LETTER: More fond memories of early Hutch hockey

From Harry A. Spannaus
Midland, Texas

I reviewed Mr. Bob Backlund's Opinion comment about the first Hutchinson High School hockey team and while I believe his start date for the hockey team of 1945 was nearly correct, there are several other facts to be known about the so-called “first hockey team.”

While I believe the first team really was started in 1946, with players Walt Spannaus, David Schramm, Bud Rankey, Don England, Don Ulrick and myself, most of the team, as coached by Bill Shear, was comprised of skaters from the class of 1946. The exception being myself from the class of 1948, and Roger Krantz from the class of 1947.

I do not recall who Bob Backlund was and while he might have been a part of the team I do not remember him as such.

But I do remember our first practice skating rink was on the Crow River behind my house at 925 Second Ave., and my mother, Letha Spannaus Thomson, had handmade much of the hockey pads for the team. The hockey rink was made by my brother Walt, David Schramm and my stepfather, Carl Thomson. It had lights powered from my house and the rink sideboards were made from packed snow and then hosed down with water and frozen into solid sideboards of the rink.

The only competitive game I remember was when we were playing Redwood Falls at Redwood Falls and we got creamed badly! Don Urick was our goalie and he went down with a smashed or broken nose, followed by Don England who was a victim of the same fate. Roger Krantz finally took the goalie’s position and survived the encounter. I don’t remember the final score and I really don’t want to, but I do remember a lot of blood on the ice, mostly from the Hutch team. I also believe Jack Clasen and Robert Whittenhove from the class of 1948 played on the team.