Each year, a sub-committee of IHJUK considers potential new members for induction, the criterion being that an individual must have rendered "outstanding service to British Ice Hockey".
Joe McIntosh was an outstanding Scottish-developed defenceman who had a playing career which spanned 25 years at the highest level of the sport in the UK, representing Great Britain at four World Championships before going on to coach the national team.
Joe was a key contributor to the winning of major honours with five different senior clubs over the course of a sterling career – commencing with Falkirk Lions’ Play-Off triumph in 1954 and ending with Fife Flyers’ ‘Grand Slam’ season of 1976-77, encompassing Championships along the way with Edinburgh Royals, Dundee Rockets and Crans-sur-Sierre of Switzerland.
He holds a record which is a fitting testimony to his fitness, commitment to the sport and ability: he is the oldest forward or defenceman ever to have appeared for Great Britain in international competition, being aged 40 years and 161 days at the commencement of the 1973 World Championship ‘C’ Pool tournament in Holland. (Only two goaltenders have played for GB at an older age: fellow Hall of Famers ‘Peter’ Patton, aged 49 at the 1926 European Championships and Glynn Thomas, two months short of his 41stbirthday at the 1976 World Championship ‘C’ Pool.)
With the collapse of pro hockey in Scotland during the summer of 1955, Joe was offered a slot with Nottingham Panthers in the much-reduced British League for the 55-56 season. However, having just started a well-paid job on the Grangemouth docks, he had to decline the offer and his hockey activity over the next five years was confined to occasional guest appearances for ‘homeless’ sides such as Perth Panthers, Glasgow Flyers and Edinburgh Royals. (Joe had started his working life as a plumber in a Grangemouth shipyard, but spent many years as a stevedore in Grangemouth docks, latterly working as a charge-hand in an oil refinery and then at the vast Mossmorran natural gas plant in Fife before his retiral.)
He was a mainstay on defence of the 1960-61 Edinburgh Royals, led by Johnny Carlyle, which made a clean sweep of all the various ‘rink tournaments’ that season, culminating in the defeat of a Canadian-dominated Brighton Tigers on their home ice.
Joe spent the 1962-63 season with Altrincham Aces under coach Ian Forbes, and then followed Forbes to join Fife Flyers for 1963-64. Joe had seven very successful seasons at Kirkcaldy, helping Flyers to a number of honours, including the televised BBC Grandstand Trophy, and earning himself All-Star selections in 1967-68, 1968-69, 1970-71 and 1971-72. As Player-Coach of the Flyers, he was selected as the ‘B’ Team All-Star Coach for 1969-70.
Along with former Falkirk players Joe Baird and Roy Reid, Joe spent parts of the 1970-71 and 1971-72 seasons assisting Ayr Bruins, playing under future Hall of Fame inductee Jackson McBride (who was to remain a friend of Joe’s until Jackson’s untimely death in 2003.)
Joe again teamed up with coach Ian Forbes, this time at Dundee, for the 1972-73 season, and assisted Rockets to the Northern League title.
He finished his career back at Kirkcaldy, retiring from playing at the age of 44 after helping Flyers to the 1976-77 ‘Grand Slam.’
On the international front, Joe represented Great Britain at four World Championships – 1965 and 1966 (Pool ‘B’) and 1971 and 1973 (Pool ‘C’). As mentioned, he is Great Britain’s oldest ever skater at a World Championship.
In late February/early March 1978, with a hastily assembled and inexperienced squad, he guided GB to lift the Tulip International Cup, at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in Holland, defeating Holland Juniors (twice), Belgium and club-side Olympia Antwerp for a 100% record in four games over four days. (The tournament provided preparation for the Belgians in leading up to the 1978 World Championship Pool ‘C’, held later that month in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria – GB did not enter.)
GB returned to the World Championships in March 1979 at Barcelona, with Joe steering the British side to a 5th place finish (out of seven) – their highest Pool ‘C’ finish since 1971 – defeating both Spain and Australia.
Despite turning round the fortunes of the national team, whilst operating with a wholly amateur and British-trained squad, and with no financial backing and limited preparation, Joe was harshly discarded by the BIHA, who appointed Canadian Alex Dampier to coach the next entry to international competition two years later.
Joe continued as coach of the Scotland team for a couple of years, but drifted out of the hockey scene.
He relocated from Grangemouth to Kirkcaldy in 1981, where he re-married in 1990. He and wife Betty still live in the Fife town, but Joe no longer watches hockey locally – although he takes in some NHL games on his visits to his brother-in-law in Edmonton (his brother-in-law is an Oilers’ season ticket-holder.) Joe freely admits that the sport is certainly much faster than in his day, with shorter shifts and better equipment, but thinks that a bit of the skill has been sacrificed.
Rob Stewarthas provided outstanding service to British ice hockey in 17 years as a defenceman and in the past four as a non-playing assistant coach. His worth is recognised with four All-Star accolades, three at ‘A’, and four league championships plus two play-off titles.
Hearing good things about British hockey from brother Keith, who spent 1989/90 with Nottingham, Rob broke off three years of study at the University of Manitoba to join Basingstoke Beavers. He was released after two games. The same misfortune befell him at Solihull. Shocked he said “I didn’t know whether to head back to Canada or look elsewhere”. He went to Romford “to pick up a couple of weeks pay” to fill in for an injured player. The 195 lbs rushing offensive defender was asked to stay. He contributed 124 points, gaining an All-Star ‘A’ award in the team’s finest season to- date. Rob spent the next four years with Raiders, including taking over as coach in autumn 1993. In an era restricted to three imports he was often the British League’s Division 1 leading scoring defenceman and the club’s sole import blue liner.
A management change at Romford necessitated a move. He signed for Telford to be appointed Tigers’ captain. Stewart joined Bracknell for the 1995/96 campaign where he remained for the next five years. A year later Bees joined the new Superleague and Rob continued, as he had done for some years, as his team’s third best scorer. He captained Bracknell to a Challenge Cup runners-up medal in February 1998 to score the opening goal 14 months later in a play-off semi-final loss with an All-Star ‘B’ placing. Trumping this a year later with an ‘A’ as he led Bees to the league title and semi-finalists in the Challenge and B&H Cups.
When Dave Whistle, they had been team-mates at Romford, Telford and Bracknell, became coach of Belfast, Stewart joined him for Giants inaugural 2000/01 campaign as a player and assistant coach. He was also responsible for commencing a youth development programme. In his second winter in the Northern Irish capital Rob won his second Superleague championship medal as Giants lifted the league trophy by a clear 21 points and were finalists in the Challenge Cup. His points’ production was the best for three years as he gained his third All-Star ‘A’ rating. Next winter a play-off medal was added. At the conclusion of the six year Superleague Rob was the only player to have never missed a game in 286 consecutive appearances. For 2003/04 he took over as head coach at a difficult financial time for Giants. His dedication was such that he used his own credit card to help keep the club afloat.
A short lived move to Sheffield as non-playing coach in summer 2004 was soon followed by donning skates again on Belfast ice next winter, for an Elite League title and play-off runners up medals. A Giants coaching change saw Romford legend Rob make an emotional return to east London on 12 September 2006, after a 12 year absence. He commented “I like the town and ran hockey schools for four or so summers there”. Late next autumn he put the blades away to be appointed coach, improving Raiders in the EPL standings and regaining play-off qualification.
A final return to his adopted city of Belfast in summer 2008 saw Stewart resume his place as assistant non-playing coach. A role he still fulfils. During the past four seasons he has helped Giants win the Elite League title, plus a Play-Off championship, Challenge and Knockout Cup.
Rob Stewart, whose first memory of hockey was playing on outdoor ice as a four or five year old, was born on 5 February 1966 at Brandon, Manitoba. He gained British citizenship in 2001.
Biogs compiled by David Gordon and Martin C Harris
To see the full listing of Hall Of Fame Members, click here: http://www.ihjuk.co.uk/halloffame.html
