The Bedford Bears is an amateur men's ice hockey team based in the town of Bedford, New York. The Bears practice and play their games at Maxwell Evarts Rink located at the Harvey School in Katonah, NY. This indoor ice rink has been home to the Bears since it was erected in 1968. Prior to this the Bears skated on outdoor ice surfaces, including one on-site prior to the construction of Evarts Rink, and at Whites Pond, now located on the property of the Glen Arbor Golf Club (+41° 13' 36.81", -73° 40' 38.47").
The formation of the Bedford Bears occurred around 1930: "The Bears were founded around 1927 by a group of ex-college players, led by Alexander T. (Sandy) Baldwin, his brothers Peter and Ian (Mike), Holbrook Cushman, Douglas Burden, with my father, Bruce Smart, in the goal. At that time Johnny (Renwick) and I were little kids and so not "founders". In the late 1930's, as the Depression waned, the Bears were revivified by Sandy, beating the Appawamis Club team in Rye, 4-2. Gordie McGrath, Harvards first line center, centered our second line behind the Baldwins, Johnny (Renwick) was then away at school, but I was taking a year off and played in that victory as a 16-year-old hanger-on. We had a couple of other games that year, and I do not remember losing".
It is noteworthy that graduates from Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton, Harvard and other universities and private sports clubs with ice hockey teams, all contributed players to the Bedford Bears and the other teams in the Winter Club League that the Bears play in.
In 1957 representatives John Renwick and Nat Bishop of the Bears along with team representatives from Beaver Dam (Locust Valley, NY), Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Princeton, Wissahickon (Philadelphia), and Morristown formed the Winter Club League. The WCL was formed into 2 divisions; Northern and Southern: "The organization meeting of the Winter Club League was held on May 15, 1957, at the Raquet and Tennis Club in New York. The clubs and their representatives were the following: Beaver Dam - Kip Farrington, Clarence Pell, Fred Moseley, Peter Guernesy, Wissahickon (Philadelphia) - William Moseley Jr., J Fearey, Bedford Bears - John Renwick, Nat Bishop, Morristown - Archer Harmon, William P. Howard, Greenwich - Carl Knapp, B.G. Rafferty, John Cleveland, Princeton - William Schluter, Darian - Stuart Repp, New Canaan - L.T. Merriam."''[1]
In September 2010 player/manager Morgan McKenzie retired from the team, passing his role as president to James (Jamer) Breene, and treasurer to Robert G. Murray. In 2011 the Bears were incorporated into a 501(c)7 not-for-profit.
References
edit- The Bedford Pound Ridge Record Review; Letters To The Editor, March 2009 "Johnny Renwick obit stirs memories of early Bedford Bears" by Bruce Smart Jr.