Born on 15th July 1937 in Falkirk Scotland, ‘Red’ Imrie began playing ice hockey in his hometown at twelve years of age and by the time he had reached his teens, had broken through into the senior Falkirk Lions team in the Scottish National League.
Originally a forward, he settled on defence and in the initial season of the British National League in 1954/55 totaled 51 points made up of 18 goals and 33 assists. When the Lions dropped out of hockey, ‘Red’ joined the Edinburgh Royals and they went on to win the North British League in the 57/58 season. Imrie also appeared in a Paisley Pirates shirt before being posted to Colchester during the course of his national service. While in the south, he had an outstanding season playing for Streatham, winning both Autumn Cup and British League honours in 1959/60.
When Streatham too opted out of hockey, Imrie moved onto the south coast joining the Brighton Tigers where he was firstly team captain and then player/coach of the famous club. When the Brighton rink closed, ‘Red’ moved to London joining the Wembley Lions until their demise in 1969.
When Streatham returned on the scene in the seventies, Imrie became involved and as coach took the Redskins to Wembley in his final season behind the bench, 1985. He continued to work with the second team, the Bruins and became a ‘colour’ commentator for BBC television.
He was described by fans and critics of his era as being “a keen competitor and fine stick handler, whose visits to the penalty box were rare enough to cause raised eyebrows.”
Thomas ‘Red’ Imrie appeared in three World Championship tournaments for Great Britain, in ’61, ’62 and ’66 in Yugoslavia, where he was voted the outstanding defenceman of Pool B.
Compiled with research, provided by Martin C.Harris – 1987.
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