Evan “Chesty” Brill was born in Owen Sound in 1902 but moved to Guelph as a teenager to apprentice as a watch repairman at a Wyndham Street jewelry store. He would later buy the company in 1936 and rename it Brill Jewelers.
As a successful business owner, Brill became one of the “Big 10” (partnership group) that brought Junior “A” hockey back to Guelph with the Biltmores team in 1947. He was a team owner and President of the Guelph Biltmores Junior “A” Hockey Club in 1949-50, which won Guelph's first Junior “A” Hockey championship. That team featured future Hockey Hall of Fame member Andy Bathgate, his brother Frank and future NHL'ers Aldo Guidolin and Herb Dickenson.
Brill was also a strong athlete. He played on the 1922-23 Guelph Intermediate Hockey Club that made it to the Ontario Hockey Association finals thanks to a thrilling series winning goal by Brill in the semi-final. But in the final they lost to a Stratford team led by the legendary Howie Morenz.
In his book “He Shoots!” He Scores!” – A History of Hockey in Guelph, Harold Cole wrote of Brill, “It was his terrific drive and utter fearlessness that commanded the respect of all his teammates, to say nothing of his opponents. Older Guelph hockey fans will recall his drives down the ice, during which rival players cutely attempted to tangle their sticks with his high-flying skates, only to see him take to the air and leap over the wood which was intended to stop him.”
Brill also coached the Ontario Agricultural College (now the University of Guelph) hockey team and supported all Guelph hockey teams through his leadership and sponsorship. His work with the rest of the “Big 10” resulted in a junior hockey legacy in Guelph that continues to this day.
In addition to hockey, Brill was a successful softball athlete, playing on the 1940-41 Leland Electric team that won the city industrial league softball championship and was active in golf and curling.
Inducted into the Guelph Sports Hall of Fame May 15, 2023
