George McNeil (ice hockey)

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George McNeil[1]
Third base
Born: (1914-07-26)July 26, 1914
Nova Scotia, CAN
Died: December 24, 1997(1997-12-24) (aged 83)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Teams
Scarborough Seagulls (1937) Hull (1937)
Leeds Oaks (1938) Halifax (1939)
George McNeil
Medal record
Men’s Baseball
Representing  United Kingdom
Baseball World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1938 Baseball World Cup Great Britain
George McNeil
Born (1914-07-26)July 26, 1914
Nova Scotia, CAN
Died December 24, 1997(1997-12-24) (aged 83)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Position Defence / Right wing
Played for Richmond Hawks
Brighton Tigers
Earls Court Rangers
Dundee Tigers
Playing career c. 1936–1940

George McNeil (July 26, 1914 – December 24, 1997) was an ice hockey player and coach and baseball player and manager, who represented United Kingdom internationally at both sports.[2]

Baseball[edit]

McNeil played baseball in the semi-professional Yorkshire League, 1937, and Yorkshire-Lancashire League, 1938 and 1939, in the United Kingdom. He played regularly for the Yorkshire County representative side [3] including against the USA Test Series side in 1938.

He started the 1937 season with Scarborough Seagulls[4] but when they folded in August concluded the season at Hull.[5] For the 1938 season he played third base for Leeds Oaks who he had joined as coach and captain. In August 1938, at just 24 years of age, he represented the Great Britain national baseball team as player-manager in a Test Series against the United States national baseball team preparing for the 1940 Olympic Games. The British team which did consist largely of Canadians playing baseball professionally in the UK, won the Series by 4 games to 1. Subsequently, English entrepreneur and sports sponsor, John Moores, presented a trophy for the winners, the competition and Trophy becoming known as the Baseball World Cup.[6] In the 1939 season, he captained Halifax in retaining the Yorkshire-Lancashire League Championship.

Ice Hockey[edit]

McNeil played for the Richmond Hawks, Brighton Tigers and Earls Court Rangers in the English National League and for the Dundee Tigers in the Scottish National League prior to the Second world war. He may be best remembered as a coach for the Tigers between 1946 and 1949 and for the Falkirk Lions between 1949 and 1954 when he retired. He was inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 1956.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Malvern, Jack (22 September 2022). "Team GB's striking baseball success". The Times. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  2. ^ Malvern, Jack (22 September 2022). "Team GB's striking baseball success". The Times. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  3. ^ Yorkshire's Team', Leeds Mercury, p.13 10 May 1937 - retrieved from British Newspaper Archive October 2023
  4. ^ 'Happy Kasnoff to Fore', Green 'Un', p.5, 8 May 1937 - retrieved from British Newspaper Archive, October 2023.
  5. ^ 'Hull and Leeds Oaks Meet for a Cup', Hull Daily Mail, p.9. 11 August 1937 - retrieved from British Newspaper Archive, October 2023
  6. ^ Malvern, Jack (22 September 2022). "Team GB's striking baseball success". The Times. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  7. ^ "George McNeil". British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2013.