Chase, Francis Thomas

CHASE WAS BORN IN OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada but moved to London to play in the British National League (BNL). It was from there that he was hired by the owner-manager of St Moritz ice rink, Harry Kleiner, to be his rink coach shortly after the Second World War. Kleiner wanted to boost VIHA hockey in the years it was feuding with the rival VIHL. [558] Chase was once described as an "Ottawa hockey stalwart" by the Ottawa Citizen newspaper. [424] He was a pro hockey player who competed in five countries, including left wing for Wembley Canadians in the BNL/ ENL [40] in 1935-6.

That was four years after Australia's Jimmy Brown played for their predecessor, Grosvenor House Canadians. Chase played for the Dutch National club in Amsterdam the following year (probably today's Amstel Tijgers), and then later in Germany. He helped build and manage several rinks in Scotland during the Winter of 1937, and refereed there in 1939. He joined the Toronto Scottish Regiment at the onset of war in 1940, which was based in London. [424]

Chase returned home to Ottawa after the war, but only briefly. Hockey in Scotland had become big business in his absence with 70 Canadians imported to play semi-pro in the national league. A Toronto sports journalist, Claude Kewley, was the Canadian scout of the Scottish Ice Hockey Association. He recruited for Scotland from summer camps such as the one he organised in Toronto in July 1947. [424] Ice Hockey Journalists UK credit Kewley with selecting the line-ups of the seven teams of the Scottish National League until 1949. It is worth noting the similarities between British hockey then and today's Australian Ice Hockey League. Both provided hockey players in Canada with the opportunity to extend their careers by a few years playing at a semi-pro level.

Chase discussed hockey with Festus Moffat, the president of the Scottish Ice Rinks Association, at a meeting of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) in Quebec early in 1947. He arranged with Moffat to return to Scotland in August that year to coach and manage the Ayr Raiders in the first Scottish Hockey League (1932-1954). [424] The Raiders were established in 1939, and they went on to become SHL champions in 1954 and 1955, but without Chase. The League then merged with the ENL and the Ayr franchise subsequently changed its name to Ayr Rangers and Ayr Bruins.

Chase reportedly trained the Victorian team that won back the Goodall Cup in 1947 after a quarter century in the wilderness. He may also have coached the Ayr Raiders as arranged in Quebec early in 1947 by returning there in the off-season. He is pictured in Australian newspaper articles in January 1948 [425] and July 1949 returning from Toronto. [426] He started an off-season school at Kleiner's St Moritz rink for aspiring young players in the summer of 1949-50. It produced several talented players including Vic Ekberg who went on to coach the Tigers. [558] Chase was Manager–Coach of Victoria in 1949 and 1951 when they won the Goodall Cup, and in 1950 when they lost. Chase also became the second Senior Coach of the VIHA Demons IHC after Russell Jones for three seasons, 1950–2. Francis Thomas Chase died in Melbourne about August 1st, 1975. [51]