Cowboys Hockey

Seafair Arena stood at the most western end of Francis Road in Richmond for many years. It has a long and sorted history, original a curling club before the "Gulf of Georgia" arena was added to it. The curling rinks were later replaced by two smaller ice rinks with one of those rinks eventually being replaced by a softball batting cage.

Seafair Arena had one thing going for it besides the best ice in the lower mainland (and it wasn't warm showers); it was the Seafair Sports lounge. Renovated and expanded in the early 80's to overlook the Gulf of Georgia ice surface, it became a popular hangout for more than just the hockey players who would love to hang out after games watching other teams play. It was this source of revenue that enabled the family run business to operate this facility in the heart of prime residential real estate.

The arena was owned by Dr. George Yates and run in succession by his two sons, Don and Rob Yates. Prior to that it was managed by a fellow by the name of Bud Skinner. Few from the Cowboys remember him, and a legal conflict following his dismissal cause the ownership to want to forget him. But he was good to the Cowboys and many a stories could be told about him at another time. Perhaps the best thing Seafair Sports Lounge was able to secure was something no other establishment around had; the was a license to be open on Sunday. The fact that it was a recreational facility somehow gave it special privileges. Once the bikers found out about the place, it was hard to get into the place on a Sunday night. In fact, it was a bone of contention to the hockey players when the were asked to wait in line to get upstairs after a game. Eventually the portion of the lounge that overlooked the arena was reserved for hockey players and fans. But I dare say, the licensed capacity was put under tremendous pressure in those days.

The Bill Vanderzalm regime changed all that when they introduced Sunday shopping. Soon many other establishments were able to gain Sunday liquor licenses and the monopoly was toppled. While that may have reduced Sunday sale for Seafair Arena, they still had plenty of business from hockey player in the winter and softball in the summer.

It was the pressure of real estate development that eventually caused Seafair Arena to reach its demise - that and the death of Dr. Yates. When the estate was divided among the heirs certain tax benefits allowed to Dr. Yates were no longer applicable after probate. Rob Yates was truly heart broken when he gather the managers of the 26 team Seafair Senior Men's Hockey League to tell his loyal patrons that the doors of Seafair Arena were closing. We all greatly disappointed, some shocked, by really no one should have been surprised. Rob told us straight out, that with with 10 acres overllooking the Georgia straight, this was much sought after real estate. Today I doubt you could buy a single condo of the hundred plus that now sits in its place for less than the price that the Gulf of Georgia Arena was built. It just did not make financial sense to continue on, Rob told us, and as sad as we were to hear the news, who really could blame them?

When the walls came down at Seafair, hockey for the Cowboys (and many other teams, I'm sure) changed forever.

This piece of plexiglas is the last known remnant of Seafair Arena. It now serves as a sentimental picture frame for the Cowboys Original Team photo

You might say the Cowboys first season was a success. With the sole objective of defeating Ron's Air Canada team just once, the Cowboys finished in first place and won the Play-off Championship. Clark Mitchell captured the goaltending title and Terry Dennis led the league in scoring. The Cowboys never lost a game to Air Canada!

The following year was nearly as successful. The Cowboys repeated as League Champions, but from then on competition would get tougher. The demise of Intermediate A hockey in BC sent many high calibre players down through the ranks. The Ladner League in Delta, BC became the premier men's league in the Lower Mainland. The spill over from that league funneled directly into the Sea Island Rec League. By 1984 it was clear that the Richmond Cowboys would have to recruit new players in order to compete. But the team was unwilling to give up any player, regardless of ability, to make way for better players. To the Cowboys, camaraderie was more important than victory. By the start of the 84-85 season, the Richmond Cowboys moved over to the Seafair Senior Men's Hockey League. To this day, the Cowboys have never cut a player.

Within two seasons the Richmond Cowboys rose to the top again. The 86-87 Championship was one to be savoured because the next would be long sought after.

It was around the same time that the Cowboys' former league, the Sea Island Rec League met its demise. As in the past, a migration of players saw the Cowboys again facing a barrage of talent. The most notable team that came over was a team called the Collectors. This team threatened to dominate the league, and did so for at least one season. In the 87-88 season, the Cowboys were faced with a formidable task. They were to face the Collectors in the first round of the play-offs. There was much at stake. Some felt the very future of the league was in jeopardy if this team was allowed to continue its rampage. In the final game of a best of three, through shear determination, the Cowboys held the high scoring Collectors off the scoreboard and took the series with a 1 - 0 victory. The mayhem that followed, although pre-mature, was greater than any Championship celebration ever. The party left Seafair at closing and moved over to Silhouettes Night Club (owned by the Yates' who also owned Seafair Arena). They were welcomed there by the management and treated like heroes. It was a Tuesday night party of a lifetime and later was dubbed "Cowboy Tuesday". It was talked about for years to come, but only in vague terms. The fact of the matter is nobody really remembers what happened on Cowboy Tuesday. It's kind of like the 60's. If you remember it, you weren't really there. Some can attest to the fact that long after the bar was supposed to be closed, our goaltender, Bill Bates was behind the bar serving shooters and the bartender and bouncer were passed out under a table near the dance floor.

The immediate effects of Cowboy Tuesday were somewhat devastating. Clearly the Championship was there for the taking, but the team had over celebrated and fell quickly to defeat in the next round of play-offs. Nevertheless, no one will deny (excepting the Collectors) that the Cowboys did the league a big favour that year. But it was nearly there undoing.

In 1989-90, ten years into the game, some of the Cowboys were starting to feel the pressures of old age. Upset to find out that the league was continuing to bring in newer and better teams with no plans for accommodating the Old-timers, the Cowboy management at the time decided not to return to the league.

An end to the Cowboys was something unbearable to some, particularly Doug Collins. He solicited the players and manage to assemble a skeleton crew willing to continue. But it was not that easy. A phone call to the league to announce that a team was ready to continue came too late. League President, Daryl Williams regrettably reported that a new team had be contacted to replace the Cowboys. He did offer one glimmer of hope: the new team had not been doing too well in exhibition and there was a chance they were not good enough to join the league. The team was given an ultimatum. If they did not perform well in the next exhibition game, they would be dropped.

The glimmer of hope began to fade quickly just prior to game time. The opposing team had only 6 players dressed. Daryl Williams, who came to observe the game, had no qualms about showing his favouritism. Seeing the situation, he strapped on the skates to bolster the ranks and help defeat the fledgling new prospect. The game was not a blow-out, in fact the new team had their best showing to date, but they failed to score a goal. It was decided that a 3 - 0 loss was just not good enough to replace a team the calibre of the Richmond Cowboys. And so, a make-shift team re-joined the league and continued playing under the name, the Outlaws. It was a tragic year in terms of performance, (missing the play-offs) but by year end most of the players had returned and the Cowboys would live on following the "Year of the Outlaws".

In the following season, the Richmond Cowboys were rebuilt, basically out of the same materials, philosophy and players. The team was re-united, but the years to come were to become progressively more challenging. But before that, there was a celebration in order. Ten years had past, and it was party time! If Cowboy Tuesday was any measure, the "Ten Years After" party was a night to be reckoned with. The event began by rounding up all the original team members. They then challenged the "rookie members" to a hockey game. (This was the fore-runner the the Old-Boot Challenge, now an annual event.) They played to a fitting 3 - 3 tie before taking the party from Seafair Arena to Randy May's barn. Rob Yates of Seafair Arena joined the party after closing the rink. He told us later that he had "never seen so much booze and so many drunks in one place before in his life" - this coming from a bartender! It was indeed the party of the decade and everyone was happy that they would have to wait another ten years before a celebration like that would likely occur.

Six years later marked a sad time in the Cowboy legacy, and indeed in the entire hockey community. Seafair Arena had become a home away from home for many, but on the passing of owner, Dr. George Yates, the family was eventually forced to close the doors forever. This left the Seafair Senior Men's League looking for a new home.

Fortunately, in the previous years, several newer facilities had sprung up around the Lower Mainland. Having now expanded the league to 26 teams, League President, Ron Foisey was carrying a lot of bargaining power. The bidding came down to the new 4 rink complex (soon to be 6) at Richmond Ice Centre or the Great Pacific Forum (just expanded from 2 to 4 rinks) in Delta. Great Pacific won the bid by offering a better price. The choice to move there was heartily accepted by all the teams, Cowboys included. It was a near fatal decision.

The following season brought in new management at the Forum. They had a plan of their own that did not include the Seafair Men. They disregarded a gentleman's agreement to only increase the price by 5% and jacked up the cost. At the same time, the management at the Great Pacific Forum formed a league of their own, and actively began soliciting Seafair teams to join them. With only a week or so before the new season was to begin, an emergency meeting was called by Ron Foisey. The concensus was that they pretty much had us by the jock straps and that we would have to bite the bullet this year just to keep playing hockey. Everyone agreed except for one team - The Richmond Cowboys. They stood alone suggesting that they call their bluff and threaten not to play there unless they honoured the original agreement.

And so the vote was passed and the Seafair Senior Mens League would play one more season at the Great Pacific Forum, but without the Cowboys. Missing a season of league play was a high price to pay for making a point, but it was a stance that was quickly rewarded. As if by fate, with only days before league play was about to commence, a phone cal came in from the Richmond Industrial Hockey League. They needed a team. Done deal.

For many years now the Cowboys had been unsuccessfully lobbying Seafair for an over 30 division, but without old-timer rules such as no slapshots. The R.I.H.L. was just that. Ironically, despite the Cowboys quest for a more "mature" style of hockey, they would only agree to join the league if their younger players were also allowed to be included. It was agreed and by the start of the 1997-98 season, the Cowboys had returned to Richmond.

At last rumour, the Seafair Senior Men's League left the Great Pacific Forum the following year with only six teams remaining.

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