Tim Cranston Podcast Interview – Episode S4E04 – The Early Years.

Tim Cranston, former Fife Flyers, Cleveland Bombers, Durham Wasps, Sheffield Steelers, Edinburgh Capitals forward is my guest for today’s show.
He also played 39 times for Great Britain as a duel national.

Want more?
Read: The Tim Cranston Blog Post

Our interview begins with Tim’s early hockey days in Canada. We then discuss why he made the decision to try his luck in Europe.
Tim began his European adventure when, as a 21 year old, he signed for Dutch team GIJS Groningen. He went on to play 5 seasons in Central Europe, playing for teams in Austria, Switzerland and Germany.
His UK hockey adventure began in December 1988, starting with a brief stopover Kirkcaldy in Scotland.

Fife Flyers

Late in 1988 he’d decided it was time to return home to Canada to resume his academic studies. However, life took a hand, Tim agreed a short term “gig” with the Fife Flyers. He was to cover for one of their injured Czech imports.

He recalls:

I had family coming from Scotland, so I’d be able to meet
my cousins after games.
I’d also played against one of their Czech imports,
Vincent Lukac, he was an unbelievable player.

In just 7 games for the Flyers Tim had a return of 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points.
However, by late January 1989, Fife’s injured import, Jindrich Kokrment, had recovered from his broken ankle.
Tim was released and returned to Canada ready to resume his academic career.
However other UK hockey teams had noticed his Fife performances and not surprisingly placed him top of their import “wanted” list.

Cleveland Bombers

In the summer of 1989 Tim returned to the UK.
Several teams had looked to sign him, however Tim surprised many by signing for division one team the Cleveland Bombers.
The Bombers had just missed out on promotion the previous season. They’d topped the Division One North but were defeated by the Telford Tigers in the playoff semi finals.

Tim explains that his decision wasn’t exactly based on his hockey ambitions:

I did have other offers,
however, as well as playing I was preparing to do my university degree at Durham University,
so Billingham fitted that mould for me.
Plus,
My uncle Tom lived just around the corner from the Billingham Ice Bowl
so I could see family too.

He played two seasons in Billingham, the first season the team won promotion to the Premier League. The second season, although the team fought bravely, the Bombers were relegated back to division one.

Durham Wasps

We move on to talk about how and why he signed for the Wasps. Durham seemed the logical fit, he was studying at Durham University and thought, why not live there? Tim approached the Durham Wasps, signed and became an integral part of their 1991 – 92 team.

Tim recalls his very first day as a Wasps player:

I arrived early and went straight to the changing rooms. There was Stephen Cooper,
we’d had some real battles the previous season.
He looked up and said
What are YOU doing here?

The Wasps were a team stacked with quality, with Hall of Famers, imports Rick Brebant, Mike Blaisdell and Mike O’Connor. Also British Hall of Famers Ian Cooper, Stephen Cooper plus Damian Smith, Ivor Bennet and Michael Tasker. That added up to a team stocked full of talent and quality.
He joined a team desperate to emulate the previous season’s Grand Slam winning team.

However, it wasn’t to be and the team didn’t quite make the previous season’s highs .The team only managed to win the League Championship and Wembley Playoffs – only!

Unfortunately Tim’s second season with Durham ended in December 1992 after just 16 games. It was a very heavy academic final year for his university studies, they had to take precedent over playing. Tim couldn’t give the same high commitment to the team and his contract was ended by mutual consent.

GB World Championships

By this time Tim had gained his British passport and was classed as a valuable asset even without a club. More importantly GB coach Alex Dampier wanted him in his squad for the 1993 Pool B World Championships in Holland.

Eindhoven

However Tim had to be signed with a UK team to be eligible to play and he wasn’t. Cue Alex Dampier who somehow managed to get Tim signed to a recreational hockey team. It worked, Tim travelled to Eindhoven and played a significant part in the team’s success.
Great Britain won all 8 of their games, finished top and were promoted to Pool A.
Tim scored the GWG in 3 of those games, including a late winner in a crucial game against hosts Holland with just 2 minutes 46 seconds left.
The Great Britain team would go on to play in Pool A the following season. They would compete in a Group against top teams Team Canada, Russia, Italy, Austria and Germany. However we’ll talk about that in Part 2 of the Tim Cranston interview.

Want more?
Read: The Tim Cranston Blog Post

Les Millie

During our Podcast interview we mention Tim’s former team mate Les Millie,  last year Les revealed that he’d been diagnosed with Prostrate cancer. Fortunately his illness is highly treatable and is monitored with a PSA blood check every 6 months.
However others aren’t as fortunate, did you know that one man dies from prostrate cancer every 45 minutes in the UK
Let that sink in as I repeat it,

One man dies from prostrate cancer every 45 minutes in the UK

Les talks about his cancer treatment in a recent Sheffield Star online article, check it out here:

Here in the UK if you’re 50 or over you can request a check up by your GP.

So the message here is if you’re 50 or over GET YOURSELF CHECKED!

Remember,

One man dies from prostrate cancer every 45 minutes in the UK

We wish Les all the very best with his treatment and look forward to hearing the all clear news very soon.

Shout out time

My 1st shoutout today goes to:
Danial Stockton, who emailed to say;

“Hi, long time 1980’s & ’90’s Slough Jet’s fan. Loved the conversations
with Gary Stefan and Charlie Colon.
Any chance of getting Danny Gratton or Derek Higdon on the show?”

Hmmm, good question Danial, leave it with me, I’ll see what I can do.

My Second Shoutout goes to:
“Angry in Manchester” he or she left a 5 star iTunes review and wrote:

“Bring Back Durham Ice”

Fantastic podcast and a wonderful interview with Peter Jonker Johnson.
Keep up the good work” I pray that someone out there listening has enough money and
enough drive to build an Ice Rink once again in Durham.
The love and passion for hockey still exists within the North East.

Build it and they WILL come!”

Thanks Angry.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful, the people of that area certainly deserves a new ice rink, could there be a multi millionaire hockey fan out there looking for a UK City with a guaranteed fanbase ready and waiting?

As Angry says:

Build it and they WILL come!”

I also say thanks to all of my Patreon Patrons:
To:
Tommy Boll, Oscar Brownsword, Michael Cook, Colin Dunn, Sean Holland, John Hume-Spry, Jim Muir, Jim Murden, Jeff Povey, Chris Saddington and Andrew Williamson.
As ever, thanks for your continued support guys.

Want more?
Read: The Tim Cranston Blog Post

You can also listen to Podcast interviews from Tim’s alumni of former Fife Flyers and Durham Wasps players here:

Fife Flyers

Les Millie Episode S1E05
Scott Plews Episode S1E15
Todd Bidner Episode S1E27
Frank Morris Episode S1E05
Paul Hand Episode S2E07

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Above all it really gives me a buzz every time I upload a brand new Podcast, knowing that you’ll remember and reminisce about those memories from your hockey heroes of the past.

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