Ben Sands Papers on Tufts Hockey

Collection

Call Number: MS245

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Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials created and compiled by Ben Sands, former player on and coach of the Tufts hockey team. Materials include newsclippings and magazines about the Tufts hockey team and about hockey in the region; photographs; programs, schedules, rosters, and statistics; correspondence and letters from prospective players; admnistrative material; and Tufts memorabilia, including student handbooks, commencement materials, and sheet music.

Dates

Creation: circa 1930 -- 2015

Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Please see “Reproductions and Use” on the Digital Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permission to publish. Any intellectual property rights that the donor possesses have been transferred to Tufts University.

Biographical / Historical

Ben Sands, of North Reading, Massachusetts, graduated from Tufts University in 1954 and was a defenseman on the Tufts hockey team. Hockey was dropped as a varsity sport in 1960; in the early 1980s, Sands initiated and coached a club team, which regained varsity status in 1986. Sands coached the team for a total of six seasons, compiling a 73-63-4 record and earning ECAC Division III Coach of the Year in 1987-1988. His teams qualified for the ECAC playoffs in 1988, 1989, and 1991.

In the early 1990s, when financial constraints further threatened the team’s status, Sands established the Friends of Tufts Hockey, a group which raised funds to support and sustain the hockey program. In 2001, Tufts joined the NESCAC hockey league. Sands also helped raise funds to turn old offices at the Malden rink where the Tufts team practices and plays into a locker room, which the team named the Ben Sands Locker Room in 2008.

In 2018, at the first Tufts Athletic Department Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Sands was honored with the inaugural Brown and Blue award for his work in bringing varsity ice hockey back to Tufts, and ensuring the team’s survival.

Extent

2.15 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

This collection contains materials created and compiled by Ben Sands (E1954), former player and later coach of the Tufts hockey team, including newsclippings and publications, photographs, programs and rosters, statistics, correspondence, admnistrative material, and memorabilia.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in one series.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Ben Sands, 2015-2018, accession number 2015.065.

Processing Information

This series contains materials created or kept by Ben Sands, former player on and coach of the Tufts hockey team. Materials include newsclippings and magazines about the Tufts hokcey team and about hockey in the region; photographs; programs, schedules, rosters, and statistics; correspondence and letters from prospective players; admnistrative material; and Tufts memorabilia, including student handbooks, commencement materials, sheet music, and a set of Tufts slippers and a beanie.