The Legend of Sir Tony

Tony Hand – legend. No doubt most of you will be thinking that status is reserved for a select few.

Muhammad Ali? He’s a legend. Sir Bobby Charlton? He’s another one. But Tony Hand? Let me explain.

After thirty British Hockey League/Elite Ice Hockey League seasons, most notably with Murrayfield Racers, Hand is the leading all-time scorer in the UK. He’s played in 1369 games scoring an average of a goal per game and amassed over 4000 points during his career.

In 1993/94 for the Racers he hit an incredible 222 points in 44 games and has also recorded season point totals of 216, 212, 207, 192, 185 and 164 twice. Now the 44-year old player/coach of Manchester Phoenix, he's still racking up the points – 133 - as he led the Altrincham based outfit to the 2010/11 English Premier League title.

Of course, we’re not talking about the National Hockey League here, but Hand's statistics are still impressive.

Edmonton Oilers scouted him and were very impressed, drafting him in 1986. He survived a rigorous 14 day training camp despite breaking his only stick on the first day and borrowing Marty McSorley's for the rest of the time. The Oilers offered Hand a chance to further his development with Victoria in Canadian junior hockey.

Oliers’ coach Glen Sather recognised Hand’s talent, “At the training camp I could see that he had a great ability to read the ice”, he said. “He was the smartest player there other than Wayne Gretzky. He skated well. His intelligence on the ice stood out. He was a real prospect."

Hand reported to Victoria, but after scoring 4 goals and 8 points in just 3 games in the WHL, he returned to Murrayfield suffering from homesickness and exhaustion. The hectic training schedules as well as intense media interest turned Hand off his Canadian experience. Plus he was paid well to play professionally in the BHL.

The following year the Oilers offered Hand a minor league contract to play in Nova Scotia with their farm team, but again he turned down the offer. Not giving the NHL a try was something Hand admitted regretting in his autobiography, Tony Hand: A Life in British Ice Hockey. In fact he turned down big offers from clubs all across Europe to stay in Murrayfield. Yet when asked, he will always tell you it was the right decision at the time.

Controversial moments have been few and far between. In 1991/92 he was banned for 8 games after a cold medicine he was using was found to contain performance enhancing drugs, while in 2003, during a crucial game against Coventry, he was taunted by a Blaze whilst in the penalty box. A fight ensued and the Scot was arrested but he was released the next day and never charged. Despite this, Hand was awarded an MBE in 2005 for his services to British ice hockey. The Queen described his profession as an ‘unusual sport’.

Hand is fiercely patriotic and represented Great Britain in six World Championships, during which time they progressed from the ‘C’ Pool of international competition to the elite ‘A’ Pool, which at the time featured the might of Canada and Russia. In 57 games for his country, Hand scored 39 goals and 61 assists for 100 points.

It wasn't until the Murrayfield Racers’ collapse in 1994 that he was finally forced to move on to play hockey. He moved to Edinburgh, Sheffield, Ayr, Dundee and Belfast before finally taking over at Manchester in 2006.

Formed in 2003, following the sad demise of Manchester Storm the year before, Phoenix struggled to make ends meet until Hand’s arrival. In 2009 they moved from the import laden Elite League to the English Premier League, finishing third in their first season before going to on to claim a first ever league title in 2010/11.

Phoenix General Manger Neil Morris was impressed enough to award Hand a deal which ties him to the club until 2015 saying, “Tony is the best signing I’ve ever made. His ability to find quality players every year never ceases to amaze me. We work well together and get on extremely well. He is an honourable, trustworthy man, a trait that is none too prevalent in modern sport.” High praise indeed.

With record season ticket sales for the new season, the Manchester public are latching onto ice hockey once again – evoking memories of the famous Manchester Storm era. With Hand at the helm exciting times lie ahead for Phoenix.

He’s been dubbed Scotland's superstar hockey player, which is a bit like describing him as America’s best cricketer.

But, and make no mistake about it, Tony Hand MBE – Sir Tony to the fans – is very much a legend.

(Image reproduced by kind permission of prohockeynews.com)