Beattie Ramsay

Beattie Ramsay starred in the OHA Sr league from 1919-1924 as opposed to playing in the newly formed National Hockey League. His first three seasons in the OHA was spent with the University of Toronto and his final two years were with the Toronto Granites.

The Granites are a special team in hockey history. Formed by ex-servicemen from World War I, the Granites represent Canada in the first Winter Olympics games in 1924. Hockey was first played as a demonstration sport in the 1920 Olympics, but at the Summer games. The Winter Games were not created until 1924. That Granites team boasted superstars like Hooley Smith, Harry Watson and captain Dunc Munro - Beattie Ramsay's defense partner. The team was managed by William Hewitt.

The Olympic team consisted of just 7 skaters plus two goalies. Ramsay and Munro were the only two defensemen on the team, thus they must have played most of the game. The games back then were all 45 minutes long except for the gold medal game.

It was a cake walk for the Granites team, as they captured the first winter Olympics gold medal in history. In 5 games the Granites scored 110 goals while giving up only 3! Harry Watson led the way with 36 goals, an Olympic record. He included a 13 goal game against the Swiss and 11 against the Czechs.

Ramsay scored 10 goals. He was considered to be the more defensive of the pairing as Dunc Munro was more likely to jump into the offensive attack. He scored 16 goals.

Interestingly, in the early Olympics, players served as referees for matches they didn't play in. Beattie Ramsay, a great skater and student of the game, refereed the France-Great Britain and France-USA contests.

The Granites team disbanded soon after their Olympic triumph. Ramsay opted to end his playing career and turn to the world of coaching. He accepted an Ivy league offer from Princeton University where he coached for the next three years.

In 1927-28 Ramsay accepted the Toronto Maple Leafs offer to come play for them. Perhaps a bit homesick, it was a great opportunity for Ramsay to come back to Ontario and to further his career in hockey. Though he hadn't played in any competitive games for 3 years, he quickly established himself as a steady and reliable defensive blueliner. He played in 43 games, recording 2 assists and 10 PIM.

That proved to be Ramsay's only NHL season. Following that year he went back to Saskatchewan where he coached the Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League. He later coached in Prince Albert and Regina.