The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Tributes paid to ice hockey hall of famer Jack Dryburgh
Tributes have poured in from around the ice hockey world for Kirkcaldy-born Jack “Jackie” Dryburgh who died on Saturday aged 81. The ice hockey player, coach and administrator starred for various clubs in Scotland and England during the 1950s and 1960s before moving into coaching and management and he was inducted into the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. Dryburgh started his senior playing career with now defunct Murrayfield Royals before moving to Nottingham Panthers. He returned to Murrayfield and helped them stay unbeaten in the 1957–58 season before signing for Southampton Vikings, scoring four goals on his debut. He ended the season as the club’s top marksman. He made one international appearance, at the World Championship Pool B tournament in Switzerland, where Britain finished runners-up. His career then took him to Brighton Tigers for four seasons and the prolific marksman scored 205 goals and set up another 262 goals in 131 games. Sadly, the ice rink in Brighton closed and Dryburgh moved on to ice for Liège in the Belgian League and made further appearances for Fife Flyers, Perth Panthers and the homeless Brighton Tigers. After hanging up his skates, Dryburgh was rink manager at Fife Ice Arena and he occasionally acted as bench coach to Flyers. He represented the Scottish Rink Managers’ Association on the now defunct British Ice Hockey Association and served as rink manager at Dundee Ice Arena. Social media lit up with tributes with former Flyers player Scott Plews saying: “Such tragic news about the passing of this amazing human being Jack Dryburgh. “An awesome man who influenced not only me and my brother but hundreds of other hockey players all over the country, both on the ice and off. “I’ll never forget, we were about 13, and he came on the ice at Fife on a training session to teach us penalty shots before going to Wembley for the British under-16 final. He was wearing his full beige suit, tie, the lot, wearing someone’s iconic Daoust 501 skates and had no gloves on. “He went down on the goalies at an absolute snail’s pace and deked every goalie out every single time over and over. We were all amazed. “When Jack talked, you listened which you could do for hours. Such a very knowledgeable, sharp as a tack, kind and a very funny man. My thoughts go out to his family at such a hard time but they can all be proud of such a well thought of man that will never be replaced in British Hockey... ever. A true legend.” Former imported player Steve Moria said: “When Jack talked, people listened. All those words you (Scott) used, awesome, amazing and inspiring are spot on. He certainly had a way of helping people, steering people in a positive way. I loved the guy.” Freddie Wood from Edinburgh, another former Scottish ice hockey star, said: “Such sad news at the loss of a true friend. Jack was a star and a legend in whatever he participated in, not only as one of the greatest players of his time but he excelled in coaching and management and all aspects of business. “Jack was born a star, a truly funny guy who was one of the most respected guys in the game.”