John Cumming Carlyle (31 July 1929 – 15 April 2017) was a British

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He is a member of the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.

Career

Carlyle learned to

skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...

at his local

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...

in Falkirk, where he also learned to play ice hockey with the Falkirk Lions reserve team, the Falkirk Cubs. He went on to make his senior debut with the Lions when he was 17 years old. Following his

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, Carlyle helped the Lions to win three Scottish National League playoff series before the club folded in 1955. Whilst with Falkirk, Carlyle had the first of his international call ups to the GB team when he played in the

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

in 1950 and 1951 as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

and defender respectively. Carlyle joined the

Harringay Racers Harringay Racers refers to multiple British ice hockey teams based in Harringay, London, United Kingdom. Harringay Racers The first team to use the Harringay Racers moniker was founded in 1936 and initially played alongside Harringay Greyhou ...

in the British National League for the 1955–56 season. He became the team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

the following season and was named to the

All-star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

B-Team. When the Racers ceased playing in 1958, Carlyle returned to Scotland to the Edinburgh Royals. However, they too failed to see out the season and Carlyle finished the 1958–59 season playing with the

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25. The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...

. The following season was the last of the British National League, and Carlyle spent the time playing with the

Brighton Tigers The Brighton Tigers were an English ice hockey club based in Brighton. The team existed from 1935 until 1965 and were one of the United Kingdom's most successful sides during that period. The club was based at the Brighton Sports Stadium (ofte ...

. In 1960 Carlyle took up

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

with the Edinburgh Royals and the team went on to beat all comers during the 1960–61 season. Carlyle received his first call up to the GB team as coach in 1961 when he was

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

of the team which remained unbeaten in the

Pool B Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

tournament – although the team finished runners-up to Norway on

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

. In the 1961–62 season, Carlyle returned to club playing as the player-coach of the Brighton Tigers. Following two successful seasons with the Tigers, Carlyle again returned to Scotland, this time to the

Murrayfield Racers The Murrayfield Racers were an ice hockey team based in Edinburgh, Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consi ...

. Carlyle spent ten successful years with Murrayfield and was named as the coach for the All-star A-Team on four occasions between 1967 and 1972. Carlyle again coached the GB team in the 1971 and 1973

Pool C Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

tournaments. Carlyle eventually retired from the game in 1973.

Death

Johnny Carlyle died on 15 April 2017 in

Larbert Larbert (, ) is a town in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley above the River Carron (Forth), River Carron which flows from the west. Larbert is from the shoreline of the Firth of Fo ...

, Scotland.

Awards

*Named as player to the

B-Team in 1957 and 1963. *Named as player to the All-star A-Team in 1962. *Named as coach to the All-star B-Team in 1962. *Named as coach to the All-star A-Team in 1963, 1968, 1969, 1971 and 1972. *Inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.

References

A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey entry
;Notes

External links

A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice HockeyEuropean Hockey.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlyle, Johnny 1929 births 2017 deaths Brighton Tigers players British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Nottingham Panthers players Sportspeople from Falkirk Scottish ice hockey forwards Scottish ice hockey defencemen