‘Tuck’ Syme was an outstanding British-developed defenceman. In the eight post-war seasons of the Canadian-dominated pro Scottish National League, from 1946 to 1954, he was the ONLY locally produced player to receive All Star recognition: being selected to the ‘A’ team in both 1950-51 and 1953-54, with ‘B’ Team selection in 1952-53.
Thomas Woods Syme was born in the Fife mining village of Blairhall on 15 May 1928 . His nickname ‘Tuck’ originated from his infant elder brother’s attempt to pronounce the name of the family’s new arrival – Tom coming out as ‘Tuck’! (His elder brother James, known as ‘Tiny’, would also follow ‘Tuck’ into professional hockey.)
‘Tuck’s family had a strong sporting pedigree – his father, Jock, had played professional football in the Scottish League with Raith Rovers, while his uncle, Robert Syme, was with Manchester City . Cousin Charlie Fleming was a star inside-right with Sunderland and Scotland .
On leaving school at 14 in 1942, ‘Tuck’ followed his father and brother into the coalmines. At the same time, he started skating at the nearby Dunfermline Ice Rink. Two years’ later he was approached at a public skating session and asked if he would like to play hockey. He played his first hockey as a 16 year-old in 1945, helping Dunfermline Royals to the Scottish Junior League title in 1946 – and within two years he was to be in the Great Britain Olympic team.
‘Tuck’ broke into senior hockey, aged 18, during season 1946-47, when Dunfermline Vikings captured the Autumn Cup, Canada Cup and the Play-Off Championship. He was a regular by the following season, culminating in his trip to the Winter Olympics at St Moritz with the Great Britain team, while still only 19. (His selection prompted the National Coal Board to make a short film about him, which was included in the then weekly Mining Review newsreel, incorporating footage of the Vikings at a practice, together with ‘Tuck’ working underground at Blairhall Colliery.)
‘Tuck’ attributes his development as a player to his coach at Dunfermline during 1947-48, Keith Kewley – a fellow inductee to the Hall of Fame in 2005.
Kewley was obviously impressed by the young Scot’s abilities, and recommended him to several Canadian teams. This facilitated ‘Tuck’ playing with the Ontario Hockey Association’s Junior 'A' Guelph Biltmores in 1948-49. In that pre-NHL draft era, the Biltmores were a farm team of the New York Rangers. So, almost 40 years prior to Tony Hand being drafted by Edmonton Oilers, ‘Tuck’ thus became the effective property of the NHL’s New York Rangers. (Indeed, he retains fond memories of playing against the New York Rangers in an exhibition match in Guelph .)
However, in similar fashion to Tony, a homesick ‘Tuck’ returned to Scotland to become established as one of the top players in the Scottish National League, assisting Vikings to the Canada Cup in 1950-51 and the Autumn Cup in 1952-53, earning himself All Star honours in both seasons.
'Tuck’ was paired with brother ‘Tiny’ on the Great Britain team’s first defence line for the 1950 World Championships in London . They were a formidable partnership, as both stood at 6 feet 2 inches and weighed 190 lbs, and their hard-hitting body checks earned rave reviews, as GB finished a creditable fourth (in the World.)
When Vikings folded in 1953, ‘Tuck’ and brother ‘Tiny’ teamed up again with coach Keith Kewley, this time at Paisley Pirates. ‘Tuck’ was made captain of the Pirates (a rare honour for a non-Canadian at that time) leading the Paisley crew to a treble success of League, Autumn Cup and Canada Cup. He was probably the highest paid sportsman in the country at that time. Paisley paid him the sum of £19 per week in 1953-54, while football legend George Young – the captain of Glasgow Rangers and Scotland – by comparison received only £14.
‘Tuck’ tried his luck again in Canadian hockey, joining the Val d’Or Miners of the minor pro Quebec League in 1954. His wages were now $50 per week – but he had to combine hockey with work 7,200 feet underground in the local goldmine!
He remembers playing an exhibition match for Val d’Or against the legendary Montreal Canadiens, facing ‘Rocket’ Richard and Jean Beliveau (whom ‘Tuck’ regards as the greatest hockey player he has ever seen.) Although his team were beaten 12-1, ‘Tuck’ so impressed the Montreal management that they wanted to see him at their training camp. Unfortunately for ‘Tuck’, the invite was withdrawn when they discovered his age - he was 27 –and felt he was too old, and his hockey career came to an end.
He had played 380 games in his eight-season senior club career in Scotland (315 for his local Vikings and 65 during his season with Paisley ), scoring 46 goals and recording 87 assists, for 133 points, accumulating 594 penalty minutes.
After a spell as a policeman with the Canadian Pacific Railroad, ‘Tuck’ moved south to California in 1960, where he worked as a troubleshooter for a telephone company for the next thirty-odd years. He and second wife Dusty now live in retirement in Palmdale, north of Los Angeles . ‘Tuck’ and his wife return regularly to Scotland to visit his old Dunfermline teammate, Jimmy Thomson.
He told Scottish hockey historian David Gordon that induction to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame is: "The biggest honour I've ever had."
Compiled with research, provided by David Gordon – 2005.
Read More
