Clare Drake
When one thinks of a winning hockey team, one often remembers the player who netted the dramatic final goal in the dying seconds of the game or, perhaps, the goaltender who was peppered with shots but earned the shut-out. Little credit is ever given to the team’s coach … the individual who walks behind the bench providing direction, motivation and support for his players.One of the most unsung coaches in the sport of hockey is Clare Drake. Drake coached the University of Alberta’s Golden Bears for 28 years. In close to three decades, Drake coached the team in 1,030 games – more than all of the other 14 Golden Bear hockey coaches combined! During these years, Drake became known – and feared – as “the winningest coach in Canadian Inter-Athletic Union (CIAU) history” with a truly enviable record of 697 wins, 296 losses and 37 ties.
Clare collected plenty of hardware over the years as well including six CIAU National Titles, seventeen Canada West Conference titles, two CIAU Coach-of-the-Year honours and four Canada West Coach-of-the-Year honours. He has also been recognized twice as Edmonton’s Sportsman of the Year (1967 and 1975) plus has been inducted into many Sports Halls of Fame (Alberta’s in 1980, the City of Edmonton’s in 1984, the University of Alberta’s in 1987 plus Canada’s in 1989).
More recently, Drake was presented the University of Alberta’s Distinguished Alumni Award (2001), was inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame (2005) and continued his teaching as Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Physical Education at Edmonton’s University. Drake’s extensive resume also highlights his Silver Medal coaching performance with the Lacombe Rockets in the 1965 Ahearne Cup (in Sweden), his Gold Medal with Team Canada in the 1983 Spengler Cup plus his work with the 1980 Canadian Olympic team in Lake Placid, where he led them to a sixth place finish. Long-time Edmontonians will remember Drake’s affiliation with the 1975-76 Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association; he has also added his expertise as a consultant with numerous other professional teams throughout the National Hockey League.
Drake, born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan has become an integral player in our city’s sports scene since 1955. His philosophy was simply all about the team, remembers Billy Moores, one-time Golden Bears’ assistant coach, “I remember once, after we won a championship and the team had been through a lot, he said to the players, ‘We all have our warts’ … what he meant was that everyone has their weaknesses and you have to work together as a team to be successful. Part of the thing is accepting people for what they are.” His hockey players continually embraced this philosophy and respected their leader and role model by continually referring to him as “Coach Drake”.
Early education through to high school was taken in Yorkton. Moving on, Drake completed his Bachelor of Physical Education through the University of British Columbia (1951), his Bachelor of Education at the University of Alberta (1958) and his Master of Science at the University of Washington (1965).
Drake married wife Dolly in 1951. The family became four with daughters Debbie and Jami. Later, three grandchildren were added to the family.
While hockey was always front and center for Drake, he has also played semi-professional baseball, became the Canadian Novices Single Racquetball Champion in 1971, was hired as a Defensive Backfield Coach for the Edmonton Eskimos for one year and served as head coach for the Golden Bear football team. Whether it was ice rink or gridiron, Drake proved he was no coaching slouch; with the Bear’s football team during the 1963, 1967 and 1967 seasons, Drake’s career record was 23 wins and just four losses. His squad took the National Championship in 1967.
Despite Drake’s continual accomplishments, he remains humble and modest. When previously asked to comment about his coaching contributions, Drake replied, “I don’t think about that much … I know I have made some contributions — and people keep telling me that, so …”. Although the unpretentious Drake may not openly give much thought to his own past track record, many others do. And for those who don’t, the arena on the University campus bearing Drake’s name will forever serve as a reminder for what he has done.