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Inducted
into the Hall of Fame in 1991. Born January 14th, 1939
in Kirkcaldy, Scotland Jack Dryburgh took to the ice almost as soon as
he could walk, first skating aged three and playing hockey by the time
he was nine years old. Such an early start for a British youngster was
plain to see in his later years as he was widely regarded as one of the
smoothest skaters and stickhandlers of his generation. He graduated through the
‘midget’ team at his local rink and on into the junior ranks of the
Fife Flyers and after a spell with the Murrayfield Royals, he moved
south to England in October 1956 to play senior hockey in the British
League with the Nottingham Panthers. However an aircraft fitter by
trade, he was unable to find suitable employment in the Midlands and so
returned to Scotland and the Royals. In 1957/58 he was the top points
scorer in the North British League, as his team went undefeated through
the season. The 1959 season again saw him try his luck south of the
border and after signing for the Southampton Vikings he enjoyed a
memorable debut, netting four goals. He went on to finish the season as
the Vikings leading scorer. Once again, for the 1960/61 campaign, he
returned to Murrayfield, but rejoined the Vikings for the second half of
the season. A short move to the Brighton Tigers
the following season saw Dryburgh start the first of four years with the
Sussex side, arguably the best four years of his playing career. In 131
games for the Tigers, he amassed an impressive haul of 467 points, made
up of 205 goals and 262 assists. When the Brighton rink closed, he
played for Liege in the Belgian League and also made sporadic
appearances for Fife Flyers, Perth Panthers as well as the homeless
Brighton Tigers. Jack Dryburgh played for the GB
team, which finished second, despite going undefeated in the 1961 Pool B
World Championship tournament in Switzerland, his one appearance at that
level. In the late sixties, he was
responsible for getting ice hockey off the ground at the sports most
northerly British outpost (to date), Aviemore. For many years Dryburgh
was rink manager in the Highlands holiday resort. He also had a spell as
team manager of the Solihull Barons, including their successful 1987/88
campaign, when they won the Southern League and the play-offs. Jack Dryburgh returned to his native
Kirkcaldy, where he was rink manager for many years and also stepped in
to help the Fife Flyers on occasions, acting as bench coach. He also
became a member of the BIHA Council, representing the Scottish Rink
Managers Association. In his playing heyday, widely regarded as one of the smoothest skating playmakers seen in British ice hockey, Jack Dryburgh continued to serve the sport he loved, long after hanging up his own skates. Compiled with research, provided by Martin C.Harris – April
1991. |
