Charles Leeming was born on May 8, 1943, in Kettleby, Ontario. Once he figured out how to walk, it wasn’t long before Charles learned to skate on a frozen pond near his home. From a young age he loved sports and played hockey in the winter, and baseball in the summer.
When he was seven years old, Charles’ family moved to Aurora, which opened new opportunities to participate in organized sports. He learned the basics through intramurals and began playing competitive minor-league hockey in 1955 for the Aurora Lions. That team would go on to become the 1955-56 North York Bantam Champions, kicking off Charles’ impressive amateur athletic career.
The following season, the Aurora Lions were the Ontario Bantam B Provincial Champions for the first time in ten years! Charles scored three of the team’s seven goals in the decisive game against the team from St. Mary’s. He progressed through the minor hockey ranks playing his midget seasons with the Unwanted Ugly Ducklings, who earned that moniker based on their tattered jerseys and lack of sponsors or coaches. Charles made a habit of scoring multiple goals per game; the phrase “Charles Leeming added a pair” was a common thing to read in the sports section of the newspaper.
Charles spent his two Juvenile seasons with the Aurora Cubs and the Aurora Larks, and both teams became the North York Juvenile League Champions. One memorable goal came when the Larks were in a best of three match with Stouffville. In overtime, Charles shot the game winning puck from the blue line securing the team a victory.
The 1960-61 and 1961-62 seasons saw Charles playing with the Junior B team, the Aurora Bears. The local paper wrote enthusiastically about his on-ice performance: “Charles Leeming flew all night and proved to be the most dangerous man on the ice with his 4 goal effort” (Aurora Banner).
The 1962-63 season was the inaugural year for the Aurora Tigers Junior C team and Charles was a star player. The local paper ran a full-page spread on the team and described Charles as “the ‘policeman’ of the team, [he] will take anyone on, and [can] always be counted on to score an important goal” (Aurora Banner, December 27, 1962). While scoring multiple goals was nothing new for Charles, in one game against the Stouffville Clippers, he scored a total of five goals, which was reported in the Globe and Mail.
The inaugural season for the Tigers marked Charles’s last year of junior hockey, and what a journey it had been! The local paper remarked, “He is going to leave a marked reputation of being dynamic player. His aggressive style with a climax of the hardest shot in the league, rates him as one of the best Junior C players this season” (Aurora Banner). Charles helped to lay the foundation for the beloved hockey club that the Aurora Tigers has become.
While attending Aurora District High School, Charles met his future wife, Judy. They were married on February 3, 1962, and raised their two children Cindy and Bob in Aurora.
During the offseason, Charles made quite a name for himself on the ball diamond. In 1957, he started playing with the Aurora Lions and stayed with them for another 5 seasons. Charles’ talent for scoring multiple times per game was just as true on the diamond as it was on the rink. While playing ball, Charles became known for getting multiple hits, runs, and of course, for having a keen eye and strong arm.
In 1963, he played with the Aurora Glenville Dairy Farm team, and they became the All- Ontario Intermediate B Fastball Champions, winning the championship in Aurora’s Town Park. In 1967, he began playing for the elite Dynes Jewellers team based in Richmond Hill. He was part of the 1968 All-Ontario Champions and a finalist for the All-Canadians. In 1971, 1972, and 1973 the team became the Ontario Senior A Men’s Softball Champions, and in 1977 they were the Canadian Senior Men’s Softball Champions.
After the minor leagues, Charles continued to lace up his skates as a member of various competitive recreational teams, several of which also reached champion status. During the 1967 season, he played for the Class of ‘57 team which became A Division Champions at the 3rd Annual International Old Timers Tournament. In 1982, he was on the Aurora Old Colts who were league champions, and in 1988 the Aurora Colts were the Sweeny Division Champions.
In 2017, Charles joined his son Bob on a trip to Europe where together they played a series of exhibition games. He was seventy-four at the time, but age is just a number, especially for Charles; he was the second leading scorer on a team of players whose average age was fifty-four years old.
Charles made sure to nurture the next generation of athletes by volunteering his time to coach in the Aurora Minor Hockey House League and for the Aurora Junior Diggers ball team.
Charles was a pivotal and constant figure in Aurora’s early minor sports community. His illustrious career as an amateur athlete spanned multiple decades and sports. Charles undoubtedly helped to put Aurora on the map as a community that would become known for developing athletic talent. Whether the game was hockey or baseball, if Charles was on the team, there was a good chance you would win the game. As a teammate he was known for being a natural leader as well as a passionate and ethical player.
In December of 2022, at the age of 79, Charles decided it was time to hang up his skates for good, having played amateur hockey for over seventy years.
In recognition of his excellence in hockey, we are proud to welcome Charles Leeming as part of the 2023 class of inductees into the Aurora Sports Hall of Fame.
