DIMINUTIVE in stature, yet highly proficient with his on-ice excellence, Ramo (Ray) Ceresino was among a long line of crafty forwards from the Lakehead who made teams he played on – better.
Born back in April of 1929 and despite being less than six feet in height, on skates, in the prime of his playing days, Ceresino made an immediate impact to commence his career.
As a mere 15-year-old, he joined the fabled Port Arthur West End Bruins junior side in 1944-45.
In a mere 10 games as a rookie with the club, he piled up 23 points, including 17 goals.
Contributing at over a point-per-game clip in the playoffs as well, he helped Port Arthur win the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League title.
Ceresino then tacked on four more tallies in a first round Memorial Cup playdown series defeat at the hands of the Winnipeg Monarchs.
The West End Bruins would eventually go on to win national Jr. championship in 1948.
The following season he was equally as efficient, piling up 36 points in just 13 outings, along with eight in five games after being picked up by the TBJHL-champion Port Arthur Flyers, who were also crowned by the Monarchs on the western postseason trail.
Next came a stint with the Oshawa Generals in 1946-47 where he shared the team lead in offensive production, boasting nearly two points-per-game, on 24 goals and helping contribute to 29 more in 28 match-ups.
Those totals helped him finish tied for sixth in Ontario Hockey Association Jr. scoring.
Turning pro with the American Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Hornets in 1948, he played alongside fellow local products Rudy Migay and Pete Backor.
With roster spots limited back in the days of the ‘Original 6’ NHL, Ceresino did get a limited run at the highest level, playing a dozen contests with the Toronto Maple Leafs during that same season.
He made his NHL debut against the Detroit Red Wings back on December 1 of that year and 10 nights later collected his first point, with an assist.
That came on a Max Bentley marker, 20 seconds into an eventual 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.
The following evening he then notched his one and only NHL tally by supplying the game-winner, late in the third period, as the Leafs capped off a home-and-home sweep at the Boston Garden with a 4-3 triumph.
Moving on to the AHL’s Cleveland Barons, where he would spend the majority of his career, he went on to provide five highly-successful seasons.
In his first year with the Barons, they advanced all the way to the Calder Cup final in 1950.
Cleveland then bettered that by defeating his former Pittsburgh club to win the AHL championship in ’51.
After splitting time with the Barons and the Pacific Coast Hockey League’s Seattle Ironmen, a year later, he returned to the Barons where he won back-to-back titles with triumphs over the Hornets and Hershey Bears.
His three Calder Cups are two off the AHL record for most won by a player, at five.
Among the group of four that hold that mark is Thunder Bay’s Mike Busniuk, who captured titles with Nova Scotia Voyageurs (1976 & ‘77) and the Maine Mariners (1978, ’79 & ’84).
Ceresino’s last season came at home with Port Arthur Bearcats in 1958-59.
Settling down in San Diego, Calif., following his on-ice career, his son Gordy went on to play NCAA football as a linebacker at Stanford and also had a brief stint in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers.
With over 400 points in 475 games throughout his time in the game, while adding in another 77 in 88 playoff contests, Ray Ceresino is yet another local legend who made his mark in hockey.