Blaine Nathaniel Sexton (3 May 1891 – 29 April 1966) was a British

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who competed in the

1924 Winter Olympics The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games (french: Iers Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 ( frp, Chamôni 1924), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France ...

and in the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...

. In 1916 he joined the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

and fought in the trenches of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the war he was instrumental in not only expanding Ice Hockey in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

but across Europe. Known in Europe as ''B.N.Sexton'' he was inducted into the UK Hockey Hall of fame in 1950.

Early life

Sexton was born ''Blaine Nathaniel Sexton'' to Mr. and Mrs. John Sexton in

Falmouth, Nova Scotia Falmouth ( ) is a village located along the Avon River in Hants County between Mount Denson and Windsor in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. History Falmouth and area was known as Pisiquid by the Acadians. Having migrated from Port Royal (cu ...

. He was a student at the King's College School where the game of hockey was started.- Total pages: 239 He then started to play for the

Windsor Swastikas The Windsor Swastikas were a Canadian ice hockey team in Windsor, Nova Scotia, from 1905–1916. Not to be confused with the Fernie Swastikas across the country in British Columbia, the “Swastikas” was chosen by them as swastika is also a sy ...

World War I

With the outbreak of war Sexton joined the

and was posted to the UK as an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

officer during World War One. While fighting on the western front in France he was wounded twice before being transferred to the cavalry where he became the army sabre champion.

Spreading hockey

After the war he moved back to Nova Scotia Canada with a woman he met and married in while stationed in England. He spent a few years before returning to the UK because his wife was homesick. In the UK as well as mainland Europe he was instrumental in advancing the sport of Hockey. Known as England's "MISTER HOCKEY" newspaper reports of the time show that Sexton was lead hockey player in Europe. In 1924 he was a member of the British ice hockey team, which won the bronze medal. The same year, he founded the London Lions team. Four years later he finished fourth with the British team in the 1928 Olympic tournament. In 1924 he founded the London Lions a hockey team mainly composed of expatriate Canadians.Pg 13 – - Total pages: 176 The Lions made it to the finals of the 1924/25 Coupe de Davos and made it through to the quarterfinals of the prestigious club tournament – the Spengler Cup. In May 1930 during the first playoffs for the British League title Sexton pushed the Lions to defeat the Glasgow 2–1 to win the Patton Cup, a title they held for one more year. At almost 40 Sexton was selected for the British team during the first

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

staged in 1930, Great Britain came last.

Retirement and later life

When Sexton turned 40 at the end of the 1932–33 season he retired to concentrate on his canning plants. He was one of the last players to use the 'D' or automobile bladed skates. His retirement saw the end of the London Lions when the team moved to

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

as renamed the

Wembley Lions The Wembley Lions were an English ice hockey team. History The team were founded in 1934 but showed a continuity with the London Lions team which had played at various venues since 1924. The Wembley team were based at the newly built Empire ...

. The team was reformed in the 1970s by

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

owner Bruce Norris. Sexton's business in the London fruit brokers and commission merchants went on to become a successful enterprise. Sexton was inducted to the

British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame The British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 1948 and is the third oldest ice hockey Hall of Fame in the world, behind the Russian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame (also founded in 1948) and the International Hockey Hall of Fame (founded in 19 ...

in 1950 and died in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in 1966. In 1993 he became a member of the Birthplace of Hockey Hall of Fame in Windsor, Nova Scotia. Sexton's photos and Olympic crest as well as his nine-layered laminated childhood puck, complete with hand-carved initials, are on display at the Windsor, Nova Scotia Hockey Heritage Centre.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sexton, Blaine 1891 births 1966 deaths British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Canadian ice hockey players Ice hockey people from Nova Scotia Ice hockey players at the 1924 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1928 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1924 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic ice hockey players for Great Britain Olympic medalists in ice hockey People from Hants County, Nova Scotia