Toth is the starting goalie for Emory's club hockey team, which competes in the Southern Collegiate Hockey League along with the likes of the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech. Games usually begin at midnight and end by 2 a.m. Toth is in bed by 3 a.m., but gets up at 5:45 a.m. to prepare for his not-so-dangerous day job as assistant operations director for Emory's telecommunications department.
If there is a voice of reason to argue that 51-year old men should find a safer form of exercise, it's not in the family. Toth's 51-year old wife, Suzanne, and his 27-year old son, Trevor, also play goalie in adult hockey leagues. His three-year old grandson Zachary already has his own goalie equipment and plays in grandpa's backyard.
Toth has been manning the nets since he came out of a five-year hiatus in 1980, thanks to a dare from a fellow office employee.
"I was about 30 pounds overweight and felt mentally old," Toth said. "I had talked on and off about playing again. Then one day, a co-worker flatly told me, `You'll never go back.' That was a challenge to me, and that night I went out and bought some equipment. Today, I'm still overweight, but I feel like a kid when I'm out on the ice."
His introduction to the sport came as a six-year old in Canada, where he was born and raised. Toth's father worked for the parks commission at a baseball field across from the family's house. In the winter, the baseball field was converted to an ice rink. But Toth's family could not afford ice skates. Then one day, his father found a pair of white figure skates left behind. The father tried for weeks without success to find the owner. Finally, the father sanded the edges of the blades, painted the boots black and gave them to his son as a present. Toth dashed over to the rink to join the other children, who were struck by the sight of odd-looking skates. When asked what kind of skates he had, Toth said goalie skates. So the kids decided to let him play goal, and he's been there ever since.
Toth played organized hockey in high school and a Junior B league, Canada's hockey equivalent of Double A baseball in the United States. He gave up professional aspirations to marry his wife, raise a family and work full-time for Bell Canada. He later joined Northern Telecom, which transferred him to the United States.
"When I saw the Emory job being advertised last year, my first thoughts were I'd get an education at a prestigious institution and I'd get to play hockey. I took a 15 percent pay cut to come to Emory, but it's worth it for the educational benefits."
Toth is working on an undergraduate degree at Emory in creative writing. He wants to go for a master's in creative writing and then a Ph.D. in international studies.
"My goal is to get a Ph.D. before I die," he said. "I'm a firm believer that the only way you can climb the economic ladder is to get a good education.
"Education was not stressed in my family when I was growing up. My parents did not have much money, so we went to work after graduating from high school. I've always had a thirst for learning even though I wasn't a good student. I didn't apply myself back then, but I've discovered that education can be rewarding, if you apply yourself."
Since then, Toth has not only rediscovered hockey, but he has also become a published author of poetry and short stories and an accomplished photographer. Such zest for life helps him interact with the 18- to 26-year-old players on the Emory club hockey team.
"The fellows at Emory are one of the best group of people I've played with," Toth said. "There are no egos on the team. We try to help each other. When we lose, no one points fingers. And everyone gets to play, regardless of talent."
While age is not an issue in the Emory locker room, it sometimes draws attention from opposing fans. Last season in Knoxville, Tenn., Toth and his wife were in uniform and subjected to catcalls from the fans. But, when the game was over, fans were asking the Toths for their autographs.
"I'd never been asked for my autograph before," Toth said. "But I think we showed those fans that we're competitive enough to play at this level."
Lest there be any doubts about Toth's skills, ask the Georgia Tech players who were stunned in a 4-3 Emory win last December, a game in which Toth recorded 53 saves in what he called "the best game I've played in 10 years."
Just to make sure they remain competitive, the Toths are planning to attend a week-long goalie camp this August for their summer vacation. "What else could be more fun?" Toth asked. They're talking about buying each other new goalie pads for the camp, which is nothing new when it comes to buying gifts for each other.
For Suzanne's last birthday, Toth bought his wife a goalie mask painted with a wolf's face at a cost of about $350. "Someone asked me, `Why didn't you buy her a diamond necklace for that price?' I said, `She wanted the mask.'"
Toth has no intentions of retiring anytime soon. "I'll probably play until I'm 60 to 65 years old as long as I can be of benefit to the team."
-- John Arenberg