George Beach (born -2016) was a professional

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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who played in the

English National League The English National League was an early ice hockey league in England. It was founded in 1935 by most of the teams who had previously competed in the English League. It was suspended during the Second World War World War II or t ...

and its successor, the British National League, during the 1940s and 1950s.

Professional career

Beach was born in Regina,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada. While a teenager, George Beach was spotted by an

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

who recommended him to the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. After attending a Black Hawks training camp Beach was assigned to the Kansas City Pla-Mors in the

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

. In 1947, George Beach left the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to join 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 ...

in the

before spending the 1948–49 and 1949–50 seasons with the

Wembley Monarchs The Wembley Monarchs were an ice hockey team in the United Kingdom. They were founded in 1929 as the Grosvenor House Canadians, transferred to Wembley Canadians for the 1934–35 season and became the Monarchs in 1936. The team played in the Eng ...

. Beach rejoined the Lions after the Monarchs folded at the end of the 1949–50 season. In 1954–55, Beach went to play and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

for

HC Milano Hockey Club Milano was an Italian ice hockey team based in Milan. Throughout its history, the team has changed its name twice. It was previously called ''Associazione Disco Ghiaccio Milano'' and ''Hockey Club Milano Inter''. The club was founded ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

before moving to

HC Martigny HC Martigny was a Swiss professional ice hockey team, and played in the Swiss National League B. It merged with HC Verbier Val-de-Bagnes in 2008, to form HC Red Ice HC Red Ice Martigny-Verbier-Entremont was a Swiss ice hockey club. History HC ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Beach stayed with Martigny until he moved to

Zürcher SC The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions (ZSC Lions) are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 12,000-seat Swiss Life Arena. The team was founded in 1930 and play ...

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

for the 1958–59 season. While playing in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Beach would return to the UK to play for British teams during the

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

s after the European leagues' seasons had finished. These teams included the

Brighton Tigers The Brighton Tigers were an English ice hockey club based in Brighton. The team existed from 1935 until 1965 and were one of the United Kingdom's most successful sides during that period. The club was based at the Brighton Sports Stadium (often ...

Harringay Racers Harringay Racers refers to multiple British ice hockey teams based in Harringay, London, United Kingdom. Harringay Racers The first team to use the Harringay Racers moniker was founded in 1936 and initially played alongside Harringay Greyhou ...

and

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won four ...

. Beach returned to the Wembley Lions for the 1959–60 season. Beach played as a guest for various teams following the demise of the BNL before he signed for the

Southampton Vikings The Southampton Vikings were an ice hockey team from Southampton, England. Their home venue was Southampton Ice Rink. The Vikings were established following the collapse of French side Club Francais Volants. The name 'Vikings' was adopted due ...

in 1961. In 1962–63 Beach became the Vikings' player/coach before he returned to the Wembley Lions, playing intermittently between 1963 and 1968. Beach retired from playing ice hockey in 1971 after playing briefly with a Wembley Vets side in the Southern League. In 1976, Beach coached the

Great Britain national ice hockey team The Great Britain men's national ice hockey team (also known as Team GB) is the national ice hockey team that represents the United Kingdom. A founding member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 1908, the team is control ...

in the Pondus Cup held in

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and in

Pool C Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky po ...

of the

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...

. George Beach died, aged 90 years and 2 months, in

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, on 12 December 2016. He was a Provincial Grand Officer (PPrGAlm) in the Masonic Province of Middlesex; Past Master of Ickenham Lodge No. 5770, of which he became an Honorary Member in April 2016.

Awards and recognition

*Named to the ENL All-star A Team in 1950. *Named to the ENL All-star B Team in 1951. *Named to the BNL All-Star B Team in 1960.All Star Team Season 1959-1960
/ref> *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 1989.

References

A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice HockeyIce Hockey Journalists UKEuropean hockey net

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beach, George 1926 births 2016 deaths Brighton Tigers players British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Canadian ice hockey centres Harringay Racers players HC Martigny players HC Milano players Kansas City Pla-Mors players Nottingham Panthers players Southampton Vikings players Ice hockey people from Regina, Saskatchewan Wembley Lions players Wembley Monarchs players ZSC Lions players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England