Derrick, Noel Edward

BORN JULY 5TH 1926 IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA, Derrick began his hockey career in the Sunday practice sessions at St Moritz in St Kilda during the Second World War. When the sport resumed in 1946, he played for Western Suburbs under Ellis Kelly. About half of the Western Suburbs club joined Jack Tuckerman and Stan Gray in the new Blackhawks in 1947, including Derrick, Warwick Harrison, Arch Reekie and Ellis Kelly. Others such as John Slater would soon follow.

Derrick played left wing with Jim Lawrence and Ron Amess in one of the highest scoring combinations of the time. Warwick Harrison supplied the trio from the blue line, wreaking havoc on the slow, defensive combinations that were common among opposition teams of the day. By 1956 Derrick was renowned for having played every Blackhawks game, scoring 100 goals and about 150 assists in his first 120 outings. [553] He totalled 272 games in a 19-year club career, 1947 to 1966.

Derrick won five Goodall Cups for Victoria in consecutive years, 1951 to 1955, then five more in 1961, 1962, 1965 to 1967. Like many others, he became a student of the game under the influence of Chook Tuckerman, and later teamed-up with Dave Cunningham and various others to produce some of the greatest offensive setups in the Australian game. Derrick possessed a long, smooth skating style that made him a favourite with fans, and his steady but deadly shot made him the top point scorer of several seasons. By the mid-fifties he was standing in for Al Sengotta as the Blackhawks coach. [553]

Ice Hockey Victoria Life Member. Life Member IHA, 2000. The state association awards the Noel Derrick Trophy annually.