Former Western Conference Convenor Bill Weir Passes Away
Story By: C. Scott Holland
When Bill Weir of London the former Western Jr. B Hockey League convenor took that position many, many years ago – it was one which he hoped to fill for only a few years. But those couple of years turned into a 26 year stint and many positive changes.
However despite having been retired for a few years, this past Saturday, it was with great sadness that the OHA reported news of the death of William (Bill) George Weir.
With the start of the 2012/13 season, Weir relinquished his position to Mark Tuck whom Weir has groomed for the job during the past two seasons. Filling Weir’s role has been a tough one for Tuck.
During the course of Weir’s long tenure as convenor he’s attended thousands of meeting, logged a lot miles and yet relished the improvements he’s helped implement in the game. Originally, Weir was asked to become the Western Jr. B convenor in 1985 but he declined stating he’d consider it again in a year’s time. In 1986 he was asked again and took the position plus its tremendous amount of responsibilities.
“It was simpler then,” Weir stated, “...We’ve (Western Division of the Greater Ontario Hockey League) still got lots of room for improvement.”
Among the issues and implementations he and the team owners and representatives have made throughout the years are the overtime loss points and shootout formats, the checking-from-behind penalty, plus a Kick-Off Tournament. The Western Jr. B league was the first to embrace the shootout format in 1994/95, but shelved it for a few more years before returning it to the game in 1998/99 – it has become a component of all Western conference contests ever since.
Along the way he saw many future NHL stars too. Joe Thornton, Ed Jovanovski, Steve Ott, Andy Delmore, Mike Van Ryn, Michael Leighton, Bob Boughner, Andy McDonald, Kyle Wellwood and TJ Brodie to name just a few.
Issues like hazing and the way clubs have been run were addressed by Weir and his board. Many difficult decisions were been made as well. Together, they made rules and adhered to them under Weir’s guidance and watchful eye. But despite all those changes he helped usher in, the game itself has become highly competitive while holding excitement for fans.
Attendance figures have been steady in recent years and a concern about drawing NHL scouts has arisen.
One of the biggest impact’s on Bill’s life and on that of the hockey league itself was the death of his son Bill Jr., who was a star player for the London Nationals. Bill Jr. was killed in an auto accident and Bill Sr. became an avid proponent of stopping drunk driving. The league, in conjunction with local police departments, instituted a program whereby at Christmastime free tickets to games were issued during RIDE programs.
Of what’s immediately important for the league, Weir considered the high number of concussions suffered in today’s game as a primary concern. Like the issues of highsticks and blindside checks, Weir and current convenor Mark Tuck initiated a weekend during which all nine Western Jr. B teams participated in seminars concerning concussions.
With the nine Western Conference teams having been so competitive the past few seasons, Weir knew that it is because all teams have good managements and have worked with the league to provide a high calibre of hockey. One of the things he thought the Western Conference should aim for is a separate website for the league – perhaps one of its own – whereby featured stories on players and issues could be posted about every two weeks. While that has not occurred as he envisioned it, the new blog website does fill some of the essence of what Weir expected. Exposure is a key element at the Jr. B level and another of Weir’s ideas to use a recruiting tool was a newsletter aimed at universities, colleges and high schools.
“It’s really the people you meet at the games” he admitted as being the draw of junior hockey and along the way he met thousands of people and become friends with so many of them.
The league bestowed one honor upon the former convenor. That occurred in 2006 when its playoff championship cup was renamed the Bill Weir Trophy.
Visitation for Bill will be held at Brock and Visser Funeral Home, Thamesford Chapel (177 Dundas St. W) in Thamesford ON, on May 19th from 2-4pm and again in the evening from 7-9pm. Funeral service will be held on May 20th in the same location beginning at 11am on May 20th.
