Cal Marvin

Calvin Coolidge "Cal" Marvin (April 29, 1924 – May 9, 2004) was an American ice hockey defenseman and coach who led the Warroad Lakers for nearly 50 years and was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.[1]

Cal Marvin
Born (1924-04-29)April 29, 1924
Warroad, Minnesota, USA
Died September 5, 2004(2004-09-05) (aged 80)
Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
Position Defenseman
Played for North Dakota
Playing career 1947–1951
Buried
Riverside Cemetery
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Marine Corps
Years of service1943-1945
Rank Private first class

Career

Marvin's father George immigrated to Warroad from Canada and eventually bought a lumber company that would eventually become Marvin Windows. Calvin with the fifth of five boys and while three of his brothers would work for the family company, Cal would find a different career path. Cal served in the marines during World War II, fighting on the Saipan during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign.[2] Even in the midst of the war, Marvin was enamored with hockey and wanted his small hometown to have a rink of its own; he named the Warroad Arena Fund as the beneficiary of his $10,000 life insurance policy (roughly $145,000 in 2020). After returning from the war, Marvin and Dick Roberts held several fundraisers for the community and by 1947 had raised enough money to build the city's first ice rink.

Before the rink had been built, however, Cal had put together the first Lakers team in 1946 to compete against other senior teams in north-western Minnesota. Marvin had also began attending the University of North Dakota in 1946 and with the help of Red Jarrett he brought back the varsity ice hockey team.[3] Marvin brought in most of the players for the first few years, including many of the players on the Warroad Lakers. Marvin began playing for the team in his sophomore season and also served as an assistant coach for Don Norman. Because college games were usually only played on Friday or Saturday, Marvin and many of his Fighting Sioux teammates were ably to concurrently play for both UND and the Warroad Lakers.

Cal retired as a player after the 1951 season but remained as the Lakers' head coach for most of the next 45 years, leading the team to the 1955 United States Intermediate title, and the Canadian Intermediate Championship in both 1964 and 1974.[4] He took a short leave to coach the US National Team at the 1958 Ice Hockey World Championships, finishing fifth out of eight. With all of his accomplishments, it was the players that he coached that proved to be Marvin's greatest legacy. Over a dozen Lakers alumni played for the US National Team including Bill and Roger Christian, who won gold medals at the 1960 Winter Olympics. Several players also reached the NHL like Henry Boucha, Clarence Schmidt and Dave Christian (Bill's son).

Towards the end of the Lakers' existence, then being coached by Marvin's son David, the team produced an incredible run by winning three consecutive Allan Cups (1994-1996) and narrowly missing out on a fourth in 1997; no other team has won more than two in a row. Warroad was also one of only two American teams to win the Cup (the other being the Spokane Jets\Flyers). The Lakers suspended operating after 1997 when they couldn't find a league to play in but returned for a brief time in 2001 as the 'Islanders'. They competed in two more Allen Cup tournaments before stopping for good in 2003.

Over the course of his career Marvin was inducted into the Warroad High School Athletic Hall of Fame, North Dakota Athletic Hall of Fame (1977), United States Hockey Hall of Fame (1982) and Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame (1997).[5]

Personal

Marvin and his wife Beth married in 1949 and had 12 children. The two remained together until his death in 2004. Beth died in 2019 at the age of 94.[6]

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1947–48 North Dakota NCAA 100112 —————
1947–48 Warroad Lakers SDHL ————— —————
1948–49 North Dakota NCAA 2204424 —————
1948–49 Warroad Lakers SDHL ————— —————
1949–50 North Dakota NCAA 230556 —————
1950–51 Crookston Pirates NWHL-Sr. ————— —————
NCAA totals 550101032 —————
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References
  1. "Calvin "Cal" Marvin". US Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  2. "Cal Marvin – Mr. HOCKEYTOWN USA". Minnesota Hockey Magazine. December 29, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. "Hockey History". The Ralph. December 29, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. "Cal Marvin". US Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  5. ""Mr. Hockey, " Cal Marvin". Visit Warroad. November 28, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  6. "Eleanor Elizabeth "Beth" Beimer Marvin". Find a Grave. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
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