Prior to last night's game a moment of silence was held for Bob Pedersen, the father of Brockport hockey, who left us earlier this year. Bob was a likable guy who founded the hockey program at Brockport as a club sport in 1965. He transformed it into a full-fledged varsity sport for the 1973-1974 season. He coached the team for a total of 16 seasons during the 1960s, 70s, and again in the late 1980s.
Unfortunately, Bob was not inducted into the Brockport Athletics Hall of Fame during his life. It is certainly an honor he deserved and one that should be bestowed on him posthumously.
Here is his obituary from the West Side News...
John R. “Bob” Pedersen passed away July 3, 2009, at age 82. Bob is survived by his high school sweetheart and devoted wife of 61 years, Margaret (Marge); daughters, Sharon (Michael) Specksgoor, Patricia (Richard) Merritt; son, Paul (Kristen) Pedersen; grandchildren, Kory, Matt and Nate Merritt; Gretchen and Megan Specksgoor; MacKenzie and Brennen Pedersen. Bob touched the lives of many students as a professor at SUNY Brockport, as a high school and college coach for more than 30 years. As a hockey coach he was inducted into the Monroe County Hockey Hall of Fame. Bob was influential in starting hockey programs at both McQuaid High School and SUNY Brockport College.
