By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter @BlackAndGold277 @AmesburyMaples
On Saturday, July 22nd, 2023, the family of Amesbury Maples hockey legend Leo Dupere will be holding a celebration of life at the Polish Club on 14 Mill St. in downtown Amesbury, Massachusetts. Hours will be from 2 pm to 5 pm EDT, and the host facility is open to the public.
Dupere was a longtime Amesbury resident and former baseball and ice hockey standout athlete. Leo was so athletically driven that there was never an offseason with the ability to go out and give 110% all year round. While not privy to his skills on the baseball diamond, his hockey career, on the other hand, might’ve garnished the most attention for decades since stepping on the local ice for the very first time growing up in the 1940s.
Leo Dupere was a product of a robust developmental system in our community when it came to the game of hockey. Former Amesbury Maples players Ablie Roy, Alphonse Picard, Archie Cloutier, and Fred Fournier were instrumental in developing a young child like Dupere, who aspired to become not only Amesbury’s best but nationally known.
Dupere was so good at the game growing up that at the age of 13, he would get regular opportunities to play for the higher adult Amesbury Maples who then operated in the Merrimack Valley Hockey League’s Junior Division. As a teenager, his drive and endurance to succeed at this age were amazing to research. He played with his High School hockey program throughout his academic career but also skated later in the day with the higher adult Maples club.
After graduating in 1958, Dupere would work for the defense contractor Raytheon in Andover, Mass., per Newburyport News columnist Mac Cerullo in an article about his passing in July of 2020. Leo was recruited to Northeastern University by Raytheon coworker and Huskies Head Coach Jim Bell. Leo would thrive at Northeastern, posting 132 points in 65 games, a three-time MVP, and the 1962-63 single-season scoring record.
After his collegiate hockey career, Dupere would continue to play for the Maples again regularly. He also became the high school head coach taking over for the legendary Albie Roy, who started the high school program back in the early 1920s. Leo led the Amesbury Indians to a 222-100-38 record in his coaching tenure, including two Twin State League and two Cape Ann League championships.
Again, per the Newburyport News article in July of 2020, Author Mac Cerullo Duperes’ accolades throughout his playing and teaching years include the following: Northeastern University Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Massachusetts State Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Amesbury Education Foundation Hall of Honor, Amesbury High School Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2013. Also mentioned in Cerullo’s article is his number 13 was retired by the school.
As a student of Duperes in middle school, he made physical education classes something students looked forward to every week. Since hockey was my favorite sport growing up, and still is today, how he engaged an individual with his teaching and stat recording was terrific. It meant something to a young aspiring athlete walking in the corridor by the gym at the old Amesbury Middle School and seeing your name ranked alongside some of the greatest athletes in school history.
The last time I had the privilege of talking to Mr. Dupere was at the Maples Crossing ribbon cutting at the South Hunt Road location in Amesbury in September of 2020. We discussed making time for an interview about his Amesbury high school and Maples career, but unfortunately, that never happened. Continued thoughts go out to the Dupere family, and rest in peace, Coach! You will never be forgotten by your family, myself, and the thousands of individuals you’ve inspired to be their best.
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