Believed the virtues of hockey and education could better equip young people for success in life. Pioneered the concept of a National Team in hockey originally based at UBC. Coached the 62/63 UBC team to the CIAU national final and the '64 Olympic team, bringing attention and interest to the UBC hockey program.
Father David Bauer, Chaplain at St. Marks College at UBC from 1961 until 1988, was described by the Canadian Press as, "The kindly Roman Catholic priest who brought a reluctant Canadian hockey fraternity into the modem age of international play with his concept of a national team." The Kitchener, Ontario native was the pioneer of the notion that education and hockey could go hand in hand, a philosophy that has endured in the institutions and the young men Father Bauer influenced. Bauer felt "If you can improve the boy as a person he will improve as a hockey player."
Ordained in 1953, Bauer the coach and teacher, transferred to UBC's St. Marks College in 1961 after a successful hockey-coaching career at Toronto's St. Michaels College. He brought with him a plan both he and UBC had successfully presented early in 1962, that being the concept of a Canadian national team made up of amateurs and former junior stars who would be attending classes at UBC. He wanted to better these men through the virtues of hockey - courage, judgement, prudence, fortitude, teamwork and fair play. These virtues along with an education would better equip these men to succeed in life. There was also no question Bauer was likewise seeking a hockey medal for Canada at the upcoming 1964 Winter Olympics.
Father Bauer coached the 1962/63 UBC Thunderbirds, the precursor to the national team, to the 1963 Canadian university hockey final. The following season, the Olympic year, Bauer coached the UBC - based team to a three-way tie for third place at the Innsbruck Olympics, a satisfying accomplishment considering the team was made up almost solely of students.
Bauer had not only successfully launched this national team concept for Canadian Olympic hockey but he brought attention and interest to the hockey program at UBC. His character had established credibility at Point Grey, which helped establish funding for the Winter Sports Centre as well as launch a new era in UBC hockey. Moreover, according to Bauer, virtually all the players (over 80 of them) who played for Canada under his system and philosophy became successful professionals - doctors, lawyers and teachers, including Terry O'Malley, who later coached hockey at UBC. In addition, the National Team based at Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary, was an extension of his work.
Father Bauer touched everyone who knew him. According to former UBC Hockey Coordinator Rick Noonan, "I would be nowhere today, if it weren't for Father, a lot of guys could say that." Noonan further states, "Bauer would consult and involve everybody, everybody was important. He was also a great sounding board."
Bauer remained at UBC through the 1970s and 1980s, acting in an advisory capacity to UBC hockey coaches and players, in addition to overseeing the Canadian Olympic teams of 1968 and 1980.
In 1988, Bauer succumbed to cancer. Former player O'Malley stated, "Canada has lost a man who was extremely loyal to the ideals of amateur hockey." The discipline he instilled in his players through his kind and gentle ways, "…brought dignity and class to the game," recounts former player and NHL'er Rod Seiling.
Today, the Father Bauer Tournament and the Father Bauer Scholarship at UBC, both promoting high standards of character, leadership and hockey skills is, along with strong feelings for the man and his work at UBC, the legacy Bauer leaves this school.
In the words of a life-long friend of Bauer, "he had the ability to lead and inspire people, he was accepted as an individual they would like to follow."
Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian
