For the major part of his life Edward W. Stanley devoted his time, effort and ingenuity to the development of ice hockey as a major spectator sport in the Greater Utica. area.

Born in Clinton on February 25, 1906, Ed graduated from Hamilton College in 1927. In 1928, while working as manager of the Clinton Knitting Mill, he organized the Clinton Hockey Club and served as manager and coach until 1947. He continued for over 20 more years as President and Business Manager.

Through the '30s and '405 the team was nine times a contender for the National AAU title. In '51, '52 and '53 the Clinton team won the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS) intermediate open championship.

Mr. Stanley was the main moving force behind the construction of a hockey arena in Clinton in the late '40s and, after it was destroyed by fire in '53, he spearheaded the reconstruction. He was a leader in forming the New York Ontario Hockey League and, later, was active in the re-birth of the Eastern Professional Hockey League which brought the Clinton Comets into competition with teams from Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Haven and Long Island. Fans from all over the Mohawk Valley flocked to support the Comets and, through the '60s, Saturday was hockey night in Clinton with standing room crowds of 3,000 in regular attendance, often cheering on a championship team.

In 1968, the 40th anniversary of the Comets, Ed Stanley held the following offices: Director, 3rd VP, committee chairman and NY District registrar of the AHAUS-- VP and Director of the Eastern Hockey League--a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the National Committee for Youth Hockey Week--Sec. Treasurer and Registrar of the N.Y. State Amateur Hockey Association--Manager of the Clinton Arena, and the Comets Hockey Club. In 1948 he was chairman of the U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey Committee.

Active in his community, Ed Stanley was founder and first president of the Clinton Historical Society: and compiled and edited "A Half Century in the Life of Clinton, New York, 1915-1965".
In the 70s after Mr. Stanley retired, the Comets moved out of Clinton to the Utica Auditorium. Although some difficult times followed, professional hockey has been alive and well in Greater Utica, a tribute to the pioneering spirit of Ed Stanley.