SHOW YOUR KNIGHTS’ PRIDE!
The North York Knights Hockey Association is one of the largest house leagues in the Greater Toronto Area and to recognize 60 years of community hockey will be offering some special Knights apparel to commemorate the occasion. The North York Knights Hockey Association traces its roots to the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) league. The CYO league had an East and West division with teams representing participating parishes playing each other, usually on Sunday nights. The original participating parishes in the East division were St. Anselm, St. Gabriel, St. Margaret, St. Bonaventure and Blessed Sacrament and their Sunday night games were held in the Don Mills arena. While some original participating parishes in the league withdrew over the years due to a host of factors, six parishes emerged with strong local executive teams and volunteer bases and became the backbone of the league in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s. These six parishes and the traditional colors of their jerseys were Blessed Sacrament (Yonge/Lawrence-black & gold), St. Margaret (Avenue Road/Wilson-royal blue & yellow), St. Bonaventure (Lawrence/Leslie-silver & red), St. Timothy (Don Mills/Sheppard-green), Blessed Trinity (Bayview/Finch-red & black) and St. Edwards (Yonge/Finch-blue & white).
At the start of the 1959-1960 hockey season and for the very first time, an All-Star (also known as Select) team was chosen from among the players of the participating parishes. These players formed the original “Knights” team and played in the then Toronto Hockey League (THL) competing against the Toronto Marlies, the Scarborough Lions, Toronto Townships, Humber Valley, Ted Reeve and Faustina teams among others.
The Knights have been going strong ever since providing a fun, accessible and recreational hockey program for the youth of North York. Over the years as second and third generations of players and volunteers have returned to the North York Knights Hockey Association, several traditions have been established including a Finals Day where the final championship game for all house league divisions are played at historic St. Michaels College Arena, and a banquet for all the teams at the St. Bonaventure Parish hall where participation trophies are awarded to all teams at the final gathering for the year. However, the most important tradition that has been carried on through the years at the Knights Hockey Association is to offer a fun and rewarding hockey experience where friendships are made and the important lessons of teamwork, sportsmanship and hard work are learned by all participants.
If you want to show your Knights Pride and order items please follow this link: 60th Anniversary Gear. The site will be available until December 4th but will then close to process any orders and have the items available through Majer hockey for pick up in time for the holidays. In celebration of 60 years of North York hockey and an opportunity to show your community spirit, Go Knights Go!