I was recently at a banquet held at the Decathlon Club in Bloomington, MN, which is the sponsor of the Hobey Baker Award. They had a display of the award, along with pictures and info of all the past winners. They also had a small pamphlet describing the history. I thought some of you may be interested in this story. PROFILE OF THE HOBEY BAKER AWARD The purpose and goals of the award are to honor, on an annual basis, the outstanding collegiate hockey player in the United States, and to promote collegiate hockey and encourage physical activity and sportsmanship for youth. The criteria for the selection of the winner of the Hobey Baker Award are that he exhibit strength of character both on and off the ice, contribute to the team effort and display outstanding hockey skills (candidates can be forwards, defensemen or goalies), and that he comply with all NCAA rules. Considerations are also given to scholastic achievements, sportsmanship and aspirations. The Hobey Baker Memorial Award is composed of an award committee which directs all activities pertaining to the award and the dinner honoring each year's winner. Responsibilities of the selection of the winner are assumed by an Advisory Committee, a Selection Committee, and all NCAA and NAIA college hockey coaches. THE LEGEND OF HOBEY BAKER "Like his contemporaries Jim Thorpe, Ty Cobb, and Jack Johnson, Hobey Baker was a fabulous athlete; like them, he had a great physique, fantastic reflexes, instant coordination of hand and eye, iron discipline, blazing courage. But to these rare abilities he added another dimension all his own...to the public during his career at Princeton and St. Nick's (an amateur team) he was the college athlete supreme; the gentleman sportsman, the amateur in the pure sense playing the game 'pour le sport,' who never fouled, despised publicity, and refused professional offers." So wrote John Davies in his biography, "The Legend of Hobey Baker" Prior to entering Princeton in 1910, Baker attended the St. Paul's school in Concord, New Hampshire, where Malcolm K. Gordon, another United States Hall of Famer, was his coach. At Princeton he was not only a legend in hockey, but in football as well. He captained the hockey team for two years and the football team of one, and was named to the College Football Hall of Fame. After leaving Princeton, Baker continued in hockey with the St. Nicholas Club until his entry into the famed United States flying unit the Lafayette Esquadrille, in World War I, where he was noted for his bravery. He was killed in a tragic air accident shortly after the end of the war. Baker was selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in 1945, and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973. THE TROPHY The designer and sculptor of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award trophy is Bill Mack, a sculptor from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mack has been sculpting for many years, and earned his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Minnesota where he studied under noted sculptress Katherine Nash. The Hobey Baker trophy depicts a hockey player in action. It weighs around 40 pounds, and is 16 inches high. The figure has an antique finish, the bronze base is polished, and the based is crystal clear acrylic. The winner of the award and the winner's school receive an identical trophy. The original is permanently on display in the lobby of the Decathlon Athletic Club. Steve Christoff was selected from a large field of candidates to be the model for the sculpture. Steve epitomizes the spirit and excellence of amateur hockey. He was an outstanding high school competitor at Richfield High School in Richfield, Minnesota, he played on the University of Minnesota hockey team, and was a consistent star on the 1980 Gold Medal winning Olympic team Steve also played for the Minnesota North Stars hockey club. HISTORY In 1978 a small group of members and staff of the Decathlon Athletic Club began looking into the feasibility of an idea fostered by Chief Executive Officer Chuck Bard to offer a hockey award similar to the Heisman Football award and the Wooden basketball award. Searching through all available source of information, it became increasingly obvious that this idea would be met with an enthusiastic response from the world of collegiate hockey. During 1979, a formation committee was established to define the ideas behind the project and architect a procedure and play for its inception. By September of that year, the committee was hard at work on the overwhelming number of questions and problems that had to be dealt with to accomplish the final goal of the award. One of those questions was what to name the award. In the fall of 1979, Chuck and Walter Bush, then Vice President of the Minnesota North Stars hockey club, began a search for an appropriate name for the award. Very early in the search one of the choices piqued the interest of Chuck... Hobey Baker, of Princeton University. After a study of the history of Hobey Baker, the conclusion was obvious - no one else epitomized the ideals of this award more than this legend of the early 1900's. The choice was unanimously confirmed. With the name settled, the other tasks and duties rapidly began to fall in place and by March 1980 an announcement was planned to coincide with the first annual NCAA East-West All Star hockey game in St. Paul, Minnesota. At noon Thursday, April 10,1980, the hard work and dreams of this small group became a living tradition, as the announcement was made public for the first time. The Hobey Baker Memorial Award would be a reality!