Durham, Ontario



The Town of Durham, Ontario is located in the heart of Grey County in Southwestern Ontario.

Hockey and the Town of Durham
The Town of Durham is located in the heart of Grey County, located at the base of the Bruce Penninsula in Southwestern Ontario. Durham has a population of slightly over 2500 people and is currently a part of the municipality of West Grey. The town, itself, was once an incorporated town, but this was lost in 2001, after 119 years of incorporation.

Durham is neighboured by many centres. Hanover to the West, Flesherton and Markdale to the East, Mount Forest to the South, and Owen Sound to the North. In the past, this has provided for a very competitive geography in the world of sports. Whether it be Soccer, Baseball, Cricket, Lacrosse, or Ice Hockey. Cricket matches between Durham and Flesherton and Dundalk date back to the 1880s, as well as lacrosse and ice hockey. Although hockey dates back in the town to the 19th century, ice hockey did not reach its competitive apex until 1908 when the first indoor arena was built. By 1920, the Durham Hockey Club participated in three different leagues: the OHA Intermediate League, the OHA Junior League, and the Northern Hockey League.

In 1931, the Durham HC won the Northern Hockey League's Junior Championship. The Northern League did not last long. In the 1920 and 1930s, the seasons did not start until the ice in arenas could naturally freeze. The OHA seasons started first and were kept very short. After the OHA season ended, the remaining interested teams who still had ice would compete in the Northern League. Eventually this system disappeared as arean technology improved and the OHA season grew longer.

In 1936, the Durham HC won its first Senior hockey championship by defeating the Whitby hockey club in the OHA Senior B finals. In 1952, a new arena was built and the Durham HC was dubbed the Durham Huskies.

By 1972, the town had a second senior hockey team in the local WOAA Intermediate League known as the Durham 72's. A couple years later, the Durham Flyers made a third team, but they folded after only a couple seasons. The current arena was built in 1977.

In 1988, the the 72's were renamed the Durham Thundercats and by 1992 the Huskies were extinct. In 1996, the Huskies were resurrected as a Junior A hockey team, but this team only lasted 5 years. The same year the Huskies folded, the town was unincorporated as a town.

Senior teams

 * Durham Hockey Club 1908-1952
 * Durham Huskies 1952-1992
 * 1) (Western Ontario Senior B Hockey League, 1972-1973) league becomes CSBHL
 * 2) (Continental Senior B Hockey League, 1973-1975) league becomes CBAHL
 * 3) (Continental Senior A Hockey League, 1975-1980)  join OHA Sr. A HL
 * 4) (Ontario Hockey Association Senior A, 1980-1982) join Major Intermediate "A" HL
 * 5) (Major Intermediate A Hockey League, 1982-1983) drop to Intermediate B
 * Durham 72's 1972-1988
 * Durham Thundercats 1988-Present
 * Durham Flyers

Junior teams

 * Durham (Ontario Hockey Association Jr., 1920-1921, 1929-1930
 * Durham Fury (Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League, 2006-2008) moved to Whitby
 * Durham Huskies
 * (Metro Junior A Hockey League, 1996-1998) join OPJHL
 * (Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League, 1998-2001) folded

Women's teams

 * Durham Lightning (National Women's Hockey League, 2005-2006) become Etobicoke Dolphins

Players

 * Marty Lauder
 * Jeff MacMillan

Arenas

 * Durham & District Community Centre