June 5, 2015
2015
To the Editor:
Okay, Kincardine sports fans, here is a trivia question for you. Who in the last half century was the best all-round athlete in Kincardine? Got you thinking, haven't I?
I have to declare right off the bat (pun intended) that my pick was my head rink rat when I ran the old Lambton Street arena in the 1960s and '70s, and later on, was also my linemate on the Bulldogs Intermediate Hockey Club.
Old-timers will know that I am talking about Jimmy Bell who had phenomenal hand-eye co-ordination just like Wayne Gretzky did. Jimmy was an exceptional athlete who excelled in hockey, baseball, golf, badminton, and roller hockey. There were probably other sports he excelled at too but my memory isn't as good as it used to be.
In hockey, Jim could do it all - consistently put the puck in the net, stick-handle like you wouldn't believe, give you the puck and then take it away from you, lay out bone-rattling body checks. If an opponent wanted to drop the gloves, Jim would hit him three times before his gloves hit the ice; and nobody but nobody could handle the puck with his skates like Jim Bell could.
In baseball, Jim, a southpaw pitcher (and first baseman), could put his fastball where he wanted to, and his curve ball would drop off the table. He was a line-drive hitter who could hit to all fields and, believe it or not, even with his body-build, (Jimmy was built like Babe Ruth, a little on the chubby side) he was always the best base stealer on his team because he was smart and knew how to steal on the pitcher not the catcher.
In golf, he was a lefthander and nobody could hit the ball farther or straighter than Jimmy. He was deft with his short irons and was a gifted putter. He was only the second person in history to shoot a 29 on the Kincardine Golf Course.
In high school, Jim was always the badminton champion. Dave Alexander, physical education department head at Kincardine District Secondary School for decades, once told me that in all his years teaching at the school, he had never seen a school athlete with the hand-eye co-ordination that Jimmy had.
In roller hockey, played with either a tennis ball or a fibreglass puck with stainless steel screws on it to make it slide on the polished cement floor at the old arena, Jim excelled on roller skates just as he did on ice skates. Man, he could dangle with roller skates on - he was the best!
So what happened yesterday (June 3) at the Blackhorse Golf Course during the Big Brothers and Big Sisters annual golf tournament I volunteered at? For a $5 donation to the cause, the tournament organizers let you buy a "mulligan" which allows you one chance in your round of taking a second shot without penalty or taking a lift shot (picking your ball up when it is in a sand trap and throwing it up toward the pin).
On the fifth hole, Jim's ball was in a sand trap 50 yards from the pin. He elected to use his "Mulligan," picked the ball up and threw it in to a head wind toward the pin. You guessed it - the ball bounced a few times and went straight up on the green and into the hole for a birdie!
Jim Bell, 67-year-old senior citizen, and his hand-eye co-ordination has not left him. What a guy! What an athlete!
Methinks he should take up lawn bowling and bring an Ontario Championship back home to Kincardine in the singles division. Way to go, Jimmer!
Slainte!
R. Keith Davidson
RR2, Kemble
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