ATHLETE – BUILDER – HOCKEY – INDUCTED IN 2013
Del Beaumont rose through the hockey ranks until his career was interrupted by the Second World War. Upon his return, he helped local teams reach great heights both as a player and a coach.
An original member and team captain in the Little NHL, Beaumont went on to play Jr. B hockey in Aurora. He advanced to Jr. A with the Toronto Marlboros, where his strong skating and physical play caught the attention of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who added Beaumont to their negotiation list.
But as his hockey career was on the rise, Beaumont joined the Canadian Navy in 1943. He served in the Navy until 1945, taking part in the Allied D-Day invasion at Normandy.
Returning home, Beaumont joined the Georgetown Intermediate Raiders. A year after going to the Ontario Hockey Association final, Beaumont helped Georgetown win its first OHA title in 1948.
Two years later, the Raiders captured the Intermediate B title, closing out the 1949/50 season with 20 straight wins. In a four-game sweep of the defending champion Sundridge in the final, Beaumont had six goals and seven assists.
A knee injury forced Beaumont to retire in 1955, but he continued to his winning ways. He was the manager of Georgetown’s 1957 OHA Intermediate champions. As coach, he led the Georgetown midgets to the OHA title in 1963 and five of his players were selected in the first NHL draft that summer.
Beaumont was also a founding member and first coach of the Georgetown Jr. B Beavers.
He served 15 years on the minor hockey executive, including six years as president. He was a founding member of the Georgetown International Bantam Tournament.
On the 50th anniversary of the Little NHL in 1987, Beaumont was named the winner of the Georgetown Hockey Heritage Award.