Hall of Fame
Greg Rolston was a tremendous hockey player but he almost gave up the sport before his career even had a chance to take off.
He first got into the sport as a young boy in Flint, Michigan, thanks to the influence of his father.
“When I was four my dad started my brother and I in skating lessons and around that same time my hometown had a minor hockey league that had just started. The next year my dad bought us hockey equipment and we started and that was it!”
After honing his skills in Detroit’s minor hockey system throughout his childhood, and getting drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 10th round (184th overall) in 1983, he changed his mind on which sport he wanted to pursue after he graduated from high school.
“When I was a senior I decided I wanted to play baseball in college instead of hockey so I gave up on hockey. I went to the University of Michigan and played baseball there, but I wasn’t getting to play much because the guy ahead of me was [future Major League Baseball Hall of Famer] Barry Larkin. So I changed my mind back to hockey and came up to Toronto to play for the Marlboros.”
In that time it was rare for American junior hockey players to head north for major junior hockey and Rolston was one of the first. He only spent one season in the Ontario Hockey League, but it was enough for York head coach Dave Chambers to know he liked what he saw and offer him a spot on the team.
In the one year he chose to focus on baseball instead of hockey, Rolston joined his high school hockey team instead of playing rep and set Michigan high school single-season records (since broken) for points and goals.
His reputation as a prolific scorer followed him to York and he did not disappoint. Over his four seasons he amassed 92 goals – still York’s all-time record – and 159 points, was a three-time OUAA first-team all-star, and helped the Yeomen win back-to-back CIAU titles and three straight conference championships. He also earned the Jack Kennedy Trophy as the most outstanding player of the 1987 OUAA championship series and a spot on the 1989 CIAU national championship all-tournament team.
Rolston earned his degree in economics and then joined some of his Yeomen teammates at Ohio University, where he completed a master’s in athletic administration and played on their club hockey team. He then went back home to Michigan and was hired by General Motors in the parts division, a career that took him down to Little Rock, Arkansas, for much of his professional life.
After all those years in hockey as a boy and young man, he hasn’t been on the ice in more than 20 years but has stayed connected to the sport through members of his family, who have pursued careers in the game. His brother Brian played 17 seasons in the NHL and won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils, while another brother, Ron, went into coaching and spent parts of two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres.
Rolston is now back in Michigan and working as a partner in an insurance agency alongside his cousin. Despite so many years away from the game, he still looks back fondly on his days at York.
“The group of guys that were on those teams are what I remember most. For most of my time there we had the same group of guys, and the relationships I built and the friends I made stay with me. It was great to get to share so much success with all of them.”
