The "Father of Clarkson Hockey," Murray Walker was a local businessman whose hard work and determination formed the foundation for the one of the most successful college athletic programs in the country.
From the time he moved to Potsdam in the early 1920s until the hockey club became a part of the athletic program in 1935, Walker, along with Gordon Croskery, organized the team. Walker conceived the idea of forming a hockey team composed of Clarkson students in 1921. He persuaded Croskery, an instructor in the mechanical engineering department, to be the coach.
Director of the Clarkson Hockey Association, Walker set the schedules, secured the equipment, arranged for a place to play the home games and otherwise financed the program.
The 1920-21 team, led by center Bill Johnson, won its opening encounter against Alexandria Bay 6-4 and posted a 2-1 record that winter, setting the foundation for one of college hockey’s most successful programs.
Clarkson played mostly local teams in the early 1920s with home games on the Raquette River and in Ives Park. Walker soon started recruiting Canadians by the mid-1920s, all legitimate students at Clarkson.
Few colleges played hockey in those days, but after several years of correspondence with Princeton, an old-time hockey school, Walker was finally able to get on the Tigers’ schedule in 1927-28. The Knights, who received a guarantee of $250 to play the game in New Jersey, defeated Princeton 8-5 as Fred Dion tallied all the Knights’ goals.
Walker continued to run the program (hiring Jack Roos as coach in 1929) until 1935 when hockey was turned over to the College’s Athletic Department.
Upon his resignation as Director of Hockey at Clarkson, The Integrator paid the following tribute: “A man is judged by his character, his honesty, and is straightforwardness. Success is the achievement for all men so qualified and therefore we are proud to say that Murray Walker was one of Clarkson’s greatest boosters and friends. Although he was not a graduate of Clarkson, he has done more toward the welfare of the College than many of us can ever hope to do. We know that indirectly his sound judgment and advice will always be felt in this great sport at Clarkson.”
Owner of J. R. Weston’s (Clarkson’s bookstore), Walker was also co-founder of the Annual Ice Carnival in 1930. After retiring from Clarkson in 1965 he presented the bookstore to the College. Walker is an honorary Clarkson Alum.
On November 1, 1975, Clarkson’s arena was dedicated in honor of G. Murray Walker as “Walker Arena,” home of the Golden Knights for the next 16 years.
The long-time home of the Golden Knights’ nationally recognized hockey team, the historic structure now known as “Walker Center” has undergone a transformation and now serves as the cornerstone for the University’s recreational complex, as a multi-purpose recreation venue, on the eastern edge of the campus. The facility is a fitting tribute to a man who played a major role in establishing athletic success at Clarkson.
