Red McCarthy

Mirl Arthur "Red" McCarthy (March 12, 1930 – 1995), was a Canadian sportsperson, ice hockey player and founder and co-inventor of the sport of ringette.[1][2] McCarthy was part of the Silent Generation, generally defined as people born from 1928 to 1945. His generation is noted for its role in spearheading the leadership which formed the Civil rights movement, comprising the "silent majority", and creating the rock and roll music of the 1950s and 1960s.

Mirl Arthur "Red" McCarthy
Mirl "Red" McCarthy
Co-founder of ringette
Born(1930-03-12)March 12, 1930
Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Canada
Died1995
OccupationSportsman, coach
Years active
  • 1949–54
    - professional ice hockey
  • 1954–95
    - recreation director
Known for
  • Co-inventor of ringette
  • Ice hockey player
  • Sports coach
  • Director of recreation and sport
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1]
1949-50 player photo of McCarthy with the Barrie Flyers (Ontario Hockey Association)

Biography
Red McCarthy on Ice

Born in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario and raised in Sudbury, he grew up to be a star athlete in baseball, football, track and field, and ice hockey. His hockey career included stops with Toronto St. Michael's College, Barrie Flyers,[3] Boston Olympics,[4] Nelson B.C. Maple Leafs, Sudbury Caruso Miners, and Sudbury Wolves of the Canadian Senior Hockey League.[1] McCarthy played in three ice hockey leagues over the course of his career: the Ontario Hockey League, the Eastern Amateur Hockey League, and the Northern Ontario Hockey Association.

In 1954, at the age of 24, he became recreation director of Espanola, Ontario and held the position for forty-one years. He became actively involved in all aspects of Espanola's recreational programs and was instrumental in forming the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) Junior A Hockey League, and the Espanola Eagles Junior A hockey team. He coached the team for 18 years, and then managed it for four more.[5]: 2 

McCarthy, a member of the Northern Ontario Recreation Directors Association (NORDA), set up the first on-ice activity, or "game", of ringette in the fall of 1963, after being asked earlier in that year to experiment with a basic set of rules created by Sam Jacks, the President of the Society of Directors for Municipal Recreation of Ontario (SDMRO). The game was to be a new team ice skating game for girls though it had initially been thought of as a potential court game in its very early stage. With help of some of the local girls, McCarthy became instrumental in helping transform the early idea of the sport into a game that could function appropriately on an ice rink.

The first "game", of ringette then took place under his direction at the Espanola Arena in the fall of 1963 between Espanola high school girls, some of whom were high-school ice hockey players. He then created the first set of rules for the sport of ringette and presented them at the NORDA meeting at Moose Lake Lodge in Onaping, Ontario, on January 19–20, 1964.[5]: 4 

Today the title of "birthplace of ringette" is shared by both North Bay, Ontario, and Espanola, Ontario, though Espanola is still recognized by some as the "Official Home of Ringette".

Mirl (Red) Arthur McCarthy was inducted into The Ringette Canada Hall of Fame as a Founder in 1988.[6]

Honours
  • Ringette Canada Hall of Fame - Founder (Inducted 1988)[7]
  • Ringette Canada Hall of Fame - Founder (1988)
  • Sudbury Sport Hall of Fame (2007, inducted post-humously)
  • Mirl "Red" McCarthy Memorial Trophy - awarded to top Coach in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League
  • Recreational Director of Espanola, Ontario for 41 years.
  • Athletic complex in Espanola named the "Red McCarthy Memorial Athletic Fields".
  • Ringette is one of four sports featured on the "Canadian Inventions: Sports" series issued by Canada Post stamps on August 10, 2009.[8]

References
  1. "Mirl "Red" McCarthy". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  2. "Ringette Canada Hall of Fame: Mirl (Red) McCarthy, 1930-1995, Founder, Induction: 1988". Ringette Canada.
  3. "1949-50 Barrie Flyers [OHA] Photo Gallery". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  4. "Boston Olympics Statistics and History [1949-1952 EHL]". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  5. Collins, Kenneth (2004). The Ring Starts Here: An Illustrated History of Ringette. Cobalt, Ontario: Highway Book Shop. ISBN 0-88954-438-7.
  6. "Mirl (Red) McCarthy".
  7. "Mirl (Red) McCarthy".
  8. Canada Post Stamp Details, Volume XVIII, No. 3. July–September 2009. p. 18.
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