Last fall, I followed, with some interest, the on-going debate regarding the renaming of the Countryside Sports Complex, providing a lasting namesake to long-time hockey volunteer Gerry McCrory.

Although I was a firm supporter of the proposal, the discussion got me thinking about the broader issues involved in attempting to honour various individuals through local sporting venues or other facilities.

Truth be told, I could understand the wisdom that was behind the notion that municipal governments simply stop the practice altogether. It is next to impossible to argue against a proposed naming candidate without it somehow being perceived that one is trying to diminish all that this person might have done for the community.

I suppose it is somewhat akin to trying to make the argument that a given athlete does not deserve to be in a Hall of Fame, without sounding like you are somehow trivializing their statistical accomplishments.

Either way, the time spent pondering the issue certainly provided me with a heightened awareness of those facilities which already bear the moniker of sporting greats of years gone by, including the McClelland Arena in Copper Cliff.

Given the fact that I have now surpassed the half-century plateau and have called Sudbury home for more or less my entire life since 1969, I date back far enough to remember the occasional visit to fabled Stanley Stadium, the predecessor to the new rink.

I had also caught wind of the lore of the Copper Cliff High School Hockey Braves, achieving consistent success under the guidance of head coach Bert McClelland. Yet it nagged at me. I was sure I had come across a handful of references to Copper Cliff coach Bert "McLelland" at various times.

Through the wonders of the internet and Google searches, it was confirmed that both spellings had been used in various settings over the years. Could it be that the City of Greater Sudbury had erred, long before almagation, affixing incorrect signage throughout the building.

Though most City related on-line references were clearly attributed to Bert "McClelland", the bulk of the SDSSAA (Sudbury District Secondary School Athletic Association) records make note of coach Bert "McLelland".

It was time not only to solve the mystery, but also to shed some light for a much younger generation of the background to this McClelland Arena they entered frequently, without giving a whole lot of thought to the name of the building itself.

Easier said than done, given the nearly four decades that have passed since the doors to the new venue were opened in Copper Cliff in the mid-1970s. After a number of phone calls, I was, quite thankfully, pointed in exactly the same direction by a pair of Copper Cliffians (or is that Copper Cliffoids?) in former NHL referee Dave Newell and long-time alderman Ron Symington.

Bill McDonagh was the man to talk to. While I had enjoyed the pleasure of chatting with the octogenerian hockey marvel at the time of his induction to the Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame a few years back, and was well aware of his hockey background, I simply had no idea that he had coached alongside the legendary McClelland - well, sort of.

With both men moving to the teaching profession after brief stints with Inco, it turns out that McDonagh, who stills takes to the ice a handful of times a week with his 85th birthday approaching soon, coached the junior team at CCHS at the same time McClelland was achieving somewhat legendary status with the senior Braves.

"Bert had a lot of things going for him, but the big thing was Stanley Stadium, the artificial ice," McDonagh said recently. Built in 1935, the facility housed the only artificial ice surface in the region for many, many years.

The convenient access to the Inco-donated venue, a glut of hockey talent and the steady leadership of coach McClelland produced no less than seven all-Ontario champions in a reign spanning from 1948 to 1975, with countless appearances in finals and northern Ontario titles mixed in for good measure.

"For a lot of parents from Copper Cliff, high school hockey was the big thing," McDonagh noted. "The arena, on Saturday nights back in the sixties, was packed."

The teams spawned a steady stream of talent that would flow through to NCAA schools, to the point that the local School Board sent McClelland and his wife, Beth, to the National University Championships in Minnesota in the late 1960's, with no less than seven CCHS alumni competing at the event.

In the 1969-70 Copper Cliff High School yearbook, the late Mike Heaphy, a well-known coach within the Sudbury minor hockey ranks for years, who suited up on the blueline for coach McClelland, summarized the feelings of many of the Braves' players.

"There isn't enough that could be said about our coaches, Mr McClelland and Mr (Albert) Rondina," Heaphy penned. "They both put in long, hard hours of work and were always there when the players needed them."

The ultimate tribute would come seven years later, at the opening of the McClelland Arena. Turns out the City had it right. Now to get those SDSSAA records corrected.