N.S. brothers going head-to-head to honour Colored Hockey League

Two Nova Scotia brothers will go head-to-head Saturday in a commemorative game to mark the 128th anniversary of the Colored Hockey League.

Percy Paris and John Paris Jr. will be honorary coaches in the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes Memorial Game, which is being held at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth.

The league, which saw teams from all over the Maritimes playing mainly on lakes and outdoor rinks, started in 1895.

Nearly 130 years later, all-Black players will suit up as members of the Halifax Eurekas and Dartmouth Jubilees — the two teams to play in the first official CHL game.

That first game ended in a tie. This year, bragging rights will be on the line, as the teams celebrate the CHL and Black contributors to Canada's game. 

The Paris brothers believe this is the first time two Black siblings are coaching opposing all-Black teams, outside of the CHL.

"I never would have thought we had that opportunity in our lifetime anyway," Paris Jr. told CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia on Friday.

"Most families never have that, regardless of the sport, so it's going to be a pleasant one and I'll have fun ... watching him do his thing and I'll do mine."

The brothers grew up playing hockey in Windsor, N.S., which is considered the birthplace of the sport.

Paris Jr. said they never considered themselves Black hockey players, just hockey players. 

"We were just playing hockey like the other kids did, like our dad taught us to do … we already knew what colour we were but we were playing the game simply because it was a game that kids played, adults played, fans loved," he said.

Paris played for the Saint Mary's Huskies and formed part of the first all-Black line in Canadian university and collegiate hockey.

He said