Alex  Bricker posted:
 
> I wouldn't put anything like this past York.  I have been following the
> BGSU Hockey program for 8 years now and have gotten to be friends with a
> lot of the guys.  I've heard so many stories about Jerry that I lost
> respect for him.
 
>                                                         That's the
> way Jerry was, if you weren't a star hockey player every game, you
> weren't good enough for him.  I didn't think he would accept special
> talents like playing in the corners, or making nice passes, etc.  If you
> weren't scoring 3 goals a game or making a shut out, you weren't good
> enough.
 
I have to disagree with Alex at this point.  I can cite many Falcons
who played regularly despite not being stars in any sense of
the word.  For example, Rob Urban (forward in the 80s when I was
able to follow the Falcons closely) logged an awful lot of ice time
during his 4 years at BG (okay, I think he didn't play much his freshman
year, but I don't think he missed a SHIFT his junior or senior year)
despite having one real specialty - he was good in the corners.  Then
there's Geoff Williams who was far from the most talented guy on the ice
but who always, always, always hustled and was a real inspiration just
with his work ethic and spirited play.  Jerry York never benched Geoff
or disciplined him for not scoring enough goals.
 
If I had some old media guides handy, I could type in a few more
guys and their stories, but these were two players who came to mind
who did get to play very regularly without being disciplined.
 
I'm not saying that Jerry York hadn't worn thin with some folks in
BG - there were many who were beginning to be frustrated with
losing seasons at the end.  However, Jerry was not the type who
had no use for role players.  He also seemed to have a high level of
personal integrity.  My sense has always been that Jerry followed
the "rules" closer than many and sometimes closer than they really
may have needed to be followed.  I think that a person like that is
just the type that BC needs now and if Jerry can put together a
winner there (he seems to be getting awfully good recruits, BTW),
I think he'll be very successful and popular.
 
Tim Newman
 
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