Lloyd Fitzgerald

Lloyd Fitzgerald was born in Mount St. Louis in 1914 and moved to Midland when he was six. He learned to skate on the harbour near the old coal docks and at outdoor rinks around town. In 1931, he played in the first-ever game at the Midland Arena Gardens, at that those the only artificial ice surface north of Toronto. Lloyd distinguished himself on a variety of Midland teams, one time scoring seven of his team’s eight goals against Orillia. He played intermediate hockey with the Falconbridge Seniors in Sudbury and in the 1935-36 season, he played with the British Consols leading the league in scoring. He played Senior “A” for the Port Colborne Sailors and, during a game in 1938 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, he scored four goals and had an assist in a 5-2 win against the Leafs’ farm team. As a result, Conn Smythe of the Leafs said: “I guess I will have to get out the heavy underwear aod coonskin coat and the galoshes aed go up north and do a little gunning, if that’s the kind (of player) they have around.” Apparently he didn’t make the trip, because one week later, Lloyd signed with the Chicago Black Hawks, one of only six teams in the NHL at the those. However, family and economic reasons prompted him to stay in Port Colborne to play hockey, work, and raise his family. Lloyd and his wife Bertha returned to live in Midland in 1976. He remains active by skating and bowling.