Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-05-14
Benny Closes
.StoCk|ey Hall
BY VERN DE GEER
sports Editor. Toronto Clone and Mail

sports Editor. Toronto Clone and Mail
Saddest note struck in the
World Of Canad. "a sport in many
years came the other day when
Benjamin Stockley. the squire of
Stockley Hall. announced he was
vacating his famous physical Gull
ture place back of Maple Leaf
Gardens IN Toronto
Squire Stockley revealed all on
his Gath birthday last week.
1t appears that the squire,
genial host 10 the most amazing
parade Of amateur and profess
Slonal sport figures in Canadian
sports history, must retire tenn
porarily at least TO the role of a
gentleman farmer His landlord.
one of Canada'S biggest retail and
mail order houses, wants his
building for storehouSe. SO
Benny must move.
NATIVE OF ENGLAND
Native of Birmingham. Eng
land, resident of Canada for 30
odd years and capable of dropping
more matches" than any Bronco
that ever crossed the big pond,
Squire Stockley has been host to
as many champions as Detroit
often referred 10 proudly by its
citizenry as the City of Cham
pions.
Through Stockley Hall have
passed such characters as Joe
Louis. Make RoSenbloom, Jack
Dempsey, Bobby Eber, frankie
Genaro. Jimmy McLarnin, Vic
Foley, Stranger Lewis, Jim Lon
dos, frankie Boucher. Bill Cook.
Reg Noble, Carson Cooper. Paul
and Tiny Thompson NJ ick y
Cochrane, Burleigh Grimes, Conn
Smythe, sgd Apps and countless
others.
Stockley Hall was originally a
church, sptly enough located on
Church street and only a couple
Of hundred yards removed from
Maple Leaf S a dunn. Squire
Stockley took over 10 years ago
He established the place as a
health school. replete with steam
baths, electric cabinets, boxing
ring hadminton- courts parallel
bars. mechanical horses. condi-
tioning bikes and countless other
pieces of physical jerk equipment.
PRESS HOME
Through the years Stockley
Hall became a happy hunting
ground for visiting Toronto news
papermen. and all manner of
sport celebrities. There they found
"A welcome steam bath and hos
pitable Benny. ready and willing
to converse on all subjects from
money 10 marbles.
During Stanley Cup hockey
playoffs Boston. New York. Chi
cago. Detroit and Montreal writ
ers found Stockley Hall fertile
field for column material between
games. II is doubtful if any
sportsman's hangout ever drew
more international attention from
newspapers of Canada and the
United States and less money for
the householder than Stockley
Hall.
Visitors spent hours wondering
at the strange collection of pic
lures and sports curios of the
place. Stockley Hall contained
everything from an airplane pro-
peller 10 the harness racing Sulky,
suspended from the lobby ceiling.
Not so many years ago New
York Rangers and Toronto Leafs
were locked in hectic Stanley
Cup playoff. Between & m s
Stockley played host to the word
hungry scriveners, II of them
from New York. Squire Stockley
obliged by parading his best
viandS and soothing SyrupS, and
climaXed a hilarious evening by
trotting out A brace of fighting
game cocks on the dining room
table.
Stockley is moving to a 50-acre
farm on the outskirts of Toronto
His neighbors include three OF
Canada's wealthiest men. But
none is any richer in friends and
sporting romance than Blrming-
ham Benny.
Mai. Conn Smythe. former gen
eral manager Of the Toronto
Maple Leaf Hockey Club and
Maple Leaf Gardens, writes from
England that he can remember
more excitement in one month of
National Hockey League quarrel
ing than three years in the Cana
dian army. Smythe is In charge
Of the Both Battery, an anti-air-
craft outfit mustered from the
ranks of Canadian athletes.
T Formation