Born March 3rd, 1915 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, Jimmy Chappell played either right wing or centre. Aged 10, his family emigrated to Canada settling in Ontario where the youngster took up hockey. Moving up through the ranks, he played for the Oshawa Collegiates between 1931-34 and the Whitley Intermediates.
1935 saw him return to Britain to spend a three-year spell with the Earls Court Rangers before moving north to Scotland to play two inaugural seasons, firstly with Fife and then Dunfermline.
As a member of the ’36 Olympic squad, Chappell scored 2 goals in 6 appearances and went on to add 3 more Olympic goals 12 years later when Switzerland hosted the Games. Having played in 2 European Championships in 1937 & 1938, Jimmy Chappell totalled 16 appearances for Great Britain scoring 7 goals and 9 assists for a point a game record.
During the Second World War, Chappell saw active service including the D-Day landing in Normandy before returning in peacetime to playing hockey with the Brighton Tigers, winning league titles in 1947 & 1948. His post-war statistics saw him play 130 games, scoring 72 goals and 64 assists for 136 points with 121 penalty minutes. Upon retiring from playing, Jimmy Chappell donned a referee shirt for a spell with a whistle, before returning with his family to Canada.
Described as a fine stick handler and a gentlemanly player, Chappell also represented Canada at cricket and went on to develop an astute business career.
Jimmy Chappell died suddenly while on holiday in Florida in April 1973.
Compiled with research, provided by Martin C.Harris - July 1998.
Read More
