Joffre Seguin

Jimmy Seguin 2006
Photo by Trevor Chepstow
Joffre Seguin
Sports Stadium Brighton Archive
Brighton Tigers 1938-1939 Left to Right: Billy Bouchier (Coach). Gordie Poirier. Oscar Aubuchon. Joffre Seguin. (My Father) Farrand Gillies. Tommy Forgie. Abe McDonald. Aurele Bordelaeu. Don Grant. Georgie Green.
Sports Stadium Brighton Archive

On a recent family trip to Europe, from Canada, we took a detour to Brighton to search for the old site of the Sports Stadium in West Street, where my father played for the Brighton Tigers in the 1930’s. The detour to Brighton was prompted after seeing Trevor Chepstow’s contribution to the site about the Sports Stadium. Trevor has a vast collection of photographs of the old SS Brighton and many photos of my father I hadn’t seen before. He was also kind enough to point out where the old rink was, which I believe is now the “Hospitality Inn” in West Street.

Joffre Seguin – number 9
My father was Joffre Seguin and played for the Tigers in the 1938/9 season and wore the shirt number nine, which was his lucky number.  He was talent spotted by the well known Brighton coach Billy Boucher whilst playing for the Ottawa Senators in Quebec.  He was one of the highest goal scorers in the Ottawa Senators team at the time and all at the tender age of nineteen! Unfortunately my father had only been married four days before being signed up for the Tigers and was sent packing off to Brighton minus my mother!  Fortunately his wife was able to follow not long after, much to his relief!

Being a lumberjack was good training
In the summer months in Canada my father worked as a lumber-jack and log-sorter on the very fast flowing rivers locally.  Not only did this take great skill, it also took a lot of pluck and sure footedness, a talent also needed to play ice hockey!  Because of his great stamina he would often stay on the ice for the whole three periods (sixty minutes) of the game, an amazing feat considering how physically demanding the game is!

Seguin played on the right wing
Joffre Seguin played on the right wing in the Brighton Tigers, his fellow French Canadians team mates on the front line were, Oscar Aubuchon and the famous Gordie Poirier.  With this line up they were virtually unstoppable and made a formidable attacking front line for the Tigers, much to the delight of the cheering crowds!

A treasured momento
Sadly my father is now longer with us, but I have kept many mementoes from his days with the famous “Brighton Tigers”, amongst the items was his treasured number nine team shirt. Although the shirt is close to my heart and a bit battle weary now, I have decided after sixty-eight years to return the shirt to its rightful birthplace of Brighton.   The shirt has been loved and cherished by my family, as most of them have played ice hockey in it at one time or another.  The shirt has been donated to the Sports Stadium Brighton Archive and will eventually be donated to the City Museum when Mr Chepstow completes his project.

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