Clarence ‘Sonny’ Rost was to become the epitome of longevity and loyalty in British ice hockey, with a career that spanned almost thirty years and which saw him as the only player whose record ran the full course of professional league hockey at Wembley.
Born March 9th, 1914 in Winnipeg Manitoba, Clarence Rost progressed from midget level hockey with St Paul’s College to playing for the 1933 Manitoba Junior League winners, Kenora Thistles.
In September the following year, aged just twenty-one, he made the 14-day crossing of the Atlantic aboard the liner Ascania to join the Wembley Canadians playing out of the newly opened Empire Pool & Sports Arena. Alternating between left wing and left defence, he helped his new team lift the London Cup and many years later, he recalled that first campaign saying, “For a lad fresh out of Winnipeg, coming to play ice hockey at the Empire Pool when it opened in 1934 was like some fantastic dream come true.”
In the autumn of 1936, the Canadians were re-named the Monarchs and a further year later, Rost transferred to their rink-mates, Wembley Lions, where he stayed until 1940. In his first two seasons with the Lions, the club won the National Tournament twice and added the London Cup in the 1937/38 season.
In an era when defenceman ‘stayed-at-home’ Clarence Rost used his stickhandling skills and passing ability to record 11+21 in the years 1935-40. During the period of wartime, he worked as a fitter in an aircraft factory and returned to the Lions line-up in December 1945 when ice hockey resumed with a series of challenge matches.
The autumn of 1946 saw the resumption of the English National League and Rost returned to the Monarchs as captain and was an All-Star B team selection at the end of the season. The 1948/49 season saw Rost lead the Monarchs to success in both the Autumn Cup and International Tournament. In the spring of 1949, he became player-coach to the team, adding the role of manager the following winter, for what would be the Monarchs final campaign as they finished runners-up in the League, Autumn Cup and the National Tournament.
Throughout the fifties, Rost remained loyal to just one club, the Wembley Lions, and together they claimed the ENL title in the 1951/52 season. In 1954, he returned to a coaching role for the inaugural season of the British National League, while still playing on defence, and he was to continue this dual function until the BNL folded in 1960. Often taking to working from behind the bench in the latter stages of the season, Rost masterminded the title success in 1956/57 and the winning of the Autumn Cup the following season.
The final on-ice appearances of Clarence ‘Sonny’ Rost came with the Streatham Royals and Richmond Ambassadors between 1960-62, playing in a handful of ‘home tournament’ games.
His official statistical record from1946-60 reads… GP 636 Goals 35 Assists 197 Pts 232 PIM 571
Researched and compiled by Martin C.Harris - July 2000 with assistance from Trevor Boyce
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