Lovejoy is a neighborhood in Buffalo that borders Cheektowaga. It is home to people that are of Italian and Polish descent. The one thing that is and was missing in that neighborhood was sports. The youth in Lovejoy would usually hang around on the street corners doing nothing. Even though they would ride their bikes around but there was nothing else for them to do.
But one man would change it all. This man is, and still is, the most beloved and respected person in the community. His name is Arthur E. Blarr.
“He was involved with sports for all of his life”, Susan Leli said.
Susan Leli is the daughter of Arthur and Eleanor Blarr who witnessed all of her father’s achievements with sports mostly hockey. It is not just hockey he coached, she exclaimed, he also coached baseball.
Right before he was involved with coaching,. Arthur Blarr and his brother, Kenneth Blarr, strived their excellence on the Baseball field and the Basketball courts. Both Art and Kenny were so stellar that they were offered contracts by two MLB teams. Those teams were the Kansas City Royals (offered to Arthur) and The Chicago White Sox (offered to Uncle Kenny). Sadly, Art could not play in the Major League due to serving in World War II. Kenny wound up having an elbow injury on his right arm, killing his dreams of playing in the MLB.
When the war ended in 1945, Arthur Blarr returned home to Lovejoy, where great moments started awaiting for him.
Even though he was involved with baseball, he was also a hockey player. He did play hockey before joining the service.
Susan Leli said the whole idea of him coaching hockey started right after he came home. He knows a shoe store owner with the name of Art Pelzer. Even though she tried her best to remember what happened, she said that Art Pelzer asked her father if he would love to coach a hockey team in Lovejoy. From that day one till his death, he reluctantly took the task of coaching hockey.
When he started coaching hockey, he actually coached adults. He coached his brother Kenny, Uncle Jimmy, and Buddy spears. While he coached them, he would bring them up to Fort Erie where they would play other adult hockey teams in that area.
As we fast forward into 1970, Arthur Blarr has been trying to get his youngest son to play a sport. His son would spend watching cartoons on the television. But one day, Arthur got him to watch the WWF for the first time. He was invested into watching it until he was introduced to the wonderful sport of hockey. From that time on, Arthur Blarr’s son, Arthur “Bucky” Blarr has fallen in love with hockey ever since thanks to his father. Even better for the both of them, he got Bucky to finally play the greatest sport of all time. Yes that sport is none other than ice hockey.
In the 70’s Arthur Blarr finally started to form a team in Lovejoy. But the first step for this team is to get kids to play. His goal for youth hockey is to get the kids of Lovejoys off the streets and get them to play. He wanted everyone to play. He does not want to see them smoking on the street corners and doing nothing.
Arthur “Bucky” Blarr always had fondness of his father for his contributions to youth hockey in Western New York. He would always tell stories about hockey and stories about his father’s involvement with youth hockey. He also had connections. Not with the Mafia of course but connections with workers from the old Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
He explained the very first time his father started coaching him and a few adults at Humboldt Park.
“He would get guys front telephone companies to skate with chairs”. He was teaching adults, with no skating experience, how to properly skate.
The one day he was practicing with the team, between 1971 and 1972, Art brought a special guest for the team. As mentioned before, he has a lot of connections with the Memorial Auditiorium. He brought Sabres defenseman Mike Robitaille to chat with the team.
Prior to practices, Arthur Blarr would rent out hockey films from a local library in the lower level. While there, he would watch them first to get an understanding on how to coach these kids with his knowledge on the sport. He would have the team watch the films so they can have an idea on how to properly play the puck and use their body. Including making huge hits of course.
Bucky has witnessed playing under his dad when he was younger. He would describe him as a very strict and a very tough coach. He would always want the team to play hard to win the game. He even caused a rivalry between his team, The Lovejoy Americans, and the Buffalo Regals.
He may be strict, but that does not stop anyone from respecting him. No matter how strict he was, he was still heavily respected by the players and by the people of Lovejoy. He would also state that everyone on the team will get a shift. He rotates through each line to see the chemistry between players. The one goal he would always through these line changes is to make sure everyone gets equal ice time as one another.
Despite starting a team, he also started a league at Houghton Park. While coaching there, Bucky would be Arthur’s helper with the team. He explained that he used to carry sticks for the 21 and older guys to the bench.
There was one instance in which this event made Bucky excited. The goalie on his dad’s team took a slap shot to the face. Do not worry, he was wearing a mask but goalie masks back then were not the best protection. His sister, Sally, was there and she had to drive him to the hospital while Bucky gets to clean the blood off the goalie mask.
“I was really excited to clean out that goalie’s mask”, he said.
Another favorite memory of his was when his father coached the Fire Department. Prior to what happened next, the Fire Department won the league championship all because of Arthur Blarr.
“I gave my Dad a bullwhip after winning the championship” Bucky commented.
Even though he coaches his teams throughout the week, Art would always find the time to sit down and spend time with his family.
Susan said that her father has connections with the Aud as well. When she was younger, he would take her and her siblings to see the old Buffalo Bisons play during there days in the American Hockey League.
He was also a proud season ticket holder of the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills. He would take his kids, friends, or grandkids to see the teams play when he gets the chance to see them.
Julie Ann Martin reminisced on the memories she had with her grandfather.
When she was little, she played on the St. Agnes floor hockey team, also known as the St. Agnes Warriors. She played floor hockey along with her siblings all due to the influencing of their grandfather.
“He comes to see me play at the Hennepin Center for floor hockey” she said.
He would always come their sports games, watching them play their hearts out against other schools.
When she and her sisters, along with their mother, visit Art and Eleanor for sunday dinner, he has to make sure that everyone has fun. How does he get everyone to have fun and active at his house you ask? He would bring them outside in his backyard and play sports before dinner.
“He would make us play basketball, baseball, volleyball, wiffle ball, badminton, and kickball”.
Then afterwards, they would have dinner.
Every Sunday for Julie, her siblings, and Mom, they would go visit Arthur to watch football with him. In which she would claim him as being the best grandfather in the world.
When Bucky has a game during the week or during the weekend, she would go and watch him play. She would also see her grandfather coach the team.
Both Bucky and Julie has told another favorite story of Art. Arthur Blarr had false teeth, probably from playing hockey. Every time she would see, he would provide a magic trick for her. What kind of a magic trick would he perform for her? Well he would make his false teeth disappear for her.
She would be amazed everytime he would do that.
“Julie would always ask him to make his teeth disappear” Bucky recalled.
“I would say, ‘make your teeth disappear Grandpa’” she said.
Tragedy struck on December 30,1980.
When Arthur “Bucky” Blarr was 18 years old, he went skating with his father for the very last time. On that day he described the weather condition as almost blizzard-like.
Bucky explained that he originally did not want to go skating with his father. On the same note as his mother, Eleanor, was also against Arthur going skating that day. But Arthur decided to go anyway and brought his son with him.
There was an outdoor rink in Como Park that Arthur brought Bucky to. But after Arthur tied his skates, he took two steps on the ice and collapsed.
Bucky rushed towards to perform CPR to keep him alive. He only managed to keep him alive for 15 minutes until the ambulance arrived.
“I rode in the back of the ambulance with my skates on”, Bucky explained that he did not take his skates off.
As soon as they were in St. Joseph’s Hospital, Arthur Blarr passed away. It was revealed that he had a heart attack while trying to skate. He was only 58 years old.
One thing Bucky remembered is what his father said about how he wanted to die.
“He has always said that he wanted die on ice”
Everyone in Lovejoy was saddened to hear the passing of such an incredible human being in the community. He managed to get to kids off the streets and prevented them from doing drugs.
During a Buffalo Sabres game on New Years Eve, against the Los Angeles Kings, his name was announced due to his involvement within the city of Buffalo and the hockey community of Western New York.
When it comes to a wake or funeral, many think it would be a one day thing right? Wrong! With the amount of respect he has in the community of Lovejoy, his wake and funeral lasted for 3 days. He was so well respected in the community, there was an article on him. He is referred to as “Lovejoy’s Lombardi”
After his death, hockey continued through the family. It ran through the Grants as his grandson David Grant played hockey for a few years.
Fast forward to 2005 when hockey returned to the family as I laced up my skates. I played hockey for 12 years and all to thank my Great-Grandpa Blarr for introducing me to my family and mostly my Great Uncle Bucky getting me to love the game of hockey. But hockey has not taken its course yet after I hung up my skates in 2017. Two of my little cousins decided to follow in my footsteps and started playing hockey as well. Well the one took a small break from hockey to play baseball, another favorite sport of Arthur Blarr. But returned to play the greatest sport on Earth this past year. Just to say, I am like my Great-Grandfather by influencing others to play hockey. My five year old cousin would always ask to play this fine sport.
He may be gone but never forgotten.
“A lot of people credit him for changing their life around”, Bucky said.
With his contributions to the hockey community and getting kids off the streets, he is The Lovejoy Lombardi.
Billy Blog 