I know that the Hockey Hall of Fame is not very hospitable for women when it comes to the number of women who have been initiated. You can argue for the same case for European players who are apparently kept out unless they have had a long and prosperous NHL career. The team above should, however, be in the Hockey Hall of Fame for what they did to establish women’s hockey in this country, and there should probably be a number of players who made the team above, also received their own plaque in the holy institution.
Recent prejudice will say that players such as Florence Schelling, Fran Rider, Julie Chu and Meghan Duggan should all get a significant discussion for everything they have done to not only excel in the game, but for growing and continuing to contribute to the game. That said, I mentioned the Preston Rivulettes and the Ranscombe Sisters on this blog a number of times, and they are not yet in the Hall of Fame. Allow me to present a different team and a series of players who have to be honored earlier than later for what they did on the ice.
The women shown above are the Jasper Place Rustlers Hockey Team from Edmonton, Alberta. The Rustlers conquered the first Besborough Cup in Canadian history, awarded to the Dominion Women’s Hockey Champions, with their victory over the Preston Rivulettes in 1933!
The resting people were the only team that defeated the streams in the three years that they had played together, and they did twice with a combined 4-2 score. By doing this, they have etched their name in Canadian hockey history as the first national women’s champions in the history of the country. That should have the resting people on the mood to be voted in the Hall of Fame, but as we know, they are not.
Displayed on the rear row, from left to right, his Marion Walker, Hazel Jamison, Rosemary Tufford, head coach CR Tufford, Patty Myatt, Olive Reid and Olive Porter. Sitting on the front row, from left to right, his goalkeeper Murial Ramsay, the famous Eleanor Tufford, Mildred Little, Isabelle Nairn and Marion Goldsworthy. These eleven women deserve to be honored to do something that only they can claim, but I am not even sure if the name “Rustlers” is known to the voice committee of the hall. That must change very quickly.
I know that none of the voice committee is reading this blog, and that’s ok. I am just here to have some discussion, and my hope is that I can bring the name of the Jasper Place Rustlers to the spotlight, so that there is a chance that these women will get the right honor they have earned as pioneers of ladies’ hockey in Canada. Just like the Ranscombe sisters, the Tufford -sisters were two of the best hockey players – male or female – during their days in the 1930s, and it is long too late for the sisters of both the Jasper Place Rustlers and the Preston Rivulettes to be initiated in the Hall of Fame when they were not recognized for the hockey of women.
Let’s finally honor these two sets of sisters for all their performance on the ice. They were really paramount for a century.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
#women #Edmonton