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Inducted
in 1993 as a member of the 1936 Great Britain Olympic Championship team. Born March 3rd,
1915 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, Jimmy Chappell played either right wing
or centre. Aged 10, his family emigrated to Canada settling in Ontario
where the youngster took up hockey. Moving up through the ranks, he
played for the Oshawa Collegiates between 1931-34 and the Whitley
Intermediates. 1935 saw him return to
Britain to spend a three-year spell with the Earls Court Rangers before
moving north to Scotland to play two inaugural seasons, firstly with
Fife and then Dunfermline. As a member of the ’36
Olympic squad, Chappell scored 2 goals in 6 appearances and went on to
add 3 more Olympic goals 12 years later when Switzerland hosted the
Games. Having played in 2 European Championships in 1937 & 1938,
Jimmy Chappell totalled 16 appearances for Great Britain scoring 7 goals
and 9 assists for a point a game record. During the Second World
War, Chappell saw active service including the D-Day landing in Normandy
before returning in peacetime to playing hockey with the Brighton
Tigers, winning league titles in 1947 & 1948. His post-war
statistics saw him play 130 games, scoring 72 goals and 64 assists for
136 points with 121 penalty minutes. Upon retiring from playing, Jimmy
Chappell donned a referee shirt for a spell with a whistle, before
returning with his family to Canada. Described as a fine
stick handler and a gentlemanly player, Chappell also represented Canada
at cricket and went on to develop an astute business career. Jimmy Chappell died
suddenly while on holiday in Florida in April 1973. Compiled
with research, provided by Martin C.Harris – July 1998. |
