Ronald Roberts (June 1, 1925 – July 4, 2012) was a Canadian

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 ...

executive and international insurance executive. A native of

Campbellville, Ontario Campbellville is a compact rural community in the geographic township of Nassagaweya in the Town of Milton, Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario, Canada. It is on the Niagara Escarpment and is a tourist destination for residents of the Gre ...

, Roberts served as executive director and general counsel of the World Hockey Players Association, negotiating more than 100 contracts for professional hockey players and coaches in the WHA and, later, the

National Hockey League 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 ...

. Roberts represented WHA players in negotiations for the

1974 Summit Series The 1974 Summit Series was the second of two competitions between Soviet and Canadian professional ice hockey players, following the same format as the 1972 Summit Series, with four games across Canada and four in Moscow. The Soviet team won the ...

between Canada and the USSR. He also served on the board of directors of

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

Early life

Roberts was born in Campbellville, Ontario, in 1925 to Charles and Rachel (Sam) Roberts. He went to SS #10 Nassagaweya Public School and later

Milton District High School Milton District High School (MDHS) is a public secondary school located in Milton, Ontario, Canada. MDHS, which is commonly referred to as M.D. by locals, is part of the Halton District School Board, and educates approximately 1800 students. The ...

. Roberts, a World War II veteran who served from 1943 to 1945 with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

, earned degrees in business administration and law from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Athletic career

Roberts played hockey in Milton while in high school, and he played hockey for

Milton Merchants The Brantford 99ers are a Junior ice hockey#Junior A, Junior A ice hockey team from Brantford, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. The 99ers have previously been known as the Milton Icehawks, Milton Merchants, M ...

. He was selected by the

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 ...

to join their Jr. A farm team, the

Galt Red Wings The Galt Red Wings were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Galt, Ontario, now a part of the city of Cambridge, Ontario, Cambridge. They played in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1944 to 1947 and were operated as an affiliate of ...

, and later played for the University of Michigan Wolverines hockey team and Scotland’s

Dundee Tigers The Dundee Tigers are a Scottish ice hockey team, based in the city of Dundee. The present team play in the Scottish National League, and have won the competition once. Earlier, (but not related), incarnations of the Tigers have won numerous ...

Insurance career

Roberts served as

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

, president and other high-profile executive roles with the

American Insurance Association The American Insurance Association (AIA) is an insurance industry trade association representing about 300 insurance companies that provide property insurance and/or casualty insurance in the United States. Founded in 1866 as the National Board ...

, representing 150 member insurance companies, during a 25-year career in the insurance and finance industries in 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 ...

in Illinois and Texas. Roberts was a member of the Illinois and Chicago Bar Association; American, Texas & Dallas Bar Association and

College of the State Bar of Texas The College of the State Bar of Texas is an honorary society of qualified lawyers who are interested in both high ethical standards and improved training for all Texas attorneys. Purpose and membership The College recognizes Texas lawyers who vol ...

Later life

Roberts died on July 4, 2012, in

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

Awards

Roberts was inducted into the Milton Walk of Fame in 2014

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Ronald 1925 births 2012 deaths Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players National Hockey League executives World Hockey Association executives