As Kingston’s Church Athletic League celebrates 75 years we remember and pay tribute to Dr. John Lyon.

One of the CAL’s significant contributors, Lyon was a well-known Kingston dentist who played an important role in the growth of the league from the late 1960s into the 1980s.

Lyon, who served as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force and graduated from dental school at the University of Toronto in 1951, served as CAL President in the early to mid-1970s.

In 1976, Lyon helped initiate a deal that saw the Harold Harvey Arena get its first Zamboni. Prior to that hand flooders with barrels of hot water were pulled by rink rats to resurface the ice every few hours, while CAL players using oversized shovels cleared snow between games.

A deal was brokered between the City of Kingston and organizers of the 1976 Sailing Olympics, hosted at nearby Portsmouth Harbour, to give them access to the Harold Harvey.

The rink was used as a media centre during the games, primarily for dark rooms to develop racing film sent around the world, as international media gathered to cover the sailing competition.

In return the Portsmouth arena received a $16,000 new Zamboni.

On the ice, Doc also coached in the CAL and was the first to arrange a yearly “Can-Am” series.

As early as 1969, CAL teams would play exhibition games against teams from the U.S.A travelling to Pittsburgh and outside Boston to play local teams. The following year those teams would play in Kingston, and players would billet with the families of opposing players turning it into a friendly international exchange.

After serving as president, Doc became chair of the building committee, and while it took several years well into the 1980’s, gradually the Harold Harvey underwent a major facelift.

With Doc helping champion the cause, funds were raised and government grants secured to greatly enhance the once-outdoor facility that was built on an old limestone quarry.

Doc was charismatic and an innovator, even when it came to fundraising. In the early 1970’s he organized the “CAL Mutt Derby” at Frontenac Downs. CAL families entered their family dog into races to raise funds for the league.

As part of the upgrades to the Harold Harvey, new boards were installed, replacing the old plywood boards with their famous “square corners.” Plexi-glass was installed to replace the old chain link wire fencing.

Additional dressing rooms were added and modernized. A Zamboni room was built, improvements were made to the benches, a new timekeepers’ box and penalty boxes were built. The old score clock that looked like a regular clock was replaced by a digital scoreboard.

When two new dressing rooms were added a large rock was removed during the excavation and Doc had it placed on the building’s front lawn. It became known as ”Doc’s Rock”, a lasting tribute to the work Lyon had done to greatly enhance the arena.

Remembered for his many contributions to the CAL during that era, John Lyon passed away in 2016 at the age of 93.

The CAL is hosting a 75th anniversary celebration on Friday November 06 at Cataraqui Arena.

RSVP here:

Mark Potter is a former Kingston broadcaster, a member of the Kingston & District Sports Hall of Fame and a longtime member of the CAL as an extra forward for St. John’s Anglican.