The Pocket Rocket Loves the Dobber

CP- Victoria, BC
On September 9, 2011 11-time Stanley Cup champion and Montreal Canadiens great Henri "The Pocket Rocket" Richard travelled to Victoria to spend a few precious moments with The Dobber.  Inaugural Champion Lyle Moffat shared a bit of the limelight as Mr. Richard embraced the historical trophy.

"Me gots 11 Stanree Cops and me bruver gots haight, but we alvays dreemed ov Da Dobber", Richard expressed  as he admired the names emblazened Canada's most prolific amateur golf trophy.

Richard has officially cleared his schedule for May of 2012 to attend The Dobber Qualifying School with hopes of competing against the elite field.  Maybe one day he can capture his childhood dream of raising "Da Dobber" over his head.

The History of The Ken Dobson Invitational Golf Tournament

Starting in 1994, The Ken Dobson Invitational Golf Tournament has been the cornerstone of the Victoria sports scene.  Held annually at the Cedar Hill Municipal Golf Course in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, "The Dobber Classic" has been operating for 18 years behind the hard work of dedicated volunteers from the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame.  The committee's efforts have created one of the most sought after trophies in Canadian amateur golf history, with the likes of Bob Burrows, Lyle Moffatt, Bernie Strongman and Buzz Parsons having their names engraved on the storied trophy. 

The Dobber has many other historical sports legends stamped on it's massive frame of 16.5 inches wide x 8.5 inches deep (not to mention that it stands an enormous16 inches tall),  but the real story is the names that are missing.  Over 2,600 compeptitors have battled for the glory of bringing The Dobber home with the likes of Ken Shields (one of Canada's great basketball coaches) golf professional Bryan Carbery, UVic Vikes Hall of Fame basketball star Rob Parris and Vic High basketball legend John Devlin have not been able to hack and hook their way to the promiseland.

Only ten men have been able to overcome the massive pressure of the talent laden field to have their names etched on the trophy multiple times. To date no team has ever repeated as champions. 

The distinct group includes:

• 1996, 2006 Allan Sproule

• 1995, 1998 Craig Olson

• 1996, 2006 Dennis Sproule

• 2005, 2007 Doug Thompson

• 2005, 2007 Gord Strongman

• 1995, 1998 Wayne Little

• 1998, 2002 Ken Greenhalgh

• 2009, 2011 Brent Dobbie

• 2009, 2011 Moreno Stefani

• 2009, 2011 Kevin McTavish


Only 76 men and two women (Allison Booth & Mel Rutledge) have their names imprinted on the glass and wooden monstrousity, and two champions were named in 1996.  The list of champions is listed below.

Year Name

1994 Bill Murphy

1994 Brad Hendry

1994 Lyle Moffatt

1994 Randy Price

1995 Craig Olson

1995 Kirk Olson

1995 Lou Garraway

1995 Wayne Little

1996 Allison Booth*

1996 Allan Sproule

1996 D. Katz

1996 Dennis Sproule

1996 B. Mikelson

1996 G. Dixon

1996 S. Dixon

1996 S. Sinclair

1997 Lyle Crawford

1997 Grant Rutledge

1997 Mel Rutledge*

1997 Gene Morrison

1998 Craig Olson

1998 Ken Greenhalgh

1998 Peter Lawson

1998 Wayne Little

1999 Bob Burrows

1999 Chris Hall

1999 David Mulcahy

1999 Mike Gains

2000 Bob Marchand

2000 Dale Aune

2000 George Kormendy

2000 John Pasternak

2001 Alan Mellett

2001 John Turcotte

2001 Patrick Mallett

2001 Terry Mellett

2002 Ash Douglas

2002 Doug Aston

2002 Jim Walshaw

2002 Ken Greenhalgh

2003 Brian Andrews

2003 Bruce Brown

2003 Iain Hooey

2003 Steve Merriman

2004 Dale Douglas

2004 Ian Jesney

2004 Kent Campbell

2004 Murray Stewart

2005 Bernie Strongman

2005 Doug Thompson

2005 Gord Strongman

2005 Jim Thomas

2006 Allan Sproule

2006 Dennis Sproule

2006 Kerry Davies

2006 Mike Paget

2007 Doug Thompson

2007 Gord Strongman

2007 John Peluso

2007 Terry Cramp

2008 Buzz Parsons

2008 Dave Gramlich

2008 Dave Howe

2008 Ken Wear

2009 Brent Dobbie

2009 Greg Hawkes

2009 Kevin McTavish

2009 Moreno Stefani

2010 Dennis Olelchenko

2010 Mike Bath

2010 Mark Mackareth

2010 Brad Clarke

2011 Brent Dobbie

2011 Moreno Stefani

2011 Grant Olson

2011 Kevin McTavish

The Dobber is heading to Hockey Day in Canada in Victoria, BC

As we all know, The Dobber was a real sports nut, and today we will be taking the The Ken Dobson trophy to take in the Hockey Day in Canada festivities in beautiful Victoria, BC.  Members of the 2009 Dobber Classic Championship team will be on site with The Dobber between 2:00 and 3:00pm.  Photos with the trophy are by donation with proceeds going to the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame.  We know that The Dobber would have loved to be there.

The Beginning

Following the big win on Friday, June 5th, 2009, Dobbie and McTavish took the beloved DOBBER to the annual Mighty Hawks Lobster Boil in Lake Cowichan, BC.  Following a morning round of golf at the world famous March Meadows GC in Honeymoon Bay, BC (the home of the LPGA's Dawn Coe-Jones), Dobbie and McTavish took part in a special presentation by Jeff King (one of Vancouver Island's TOP 30 Sportscasters) of CHEK News.  Following Mr. King's presentation, The Dobber was treated to a ride on a jet ski at approximately 55 mph.  Special thanks to our family and friends for taking part and a huge shout out to the staff at the Rocha Resort and to CHEK News for providing their on air personality for the day's festivities.