SPEAKING OF ICE HOCKEY, HAL and BOB LAYCOE
First ever ice hockey match Tim Marsh (Linfield College Class of 1970) attended was as a Linfield
student (1966-1970) in a group of Linfield students, men and women, watching
the new Portland Buckaroos in Memorial Coliseum. Noise. Cow bells. Shots.
Checking. (Says an online source: “Checking occurs when a defensive player
crashes into the opponent who's handling the puck, leading with the hip or
shoulder, and resulting in a violent collision.”)
And, yes, coach of the Buckaroos was Hal Laycoe, father of Linfielder Bob Laycoe (Linfield College Class of 1968), who played football
and wrestled for the Linfield Wildcats.
Here’s
photos of Hal Laycoe (wearing suit), Bob Laycoe (wearing polo shirt) and a new,
but “vintage,” Buck sweatshirt.
Based on source: In 1960, Portland was granted a franchise
in the minor league Western Hockey League/WHL for its newly built 10,500 seat
Memorial Coliseum.” Playing in the “Glass Palace” (Coliseum nickname) were the
Portland Buckaroos. The Bucks were composed mostly of players and coaches from
the New Westminster (British Columbia, Canada) Royals, including its head coach
Hal Laycoe. The Buckaroos went on to beat the Seattle Totems in the league
championship and win the Lester Patrick Cup in its first season of existence.
That 1960-1961 Buckaroos team was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
in 1990.
