out to “CJHL  Reunion,” C/O Rick Matsumoto, 10 Dunmurray Blvd., Toronto, MiT 2J9.   or rmast@rogers.com.

Additional information can be obtained by emailing Bob Miwa at amiwa9@yahoo.ca or 416-499-7087.  You can also reach Mel Tsuji at meltsuji@yahoo.ca.

People thinking of attending the hockey celebration should note that a cutoff date of Sept 30, 2011 has been set for ticket purchases – in order to give organizers a solid estimate for caterers.  (Mel Tsuji)

         

         

Era of Wooden Hockey Stick Being Celebrated

Canadian Japanese Hockey League Holding Historic 50^th Anniversary Celebration Dinner in Toronto

Remember when hockey sticks were made of wood! And blades had no curve!  And we all played without helmets!  Those are some of the memories that will be topics of conversation when the Canadian Japanese Hockey League holds its 50^th anniversary celebration on Sat. Oct 22^nd.

A committee of former players has been organizing and planning the event,  which is to be held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre starting at 3pm and is scheduled to go until 12 midnight.

We’re now trying to locate all of the players who played in the league, especially the originals who made up the first four teams that started play on Oct 22, 1961.  Players from the present league are also invited, as well as Arashi and Typhoon, the men’s and women’s teams who represent the JC community in the annual Multicultural Tournament held every year after Boxing Day.

Keep your calendars handy because we’ll be updating anniversary news as plans are finalized.  And remember – everybody’s invited --  spouses, relatives and friends, as well as the players.—Mel Tsuji 

JC Kids Started Playing Hockey in BC Internment Camps

                       It was a forced but happy start for Japanese Canadian kids, as they got their first taste of skating
                       and hockey on the frozen ponds of BC internment camps.


The Canadian Japanese Hockey League is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year,
but the roots for the sport in the community go back many years before.  Young Japanese
Canadian boys started skating and playing shinny on the frozen ponds and rivers that were
located near many of the internment camps in interior British Columbia.
            For equipment, some nisei, many now in their late 70s and 80s, told me their parents
bought skates, sticks, pucks and gloves through the Eaton's catalogue. "The stuff then had to
come all the way from Toronto," remembered George Anzai.
           Or they might obtain some equipment from sports stores in nearby towns. All that was
often augmented by stuffing magazines or anything they could find, under their pants to serve as shin pads.
            How good did the JCs get in their hockey-playing ability?  According to a CBC
movie produced a few years back, a team made up solely of JCs in their teens and early
20s beat a local town team. 
            Efforts to find out more about hockey in the camps have been mostly fruitless, largely
because the sport was not organized like baseball, which was very popular in the camps.
Baseball teams and leagues were organized in most of the camps.  A championship of
sorts was played between them.  Baseball was helped because it was
mostly organized by ex-Asahi players, who were scattered throughout the interior
camps. The Asahi team, which became famous in the Vancouver area, played home games
out of the Powell Street ball field from the 1920s to 1941.
            Hockey didn't have that advantage.  JCs didn't play the game when they lived
in Vancouver, largely because ther were few rinks in BC and Vancouver at the time,
and the mild weather on the west coast wasn't conducive to natural, outdoor ice rinks.
            Information about JCs and hockey in Vancouver and the internment camps was
difficult to find.  If anybody has first-hand information or pictures on the subjects, please contact
me.   (Mel Tsuji)

Word Spreading About CJHL's 50th Anniversary
       
It ain't sophisticated, but it sure still works.  Flyers that is.  Proof of that came recently when
Trevor Tsuji, left, and Bob Fukumoto held up a flyer that publicizes the Canadian Japanese Hockey
League's 50th anniversary celebration.  A representative from the anniversary's organizing committee visited the league
recently to invite players to the event.  Games are played every Sunday at 7pm and
8pm at George Bell Arena.   Distributing the information the old fashioned way, rather
than the modern way through the internet, became a necessity because email addresses of
all the players weren't readily available.   News of the celebration was greeted with interest and enthusiasm, despite the fact
most of the players weren't born when the league started on Oct 22, 1961. Arrangements for
the anniversary have not yet been finalized, but details will be released as they become available.
 (Mel Tsuji)