Like a player picked up at the wire, Peter Robinson is joining the BarrieToday team as our new sports columnist to bring readers the latest stories from the local fields, rinks, pools and pitches.
Robinson’s Playing Field column will debut on Saturday and run bi-weekly after that. In the first edition, the local history buff uncovers a unique link between the OHL Barrie Colts and the Mariposa School of Skating from many years ago.
While he started life in Collingwood, Robinson moved to Barrie at an early age, mainly in part to his dad’s career with the Barrie Flyers.
“One of my earliest memories — not just sports memories, just overall — is Dad taking a penalty shot against the Red Army team at the old Barrie Arena,” Robinson says. “I’m just young, I don’t remember the age, but I was picked up to see the shot and here’s (Vladislav) Tretiak in net. It was amazing.”
Robinson has lived in Barrie for the last 10 years with his wife and their two children.
His first “proper job,” as he called it, was with the former Barrie Examiner in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“That was when the Barrie Colts won the league, that crazy year with many stories to it,” Robinson says of the storied 1999-2000 Ontario Hockey League season.
While he moved around a lot between Toronto and abroad, Robinson never strayed from sports stories and the love of telling them.
“I worked at many places, usually as a freelance writer or editor from the Score, CBC and even with the NHL Yearbook as an editor,” he says. “I love the stories behind the sport, behind the game. The way we report sports is changing so fast and people have the result before you can give the game review.”
Robinson enjoys the art of sports stories so much that he wrote a book about his favourite team and the heartbreak that goes with being a fan of them.
“Oh yeah, I’m a (Toronto Maple) Leafs fan and all that goes along with it. I wrote Hope and Heartbreak about 10 years ago, shortly before the collapse against the Boston Bruins,” Robinson says. “The Leafs and Canadian golfers, that’s where I enjoy being a fan the most.”
Robinson has also gotten into producing documentaries and is currently working on one about Toronto’s William Peyton Hubbard.
“He was the son of freed slaves who came to Canada and became deputy-mayor, among other things,” Robinson says. “I’m producing it, working in conjunction with his great grandson, Stephen Hubbard. I’m starting my own production company and have a few other ideas, but none as far along as the Hubbard project.”
As a member of the BarrieToday editorial department, Robinson will write about all things sports in the city, from hockey to baseball and everything in between. But more importantly, it’s always going to be about the people.
“Sports reporting has really changed and I have been a fan of what BarrieToday is doing, finding the stories that matter to the community. That’s my goal, to tell stories that people in the area want to read about their favourite teams and players.
“There are so many great stories — they just need to be told.”
If you have a potential story idea or news tip, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at news@barrietoday.com.
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