Utahn Had A Massive Impact on Professional Hockey
Born in Utah Makes You a Native Son
Frank J. Zamboni was born in Eureka, Utah in 1901. He only lived in the beehive state for a year before moving to Idaho and later California. There he eventually opened a skating rink with his brother where he discovered a need to renew the ice.
Back then they had to drag a scraper across the surface and a crew went behind sweeping up the shavings. This was followed by applying water followed by a squeegee. Frank started working on an easier to resurface the ice using a tractor.
He kept working on his design and in 1949 he applied for a patent for his new automatic ice resurfacer he built from a surplus truck and parts from the war. He made many improvements over later models with many being built on Jeep chassis.
It Took A Lot of Experimentation, But Franks Invention Finally Took Off
He sold one to “Ice Capades” and then an Olympic skater. When professional hockey saw what he could do with the ice in a short amount of time, it soon became a part of the game. Now you can find them in every arena.
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Now during hockey season thousands of hockey fans sit mesmerized as they watch the ice become smooth as the Zamboni drives back and forth around the rink. And it makes you proud to think this amazing machine had its start inside the mind of a man who got his start in Utah.
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