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The Missing Brighton Tiger Trophies!

This photo was taken around 1949 in the Long Bar at the Sports Stadium, Brighton.  The Long Bar was situated on the first floor of the rink and was one of the more popular bars in town as it regularly hosted free music and entertainment.  The bar would be packed to capacity most weekends and even more so when the Tigers played a home match.

These magnificent trophies shown are proudly presented by members of the Sport Stadium; easily recognisable is Bobby Lee (Captain/Coach of the Brighton Tigers) second from left.  The lady in the middle is the bar manageress and on her right is Bill Knowles the rink manager, on his right is Alan Weeks the publicity manager.  The other two gentlemen are unknown.

The large trophy on display is possible the National League Championship Cup which the Tigers won in 1947.  Two others could well be the National Tournament Cup and the Autumn Cup.  The Tigers were formed in 1935 and disbanded when the SS Brighton closed its doors for good in 1965.  In the teams thirty years of playing you can imagine how many trophies the team must have collected from far and wide, hundreds!

In the twelve years I’ve been working on the ‘Sports Stadium Archive Project’ I have never come across any of the trophies the Tigers have won.  It is highly unlikely that any of the trophies were silver (probably silver plate) so would be of no monetary value.  Sentimental value yes!  Which leads me to think, where are they all?

Perhaps someone can throw some light on the mystery of the many lost Trophies.  I’m sure somewhere in Brighton one or two must be languishing in a dusty cupboard or loft, forgotten and unloved.  If so, its a sad testament to the Brighton Tigers who were one of the most famous Ice Hockey teams in Europe!

From the private collection of Trevor Chepstow

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