Carlo Cattarello Sr., CM (1913 – June 29, 2008) was a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

in the

Canadian armed forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

who served combat duty in the Second World War before playing and coaching minor league hockey. In 2001 he was honoured with membership in the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

, the highest civilian award in Canada, for his determination to bring sport to youths in remote communities.

Personal life

Cattarello was born in

Cobalt, Ontario Cobalt is a town in Timiskaming District, Ontario, Canada. It had a population of 989 at the 2021 Census. In the early 1900s, the area was heavily mined for silver; the silver ore also contained cobalt. By 1910, the community was the fourth hi ...

in 1913 and grew up in Canada, Italy, England and

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He was married for 72 years to Mary Cattarello (née Barilko), cousin of hockey player Bill Barilko. They had two children, Sandra and Carlo Jr. In 1993, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from

Laurentian University Laurentian University (), officially Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Laurentian offers a variety of undergr ...

in Sudbury after turning 80.

Military career

Cattarello enlisted in the army in 1942 and saw combat in the Second World War with the 48th Highlanders as a

, serving for three years. He played on a gold-winning hockey team in Europe, with his fellow soldiers from Canadian Forces Base Petawawa including

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

goalie Walter "Turk" Broda.

Hockey career

Cattarello played minor league hockey for the

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

, playing in the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

in 1932. In the 1930s, Cattarello started coaching minor hockey including future

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

players as Allan Stanley, Bill Barilko and

Pete Babando Peter Joseph Babando (May 10, 1925 – February 19, 2020) was an American-born Canadian ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League with all four of the United States–based Original Six teams (Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Ch ...

. Cattarello is the namesake of the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

Trophy for the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and an arena in South Porcupine where he served as recreation director during the 1970s until he retired in 1980.

Order of Canada

Cattarello was given the Order of Canada from

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Adrienne Clarkson Adrienne Louise Clarkson ( zh, c=伍冰枝; ; born February 10, 1939) is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as the 26th governor general of Canada from 1999 to 2005. Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 1941, as a refuge ...

for the time he spent coaching, fundraising and collecting equipment for youth sports Clarkson said, "His name resonates throughout communities in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

and symbolizes volunteerism, fair play and sportsmanship".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cattarello, Carlo 1913 births 2008 deaths Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian people of Italian descent Laurentian University alumni Members of the Order of Canada Ice hockey people from Ontario People from Cobalt, Ontario Sudbury Wolves players