Frustrated at being cut by junior A and B teams Paul Tilley almost quit hockey in 1974. It’s a good thing he didn’t. The 59-year-old Peterborough native will be inducted into the Ohio State Buckeyes Athletics Hall of Fame Sept. 18 at an induction dinner with 13 other athletes and coaches. They will also be introduced at halftime of the Ohio State home football game against Northern Illinois Sept. 19. Tilley, who now lives in Deerfield Beach, Fla, where he sells insurance, recalls being ready to quit after being cut by the local junior B team. It came a day after he scored a goal and two assists in a game against a 14-year-old Wayne Gretzky in King City, Tilley said. “I was pretty frustrated,” he said. His good friend Gary Watkins convinced him to play juvenile, usually the end of the line for competitive players, in Peterborough. He had so much fun it not only reignited his enthusiasm he was scouted by the Belleville Bobcats junior B team for the following season. Tilley led the Bobcats to a Metro Junior B Hockey League title catching the eye of NCAA scouts. “I really blossomed that year,” Tilley recalls. “I had an offer from Clarkson but ended up going to Ohio State. I really seemed to excel when I got there. …
Continue Reading: Paul Tilley entering Ohio State Buckeyes Athletics Hall of Fame
