Captain of Britain

Robbie Stevenson and the ice gladiators

Outstanding stick handler and playmaker, Stevie [Robbie] will perhaps best be remembered in the years to come as the man to whom scoring goals was as easy as falling off a log. Even as a thirteen-year-old with Glasgow Mohawks, he received frequent tellings-off from the late Jim Kenny for scoring too many goals and not concentrating enough on playmaking.

— Ice Hockey Herald No 24, Glasgow, Scotland, 3 April 1971. 3

Curling at Crossmyloof's twin rinks, Scotland, 1960s

THE SKATING AND HOCKEY RINK looked like the bombed-out centre of Beirut in the early-80s. A homeless Zamboni had to park on the ice during morning games, yet the two curling rinks at Crossmyloof were in pristine condition, a lesson in privilege and social mobility. All a young hockey player could do was sacrifice summers fixing it up in the hope of pleasing the owner sufficiently to re-open it next season. The swoosh of vulcanised rubber hurtling into hyperdrive there was swapped long ago for the clatter of Morrison's trolley wheels. Now you buy haggis pies where opposing keepers used to waffle board tastier treats.

There was a time way back when a 15-minute walk from the Crossmyloof rink would place you at the frosty front gate of the Stevenson family home. And while it is true Robert Alexander Stevenson was born on the 20th February 1939, a good 19km away at Hamilton, he was raised at Langside Road on Glasgow's southside, that short walk from the rink of which I speak.

His father Sam spent half a century there and would have done more had the rink been able to keep up. He almost lived to be a centenarian. First, he was centre-ice in the Scottish National League for Kelvingrove, Dennistoun Eagles and Glasgow Mohawks from 1929 until 1938, when he last played for Glasgow Lions. Then manager-coach of the amateur Mustangs, Glasgow Mohawks and finally the Glasgow Dynamos, where he remained until the age of 82, coaching his grandson Doug in the 1980s.2

Sam was inducted to the Ice Hockey Journalist UK Hall of Fame when it revived in 1986, known as "the Grand Old Man of British, and especially Scottish, ice hockey". He introduced Robbie to hockey when he was 7-years old, so it is only surprising the boy still sat the entry exam for London's Royal Academy of Music. Robbie could play the piano as well as the puck, it seems. But it was inevitable, of course, that the conservatoire should miss out and Robbie should instead attend Calder Street Secondary and Strathbungo Senior Secondary schools in Glasgow, from where he would become an apprentice joiner. That was a respectable career pathway for the self-sacrificing devotion demanded of every wee thoroughbred hockey player soon after his first breath.

Known as "Stevie" over there—not so creative a moniker as "Robbie" as his mates pronounced him over here—he was only thirteen when he made the Mohawks in 1952, mentored by Canadian-born Jim Kenny, a former player turned rink manager at Crossmyloof. It was Billy Brennan who Stevenson has credited with developing his aggressive competitiveness—Mohawks coach from 1959, the year after they moved to East Lane Arena at Paisley in Strathclyde. Under Brennan, Stevenson became the fine all round, prolific goalscorer fans remember. He represented Great Britain in B-Pool when they were ranked fourteenth in the world—at Stockholm in the 1963 Worlds, Finland in 1965, and Zagreb in Yugoslavia in 1966—until his country dropped out for some years.

Robbie was a Paisley Mohawk when the club won the 1964-5 Scottish League title and then the 1965-6 BBC Grandstand Trophy, defeating Fife Flyers in the final at Kirkcaldy, 4-1. But in 1966, he returned to Crossmyloof to be the foundation player-coach of the Glasgow Dynamos in the new Intermediate League that was soon to evolve into the Northern League, one of British hockey's successes.

The first Dynamos were young and inexperienced, but Stevenson's coaching more than compensated. Acknowledged as key to the club's success, he developed forwards such as John Hester and Martin Shields, future Northern League champions and national team players. Under Stevenson's tutelage, the Dynamos quickly advanced to championship play-offs for the Icy Smith Cup. They were 1967 British Champions in their second season and twice runners-up in their fourth and fifth seasons. They won the Spring Cup in 1969-70, and Stevenson himself was top point scorer there for the first four seasons, 1966 to 1970, and an All-Star 5 years straight, 1967-71. He produced 253 goals and 168 assists in 5 seasons, averaging a whisker under 4 points per game, well ahead of his nearest rivals.3

After a 4-year absence, Great Britain re-entered the international arena at the 1971 C-Pool World Championships with Stevenson as captain. He combined on the power forward line with two other UK Hall-of-Famers, the wingers Jackson McBride and Les Lovell. They finished fourth behind Romania, France and Hungary, but it was Stevenson's crowning glory. Because by then, he had played against some of the world's top-15 hockey nations, collecting 31 points from 26 world championship games along the way. 4

The champion goal scorer worked as a carpenter with teammate McBride in a shipyard on the QE2 liner during those years, then his own heating installation company in Glasgow. He had married Eleanor and had four children by the time he accepted a player-coach position with the Melbourne Tigers club in Australia, on the recommendation of former Dynamos' right-winger, Dave Sinclair, who had emigrated three years earlier.

"Dynamos Star To Emigrate Soon," screamed the Hockey Herald that month. "Outstanding stick handler and playmaker, Stevie will perhaps best be remembered in the years to come as the man to whom scoring goals was as easy as falling off a log. Even as a thirteen-year-old with Glasgow Mohawks, he received frequent tellings-off from the late Jim Kenny for scoring too many goals and not concentrating enough on playmaking".3

Britain's top scorer emigrated with his family at the age of 32 in April 1971, leaving the Dynamos the third most successful team in the circuit since 1966, after having begun the least experienced. In a letter back to the Glasgow Ice Hockey Herald that year, their former star forward explained how he missed the first five games in Melbourne, then played a scoreless first game within 24-hours of getting off the plane. But he did go on to say he was top goal scorer by the end of his third game and "had 23 goals in his first seven outings."4

"Any hockey player who is interested in seeing this side of the world receives help in every possible way; job, flat and friends," added Stevenson in his letter to the local hockey press back home. "They will earn twice as much money here as at home. Flats are plentiful and modern. Food and clothes are about the same price as at home, but the food is superior. Cars are reasonable, and petrol nearly half the price, roughly five gallons for one pound. The weather is just great and very healthy. If anyone is interested, they can write to me, and I will sponsor them. Davie Sinclair is coming home and looking forward to playing for Dynamos once again—he can tell anyone the details of life and hockey here".4

The 263 local games he played in the Victorian League were split 43 for the Tigers (1971-74), 38 for Hakoah (1974-75), 114 for the Pirates (1976-80), 38 for the Monarchs (1981-82), and 30 for the Lions-Hakoah (1983-85). Stevenson won three Goodall Cups in 1972, 1973 and 1976 during the years Elgin Luke was coach, the last when he was 37 years old. He won the VIHA President's Medal a record four consecutive seasons, 1972 to '74, finishing second in '75. This broke Demon Jim Christie's record of three straight (1968-70).6

Each year the Nicholas Trophy was awarded to the Best and Fairest player of the Victorian league by the votes of referees, and Stevenson won it twice in 1972 and '73. He was also the state's top point scorer four times (1971, '72, '78, '79) until Grove Bennett Snr won for the fifth and sixth time in 1980 and '81.6

In 1977, Stevenson was captain of Victoria, representing Australia against the under-21 touring West German Olympia 80 team in Melbourne. Yet, he did not represent Australia at the Worlds in 1974, even though his club sponsor here had insisted upon his clearance from the International Ice Hockey Federation. "It was a prominent condition of the agreement", reported The Glasgow Hockey Herald, "suggesting Australia may be planning a return to the World Championships spear-headed by Britain's top scorer".4

Australia did return, but without Stevenson, and the reason was unlikely to have been age-related. Charlie Grandy, a contemporary, had played in 1974 and then again in 1979 at the age of 40. Stevenson had just changed continents with a young family, making it unlikely he would have paid to play and subsidise officials as required here.

Sam died in Glasgow in 1995, at the age of 92, and his son seems set to endure. Robbie plays veteran hockey with the Melbourne Nite Owls winning MVP of the AJAS Cup, the 55-years and over division of the OiHAN Australian Masters Tournament. It earned him the Rocky Padjen Trophy in May 2011 at the age of 72.

Robert Stevenson was small in stature for his heyday, but in the 1960s and early 70s, he was an outstanding centre-ice for Paisley Mohawks and Glasgow Dynamos, a captain of Britain who scored 18 goals for his country, a coach of champions. His career as both player and coach in local and state ice hockey in Victoria is longer than in Britain, spanning over four decades.

Robbie's son Allen played for Great Britain Under-19s at the 1983 European Junior Championships in Sarajevo. His son Doug also won the state's President's Medal four times (1995, '97, '98, 2003).6 Doug represented Australia at Barcelona in Group C of the 1979 Ice Hockey World Championships. He went on to play in the Heineken League of the mid-1980s with Glasgow Dynamos, Ayr Bruins and Dundee Rockets.2 Doug returned to Australia and played A-grade hockey for Melbourne Blackhawks into his late-forties and the AIHL Melbourne Ice in 2004-5. He then briefly coached the AIHL Melbourne Mustangs and in 2015 he coached the local Melbourne Demons and the Melbourne Glaciers in the National Junior League.

The Ice Hockey Journalist UK Hall of Fame inducted Robbie Stevenson in 2003. Father and son were still active in Australian hockey circles in 2015.

Stevenson (far left) captain of Victoria representing Australia against the touring West Germany Olympia 80 team in Melbourne, 1977. Then left to right are Malcolm Heath, Gary Croft, Grove Bennett and Trevor Gardner. Image courtesy of Paul Rice.

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Notes

1 A decade after the closure of Glasgow's original Crossmyloof Ice Rink (1907-18), a larger rink of the same name was built there. The Scottish National League was based solely at Crossmyloof until the 1936-37 season. The original was Scotland's first indoor rink. Its 1928 replacement closed in February 1986.

2 Ice Hockey Journalist UK, based on research by Martin C Harris and Nancy Chisholm in April 1996 and David Gordon in 2005. Parts of Stevenson's overseas hockey experience are based on entries in the UK Hockey Hall of Fame and source material.

3 Ice Hockey Herald No 24, Glasgow, Scotland 3 Apr 1971. "Dynamos Star To Emigrate Soon".

4 Ice Hockey Herald, Glasgow, Scotland, 1971. "Stevie Starts with a Bang".

5 "Ice Gladiators: the coming boom in ice hockey". Unidentified newspaper, Melbourne, July 30th 1979.

6 State association match and awards records courtesy Paul Rice.

7 Revised and updated from the original published in 2015 under the title "Robbie Stevenson. How Australia Got Britain's Top Scorer".