Marquette Iron Rangers: Jerome 'Neill

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Jerome "Bucky" O'Neill. January 2001.

What do you remember about actually playing the games?
Well, I played hockey here for many years before that, and that was sort of a semi-pro
hockey team. But it was tough working a full-time job and playing. That was, it was a
weekend league at the time. It was great. The people of Marquette like their hockey. We had great crowds there. It was quite a place to play in that Palestra.

Is there a particular win or loss that you remember?
I believe the win was the one where I scored the winning goal in overtime in Waterloo. I'm not sure if that was the first game we ever played. I'm not sure of that one. Wayne McQuaig fired the shot and I tipped it in.

Which players, including opponents, stand out in your mind?
As a pure good hockey player I'd pick like Bill Ostwald, Bill Masterson, Paul Johnson from Minnesota. I've got to mention my brother Ozzie.

Is there a humorous story about that team that you can relate to us.
The rolling beer cans in the bus. Around the corner they'd go from one side to
the other.

What is the story as to how you got on the team?
I started playing senior hockey when I was 15 years old. Of course everybody
else was a lot older than I was. And it just kept on going. You had the Marquette
Sentinels and then the Iron Rangers.

So you just tried out for the team?
Well, they knew what kind of player I was, and Oakie wanted me to play.
They say the team couldn't have survived if they had had to import all of the players.
I think we could have something like seven...something like a half and half deal.

Can you say anything about the fans in the Palestra at that time?
They were noisy. They were good fans. And right today I still meet a lot of them and they miss the old Palestra and those hockey games.

Are there any stories that you can recall that exemplify how hockey was different back then as compared to now? Oakie said that you were probably better passers and receivers of passes back then.
Well, Oakie...Oakie was a very good coach you know. I'll say one thing about Oakie Brumm: Oakie Brumm, in my opinion, should have been the coach of one of the Olympic teams, because when you played for Oakie you were in shape.
I do think that now there is not as much fighting as there used to be, though. I think we were the first team to wear helmets, but I don't know if the league required it or not. But I think they told me the insurance company required us to have it. But I'm not sure if we were the first team to have them.

How did you resurface the ice before the Zamboni?
Before the Zamboni we had what you would call a sweeper crew which would sweep the ice with brooms. This was in between periods, now. And then they would have a flooding cart which held a couple of hundred gallons of hot water. They'd pull that cart around. It was a three-wheel cart.

How many people would be involved in that whole thing?
Probably fifteen.

Would they use standard brooms?
No, they had a special broom for that. It was a wide broom about three feet wide.

With bristles?
Yes.

Can you say anything about the road trips to different cities?
In the beginning it wasn't too bad. The far ones we flew to. It was tough for me because I worked many hours in the winter time and the hours were late for me.

Was there a high point for you during that time...a low point?
Well I had two bad injuries during that time. I almost lost my eye playing Green Bay in one, and I cracked my neck in another. That's when I got out.

There are literally thousands of people from Marquette County who think of
that team as very special. Why do you think that is so?
Well, in the beginning of that league there were a lot of players from Marquette and people from the Copper Country. And also one of the things when people think of that league is that there were a lot of Copper Country players on Green Bay. And also Marquette had a few from the Copper Country.

Ruelle?
Yeah, Emery Ruelle played.

Was there any involvement with the team in anyway by women? Children? Minorities?
Not that I know of. Of course like I said I went to play the game, and with all
my work I didn't have time to stick around.

Did kids ever show up to be around the experience?
Oh yeah. And that's one thing I always did. I was always good to the kids, and
I'm rewarded to this day from those kids. You don't realize how important you
are to these kids.

Are there any memories about the Palestra itself?
Well, yeah, I worked there. I was there when it burnt. I was the last one
to skate in there.

By yourself?
Yeah. And I was the first one to skate in the new arena. My job allowed me that.

* The interview with this player, who is one of the top hockey players ever born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (and who happens to still be one of the most gracious), will have updates and additions forthcoming.