ROSEMARY MARSHALL
Date of Birth: 1936
Place of Birth: St. John’s, NL
Inducted: 2015 (Builder Category)
Rosemary Marshall has been a beneficial supporter of hockey, especially minor hockey, since the early 1970s and she continues to work for the sport in an extremely positive manner. Influenced by her three sons, she was the first female minor hockey coach in Newfoundland and Labrador and has made valuable contributions to hockey ever since.
In order to participate, she obtained her level two coaching certificate as the only female in her class. She formed the first atom aged team in St. John’s and invited a Toronto team for exhibition games, and took a club to the 1972 provincial competition in Labrador City.
She served on the Board of Directors of St. John’s Minor Hockey including the position of President and in 1976 the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association named her an Outstanding Minor Hockey Award winner.
Recognizing the need for more ice surfaces within St. John’s, she played a major role in the construction of Twin Rinks and held the position of Secretary of the Avalon Arenas Association. The facility continues to provide an important venue for local hockey.
When her husband Doug died in 2005, she joined with her sons in the sponsorship of a new league for midget hockey players. The Doug Marshall Hockey League was designed to provide competitive games for midget aged players who were at risk of leaving the game at a critical juncture in their young lives. During the past ten seasons, the Doug Marshall League has enjoyed tremendous success and she continues to be responsible for one of the finest award presentations of amateur sport within Newfoundland and Labrador.
In 2011 she was named to the advisory board of the St John’s Ice Caps for their inaugural season. Club President Danny Williams explained that she was selected because “she had forgotten more about hockey and what constitutes a good game to attend” than any other people.
In addition to hockey, she served as President of Sport NL as its first female president and is credited with successfully lobbying government for an increase in the Labrador travel subsidy program. She played an important role in the organization of an athletic scholarship program that assists many sports in addition to hockey and continues to the present time.
She received a commemorative medal for the 125th Anniversary of Confederation in 1992 in recognition of her outstanding volunteer work in her community and she is an honorary life member of Sport NL.