I moved the 69-72 Markham and Dixie championships from the Central B/Mid-Ontario to the Metro League, where they played.

DIXIE BEEHIVES 

(1957 - 1986)

Perhaps the first team to operate in the OHA under the Dixie name was the Dixie Staffords of the pre-Metro Junior 'B' Grouping that operated during the 1949-50 season. In 1952, the East York Rockets of the Metro grouping moved to become the Dixie Rockets. A few years later, the team changed its name to the Dixie Beehives. The Metro Junior 'B' Hockey League was a strong league and the Beehives were the league's most stable team. In 1972, a new Tier II Junior 'A' Provincial League was formed and the Dixie Beehives were one of six Metro teams to move up to the new league. The Beehives played in the league until 1986 when they ceased operations. The league managed to last only one additional season.

PATEY, Larry
Hockey
Born: March 19, 1953
Toronto, Ontario
Lary Patey played most of his young career in Mississauga, first in the Port Credit Hockey Association and later with the Metro Junior B Dixie Beehives. It was with the Beehives in March of 1971 that Patey suffered a near fatal accident during the Metro Junior B final against the Markham Waxers that Dixie would eventually go on to win in five games.

Hammered into the boards by 6- foot-6 defenceman Bob Dailey, Patsey slumped to the ice. While trying to get up, Patsey's teammate Rick Cornacchia took on Dailey in a tussle and the ensuing melee, Patey was caught in the face by a skate blade. 

From that horrific evening, Patey went on to a long and successful 12-year National Hockey League career as a centreman. After leading the Western League in scoring while with Sault Lake City Golden Eagles where captured rookie of the year honors, Patey was soon called up to the now defunct California Golden Seals. Later, Patey was traded to the St. Louis Blues in 1975-76 for Wayne Merrick and he concluded his career with New York Rangers before having to retire because of lower back injury.

A workaholic on the ice throughout his career, Patey later applied the same hard work ethic in the world of real estate and earned President's Club Honors as one of the Gundaker Better Homes and Gardens in St. Louis after only being in the business for four years.

While Patey had his most productive season offensively for California in 1974- 75 when he scored 25 goals to go along with 20 assists, it was during his stay with the Blues that the seventh-round draft choice drew the most attention for his strong two-way play.

"St. Louis didn't care how many goals I scored- they had Red Berenson, Derek Sanderson and Gary Unger up front to do that. They wanted me to play defensively and aggressively." Patey combined both skills to set a St. Louis club record for most shorthanded goals in a season and was always called on to line up against the Bryan Trottiers, Bobby Clarkes and Phil Espositos of the NHL.

"I enjoyed doing it because there was less pressure in having to score goals and I took a lot of pride in my role."

Living the life as a shadow, Patey did manage to score 153 goals in his 12 year professional career before retiring after the 1984-85 season.

While the league's fans didn't always notice Patey, or the fine job he did in shutting down opponents, his peers throughout the league certainly did.