Fri 7 Feb 2025 - 10:00AM

REST IN PEACE GARY KEWARD

Nottingham Panthers are very sad to announce the passing of Gary Keward - the man responsible for reformation of the club nearly 45 years ago.

Everyone connected with the Panthers would like to send our thoughts and condolences to Gary's family and friends.

The Panthers were originally formed in 1946 but were disbanded in 1960 with the collapse of the British National League.

Keward's determination brought about the rebirth of the club in 1980 which restarted the city's love affair with the sport and has seen the Panthers become one of the most famous names in British ice hockey.

Panthers owner, Neil Black, said: "Put it simply, without Gary Keward there would be no Nottingham Panthers.

"On behalf of everyone at the Panthers, I would like to send condolences to Dwayne, Chris and Denise and the rest of the family.

"Our thoughts are with you at this difficult time."

Gary Keward tribute
By Mick Holland (former Nottingham Post Sports Editor and Panthers Correspondent)
Gary Keward was the man who founded the modern-day Panthers and helped to spark the upsurge in British ice hockey just over 44 years ago.

Nottingham-born Keward passed away in Saskatoon, Canada, just a few weeks after his 89th birthday.

He was nursed by his two sons, former Panthers captain Dwayne and ex-netminder Chris, as well as his daughter Denise.

Twenty years after the demise of the original team in 1960, avid hockey fan Keward finally badgered the Nottingham Ice Stadium management to bring back Panthers for a trial period. And with it, he changed thousands of people’s lives forever.

After returning from a spell living in Canada, Keward and his wife Shirley brought the family back to Nottingham to set up a knitwear company and with his two boys, enjoyed the trip up to Sheffield where Dwayne and Chris played for the Lancers.

But when he persuaded the Nottingham Ice Stadium hierarchy to try hockey again, he brought virtually the entire Sheffield team to play down here and within four games, from playing in front of 150 family and friends in South Yorkshire, they were being watched by a 2,800 packed stadium. And they weren't even playing at the highest level... yet.

Many North Americans living in the UK got in touch with the club, a number of Scots came down south to see what the fuss was all about and before too long, they were in the top flight, in a flourishing league backed by brewing giants Heineken.

As they say, the rest is history. Nottingham Panthers and British ice hockey certainly has a lot to thank Gary Keward for.