GERRY TAYLOR
Date of Birth: 1936
Place of Birth: Long Pond, NL
Inducted: 2003 (Athlete/Builder Category)
Taylor’s great love for hockey started when he played school and junior hockey on Bell Island where he grew up and increased as he became the driving force behind the highly successful St. John’s Junior Hockey League and the chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame. He is a “hockey doer” who has contributed a great deal so that many others can enjoy hockey and so that deserving hockey people receive recognition.
While Mount Pearl especially benefited from his tireless efforts, Taylor was the driving force behind the establishment and organization of hockey for other areas and indeed the complete province. He was simply a good hockey person, with outstanding contributions for junior hockey.
Since the highly successful St. John’s Junior Hockey League was re-organized in 1979, Taylor has been the driving force behind its success serving mostly as president but also contributing as vice-president, past-president, secretary-registrar and PR director. The League has honored him several times and he has earned great respect for the manner in which he has provided example-setting leadership for the League.
He has served as director, vice-president and chair within provincial junior hockey and played a major role in its continuance.
Within the Mount Pearl hockey setup, he worked long and hard from fund raising and serving on the committee that obtained the Smallwood Arena for the City to writing a guidelines booklet for minor house leagues to coaching and instructing coaches. A holder of a Level Six coaching certificate, he has been extremely active as a coach at the minor and junior levels while functioning extremely well as an instructor. Taylor has been responsible for much of the upgrading of coaches, especially in Mount Pearl.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame has been fortunate that Taylor has served as its chair for six years and as vice-chair for one year. His leadership played a major role in its permanent establishment and the selection of worthy inductees.
Taylor was the first one in Newfoundland and Labrador to receive the Canadian Hockey Association Junior Recognition Award and he been presented with the NAHA Outstanding Service Awards twice. He was inducted individually into the Bell Island and Mount Pearls Sports Halls of Fame and into the Bell Island Hall as a member of a team.
His playing career includes a provincial junior championship in 1955 and senior “B” titles in 1955 and 1956 with powerful Bell Island teams. He played top caliber hockey from 1952 to 1966, mostly with Bell Island and was always one of its top performers with strong skating skills and excellent stick handling ability.