Joseph Patrick and his sons Lester and Frank have been credited with bringing the eastern game of ice hockey to the West. While his sons have been acknowledged for developing professional hockey out west, it was Joseph Patrick who provided the guidance, funds, and enthusiasm behind his son’s ambitions.
The unique partnership between father and sons was born from the boys’ love for the game which developed during their childhood days in Quebec. As family history had it, Frank suggested to his father and brother the idea of building ice rinks and starting a hockey league in British Columbia. Joseph wholeheartedly threw his support behind the idea and the seed was planted.
The patriarch invested in the fantastic project of building ice arenas in Victoria and Vancouver and a professional hockey league with teams throughout the Pacific Northwest. While the boys recruited the players and developed the rules, Joseph was credited for suggesting players numbering on hockey sweaters. The patriarch was consulted on important issues including the sales of the western teams to the expanding National Hockey League in 1926.
The Pacific Coast experiment proved itself a significant boost to professional hockey in Canada. Joseph was the fifth member of the Patrick clan to be inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame beside his sons Lester and Frank and grandsons Lynn and Muzz.