Departure of Bulls from Belleville sparks memories for alumni

It is a rivalry that started long before there was major junior hockey in either city.  The dislike – fans might use a stronger word – between the sporting cities of Kingston and Belleville has been raging for years.

It goes back to the old senior hockey days, and the big Junior B battles that spilled over into baseball as well. 

“There were some pretty intense games back then,” said Larry Mavety.

No one is probably as well versed in the hockey rivalry between the two cities as Mavety, now 72, who served as general manager and head coach for both the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs and Belleville Bulls at various times during the course of his legendary hockey career. He was there for the early days of the Belleville Bulls, back in 1979, as head coach of the Tier II junior club before the team joined the OHL.

The Bulls spent 34 years in the OHL before owner Gord Simmonds, a businessman from Uxbridge, Ont., announced he had sold the team and it was moving to Hamilton. There was no attempt made to keep the team in Belleville though a local sale, meaning the news came as a shock to many long-time supporters and Bulls alumni.

“I was thinking about my billets, all the other billets and all the people there that don’t have jobs anymore,” said Luke Judson, who captained the team from 2009-11. “It must have been a tough pill to swallow.”

Outside of the community in Belleville the only people who might miss the team even more are those in Kingston.

On Friday night the Bulls and Frontenacs played for the final time in their storied OHL rivalry. In the second period of Kingston’s 5-2 home victory, the Fronts’ faithful gave the Bulls a standing ovation in a touching nod to the great battles of decades past. At that game was former Bulls captain Greg Bignell (1986-90) and his wife who were there to watch son, Adam, a second generation Bulls defenceman.

"They thanked the Bulls and that was pretty classy on the Frontenacs' part," said Bignell. "It just gave me tingles."

Bignell remembers the words of wisdom his future brother-in-law gave him about playing for Belleville.

"He said, 'As long as we beat Kingston it's a good year,'" said Bignell. "It was true because we always got up - I think (the rivalry) has died over the years a little bit, but talking to Adam and his teammates, they still get up for the Kingston-Belleville games."

The rivalry might have waned over the years, but the memories of those meetings are still strong.

“We played Kingston 20 times one year including exhibition, regular season and playoffs,” said former Bulls captain Craig Mills, who played in Belleville from 1993-96. “You really got to know the guys. I remember one game there was an issue with the Zamboni and all the guys were hanging out and intermingling. It was just so odd because there you were two minutes earlier trying to take each others heads off.

“It was a great rivalry, but it one I would argue was respectful.” 

That, however, was not always the case. 

Bignell recalls sitting in a hotel room during his first training camp in Belleville in the late 1980s and watching highlights of the Kingston-Belleville rivalry from the year previous which included a massive brawl.

"Even the warm-ups were intense," said Bignell. "It was my first year in the league and I made sure I stayed three feet on our side of the red line for sure." 

“Back then you had to get to the rink early,” added Mavety, who coached Belleville for 14 seasons. “In the warm-ups the rinks were full.”

Mavety remembers one particular first-round playoff series between Kingston and Belleville, when all hell broke loose during a game. A few fights started on the ice which caused tempers to flare in the stands with a few Kingston parents fighting with some fans from Belleville. Being a junior hockey game, there were children in the crowd – including Kingston forward Gord Harris’ sister, still just a toddler.

“Gordie Harris’ mother handed his little sister over the glass to me on our bench,” said Mavety, who was coaching the Frontenacs. “At that time all the fans were right behind the benches and beside the benches, so it was a confined area and there were fights going on.  So, I just reached up and grabbed her.

“I mean it was an intense rivalry. It wasn’t something for the faint of heart.”

Now, with the reality of the team’s departure sinking in, many of those hearts are breaking. The Bulls qualified for the playoffs on Sunday, meaning fans and those expats who grew up watching the team at the Yardmen Arena will get a few more chances to say goodbye to an integral part of the community.

“This isn’t a team that’s been around for five or 10 years,” said Mills, a former NHLer who now works in New York for GMP Securities.  “It’s 34 years. That’s a huge part of a lot of people’s lives supporting the team and the young guys that go through there.”

On Monday, the Owen Sound Attack – the smallest market in the OHL – took the step of reaching out to their fans to quell their fears in wake of the Belleville move. In his letter to fans, Attack president and part owner Dr. Bob Severs wrote in part:

Your Attack ownership group, the hockey management group, the staff and the players, who wear our proud colours, work hard every day to earn your respect and trust and there is no discussion now, nor has there ever been a discussion, of betraying that respect and trust.  We are here for you for the long run so, relax and enjoy your team.

There is something to be said about the bond the community forms with junior hockey teams – particularly in smaller markets, where the options for competing entertainment dollars are limited. In a city like Belleville, it wasn’t uncommon to have fans and players bump into one another on Sundays at the mall or while out grocery shopping. 

"Even if you were just passing through and stopping for gas someone would see you," said Bignell. "It's that kind of town. It really is sad to think, Belleville? No way. It's a good town.

"They care about their hockey players."

Those kinds of interactions don’t happen in bigger cities where anonymity is far more likely.

“I think it meant a lot more to a kid in Belleville when we were making a school visit than it did to someone in Ottawa or Toronto,” said Judson, who plays for the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors. “We (the Bulls) were a lot bigger deal to those kids and those families – we did a lot in the community.”

One of Mills’ favourite memories in Belleville were the parties hosted by the team’s original owner, Dr. Robert (Doc) Vaughan and his wife Lois. New recruits would be feted, though everyone in the community – including Bulls alumni – would show up.

Sadly, those days of local “mom-and-pop” OHL ownership are long gone.

“It’s just the reality of what major junior hockey is,” said Judson. “It’s big markets and big money.

“To know that a player won’t be able to come up and have the same kind of experience I had in Belleville is too bad. I enjoyed four and a half years there and I wish I could go back.”

Sunaya Sapurji is the Junior Hockey Editor at Yahoo! Sports.
Email: sunaya@yahoo-inc.com | Twitter @Sunayas