Bob Attersley



Robert "Bob" Attersley (August 13, 1933 – March 12, 2010) was well known as a Canadian ice hockey player who competed in the 1960 Winter Olympics and brought home a silver medal. He was born in Oshawa, Ontario to Ernest & Marietta Attersly. He died on March 12, 2010.

Hockey career
Bob Attersly became renowned for his skill in the sport of Hockey at an early age. He played on Bantam and Midget teams in Oshawa and then proceeded onto Junior "B". Eventually reaching Major Junior 'A' hockey in 1950-1951 when he first played for the Oshawa Generals. He remained with the Generals for a total of 3 Seasons, receiving the Red Tilson Trophy as the Ontario Hockey League's most valuable player in 1952-53. In hopes of signing him, he was invited by the Boston Bruins to their training camp at Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1953.

While considering the offer made by Boston, the Generals lost their arena to a fire. This fire not only took their home, but all their equipment as well. This forced the team to split up, names were put into a hat and divided between the remaining teams. This landed Bob with the Guelph Biltmores for a year at the same fee offered by Boston. Other than playing exhibition games with the Bruins he remained with the Biltmores.

With the contract to the Guelph Biltmores coming to an end, Bob joined the team the Oshawa Truckmen (This team was coached and managed by a childhood friend - Wren Blair). Because of the loss of the Oshawa arena, the 1953-1954 season was played in Bowmanville. At this point Bob Attersly made his way back to Whitby with the then Oshawa Truckmen, which changed its name to the Whitby Dunlops.

With his Centre position secured for the Whitby Dunlops, Bob went on to win the scoring championship in the league for four of the five seasons. In 1956-1957, Bob, went on to win the Allan Cup with the Whitby Dunlops in their first year as a Senior "A" club. He also managed to set two records during his time with the Dunlops. A record of 70 assists in the 1956-1957 season and in 1958-1959 a record for total points at the end of a season, 95.

He earned the right to represent Canada at the 1958 World Hockey Championship in Oslo, Norway with the Dunlops. In the final game, Bob scored 2 goals (including the winner) and 1 assist and brought home the gold for Canada.

In the 1958-1959 season, Robert Attersly brought home his second Allan Cup with the Whitby Dunlops. In the following year Bob joined the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen to represent Canada for a second time. This time it was at the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, California. He ended up bringing back the Silver Medal for Canada. After returning from Squaw Valley Bob went on to join the Kingston Frontenacs of the Eastern Professional Hockey League, until leaving hockey in 1963.

Recognition
He received two major forms of recognition for his many years playing hockey. On August 14, 1981, the Whitby Dunlops were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Bob and Harry Sinden's sweaters were placed in a glass case as part of a display of World Championship teams Canada has produced since the Second World War. In 1986 Bob was also recognized for his his years with the Generals, when he was inducted into the Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame.

Return to Hockey
Attersley returned to hockey in 1989 when along with Wren Blair, he purchased the then Kingston Raiders. The new owners kept the team in Kingston and restored the old Frontenacs name.