The RI Hockey Hall of Fame has announced that Edwin “Yogi” Gardiner of Warwick, RI has been selected as the recipient of its 2025 Malcolm Greene Chace Memorial Trophy, recognizing “Achievement & Outstanding Service by a Rhode Islander to the Game of Hockey.”

The award is named after the late Central Falls, RI native, who is considered by many to be the “father” of ice hockey in the United States.  Chace, born in 1875, was a Hall of Fame tennis player, financier, and textile industrialist who introduced the sport of ice hockey to America in the winter of 1894-95 following a tour to introduce American ice polo to Canada.

The award, presented annually since 2018 and generously donated by the Chace family, will be presented during the Hallof Fame’s annual Enshrinement Celebration and Dinner on Saturday, August 23, at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet in Cranston, RI.  The previously announced 2025 Hall of Fame class of RI hockey greats, Bill Army, Ross Brooks, Buster Clegg, Bob O’Connor, and Tom Woodcock, will also be formally inducted that evening. Tickets for the event are available at RIHHOF.com.

Gardiner, 81 and a lifelong Warwick resident, has served as a coach and mentor to thousands of young men and women through his 50-year coaching tenure with the Warwick Junior Hockey Association.  Gardiner remains active in the Association, and during his involvement with the program, he has coached many of the top players from Warwick, including several who went on to enjoy successful careers at the collegiate level, internationally with USA Hockey, and the professional ranks.

“The Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame is honored to recognize the selfless dedication, passion, and commitment to the sport of ice hockey that Yogi Gardiner has shared with thousands of Warwick youth for more than fifty years,” stated Hallof Fame Founder and Board Chair, Vincent Cimini.  “Yogi is a legend in Warwick and one of our state’s most precious gems. His positive impact on Warwick is supported by the fact that his nomination for the Chace Trophy came from the city’s youth hockey community. In short, Yogi personifies the characteristics and traits the Malcolm Greene Chace Trophy was designed to honor.”

Previous Malcolm Greene Chace Trophy recipients include Ralph A. Warburton (2018); Lawrence “Larry” Reid (2019); Sylvester “Buster” Clegg (2020); Don Mellor (2022); Thomas “Tom” Army (2023); Jack & Joanne Kennedy (2024).