Ronald Roberts (June 1, 1925 – July 4, 2012) was a Canadian

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 ...

executive and international insurance executive. A native of

Campbellville, Ontario Campbellville is a compact rural community in the Township (Canada)#Ontario, geographic township of Nassagaweya Township, Nassagaweya in the Milton, Ontario, Town of Milton, Ontario. It is on the Niagara Escarpment and is a tourist destination f ...

, Roberts served as executive director and general counsel of the World Hockey Players Association, negotiating more than 100 contracts for professional hockey players and coaches in the WHA and, later, the

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 ...

. Roberts represented WHA players in negotiations for the

1974 Summit Series The 1974 Summit Series was the second competition between Soviet and Canadian professional ice hockey players. It used the same format as the 1972 Summit Series, with four games across Canada and four in Moscow. The Soviet team won the series ...

between Canada and the USSR. He also served on the board of directors of

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

Early life

Roberts was born in Campbellville, Ontario, in 1925 to Charles and Rachel (Sam) Roberts. He went to SS #10 Nassagaweya Public School and later Milton District High School. Roberts, a World War II veteran who served from 1943 to 1945 with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

, earned degrees in business administration and law from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Athletic career

Roberts played hockey in Milton while in high school, and he played hockey for Milton Merchants. He was selected by the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

to join their Jr. A farm team, the

Galt Red Wings The Galt Red Wings were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Galt, Ontario, now a part of the city of Cambridge, Ontario, Cambridge. They played in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1944 to 1947 and were operated as an affiliate of ...

, and later played for the University of Michigan Wolverines hockey team and Scotland’s Dundee Tigers.

Insurance career

Roberts served as

chairman of the board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

, president and other high-profile executive roles with the

American Insurance Association The American Insurance Association (AIA) is an insurance industry trade association representing about 300 insurance companies that provide property insurance and/or casualty insurance in the United States. Founded in 1866 as the National Board ...

, representing 150 member insurance companies, during a 25-year career in the insurance and finance industries in 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 ...

in Illinois and Texas. Roberts was a member of the Illinois and Chicago Bar Association; American, Texas & Dallas Bar Association and College of the State Bar of Texas.

Later life

Roberts died on July 4, 2012, in

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Collin County, Texas, Collin and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth In ...

Awards

Roberts was inducted into the Milton Walk of Fame in 2014

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Ronald 1925 births 2012 deaths Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players National Hockey League executives World Hockey Association executives