Nelson Hutchings
Induction Year: 2023
Birthday: July 25, 1923
City/Town: Portsmouth, NH
Players come and go in the Rochester Men’s Hockey League, but the one constant through the decades has been Nelson Hutchings. Now 100 years young, having celebrating his milestone birthday in July, Hutchings has spent the last forty-five years as the scorekeeper and publicity agent for the Rochester Men’s Hockey League, only rarely missing a game. It is estimated that Hutchings has been on hand for nearly 3,000 league contests. In addition to keeping the clock and the scoresheet, he also reports results and stats to local newspapers.
Born in Portsmouth in 1923, Hutchings served in the Army during World War II with the 544th Engineers Boat & Shore Regiment in the Pacific Theater from 1943-46, and was decorated.
Age has not prevented him from pursuing his passion or maintaining his independence. He has lived on his own, in a log cabin, in a remote section of Farmington since 2007. More often than not he drives himself to league games on Monday evenings at the Rochester Ice Arena.
“He is the league. He is the constant,” said Portsmouth’s Tom Ferguson, a past league president who played in the RMHL from 1980 to 2001. “Everybody knows him. Nelson’s the gold standard. He’s there all the time.”
Although Hutchings never played ice hockey, it has long been a passion of his. He enjoyed watching his two youngest sons play, and became scorekeeper for the league in 1978, when his son, Howard, was playing in it.
In forty-five years, Hutchings has been on hand for nearly 3,000 contests. The league’s teams play a twenty game schedule from October to March — three games every Monday night. The playoffs are single-elimination with the
championship being a best-of-three series. “I liked doing it,” he said. “I never had any problems. It makes (the winter) go by so quickly.”
Many of the former players regard Hutchings with fondness. It’s not uncommon on Monday for several ex-players to find their way to the booth to spend part of the night with him. “He’s just always there through rain or snow,”
said Hampton’s Bob Moore, who played in the league from 1984-94. “Whatever was going on, he was always there. I thought he lived there.”
Please welcome to the Class of 2023, Nelson Hutchings a member of the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey Hall of Fame.