Stanley was born in Grey Abbey, Northern Ireland, on March 27, 1927, the youngest of 5 children. Growing up he was an avid rugby player and also enjoyed cricket. He could also be found on a golf course and played throughout out his life.
Stanley came to the Sarnia-Lambton area to run the accounting department for a construction firm in the late 1970s. On his first visit to the area, someone told him about the little village of Corunna and he decided that a small town was the best place to raise his family. He fell in love with the St. Clair River and bought a house in Corunna during the summer of 1977.
Soon after moving, his son James was playing soccer and Stanley was coaching. When James started playing hockey, the Mooretown Sports Complex became a second home to the entire Taggart family.
Stanley eventually joined the executive as the Treasurer of
MMHA. He also served as manager of the Mooretown Midgets. He won the annual Mr. Hockey Award for his dedication to the MMHA and was so proud of his trophy.
Even though he didn’t grow up knowing or playing the game -
Stanley loved hockey! He was a huge fan of the Boston Bruins and watched Hockey Night in Canada
religiously. More importantly he loved Mooretown Minor Hockey and the people and friendships that came along with it.
Stanley passed away in 1997.
The history of the Taggart Memorial AE Tournament begins with the inception of the original tournament in 1997, the Stanley Taggart Memorial Tournament. The Moore Township Novice A team won the only title for Mooretown at the inaugural tournament in the Novice Rep Division. The full list of Champions at the '97 tournament were:
NOVICE:
• Mooretown, REP
• East Sarnia, AE
ATOM:
• London, REP
• Lambeth, AE
PEEWEE:
• Port Elgin, REP
• Belle River, AE
BANTAM:
• Hamilton, REP
• Glencoe, AE
MIDGET:
Riverside, REP
The Stanley Taggart Memorial Tournament ran consecutively as a REP and AE tournament from 1997 to 2015.
This year, we are proud to hold the 19th tournament honouring Stanley Taggart, our long-time MTMHA Treasurer (1984-1997) & friend. And although we have now changed exclusively to an AE tournament, we will continue to keep Stanley's memory alive through this tournament and the trophy named for it, the Stanley Taggart Memorial Cup.
Good luck to all teams participating in 2019!
Adam Oblak
MTMHA Tournament Director