The induction ceremony for the Burlington Sports Hall of Fame class of 2022 was another example of the great sporting heritage in the city of Burlington. It also brought out in each inductee a sense of pride in their Burlington roots and the role that their involvement in local sports played in their success on the national or world stage.
This induction ceremony was actually the second held in the last eight months, as the 2021 event was delayed until last fall. The BSHOF executive committee, ably chaired by Lyn Patterson, put together another stellar class of inductees and a beautiful evening to honour them. The event was held at the spectacular setting of the Burlington Golf and Country Club, and it was attended by many alumni, friends and supporters of each inductee. A crowd of about 200 enjoyed a social hour to reacquaint while enjoying hors d’oeuvres before the formal part of the evening got underway. Former mayor Rick Goldring was there, and current mayor Marianne Meed Ward made the rounds before needing to get to another meeting. The alumni in attendance included Dr. Jamie Russell of 1976 Olympic basketball fame, former NHLer Ron Sedlbauer, BSHOF co-founder Mary Nichol, and multiple -time national handball champion Brian Goto. The crowd also had high-profile personalities like Ron Foxcroft, Jack Armstrong, and Jim Tatti. The event was emceed wonderfully by Steve Foxcroft, with assistance by TSN contributor and CFL host Brodie Lawson.
But at the centre of it all was the sporting culture of the City of Burlington.
The first award on the docket was the Don Green Award of Distinction. This special award is not presented every year, but the BSHOF did well by presenting it this year to Halton Sportsweek. The show was a product originally of Burlington Cablenet, which is now known as Cogeco. Producer Brad Scott spoke of the success and popularity of the show, which included a phone-in segment that local people loved. They loved it mostly because of the two personalities that brought the show to life: Steve Foxcroft and Clint “Bubba” O’Neil. Scott spoke of the two hosts and their deep friendship over the years, but he also paid tribute to other Sportsweek contributors like Charlie Lemmex, Dave Rashford and Don MacMillan. For years, the show produced a following of local sports fanatics who would tune in to hear the two hosts go at each other, or better yet, go after the players, coaches, referees, and fans in their weekly rant about sports in Halton. For that reason, Halton Sportsweek earned its recognition with the Don Green Award of Distinction.
The five inductees into the BSHOF had messages of pride in their accomplishments and pride in their hometown.
Marcel Desjardins was unable to attend the event but sent, through his nominator Matt Pickfield, a message of his disappointment in not being able to be there on such a great night, and also his thanks to the City of Burlington sports community for his early-life experience that took him to CFL prominence and four Grey Cup championships.
Bryce Leggatt was represented by his widow Barbara, who gave a nice thank you to the selection committee and knew that this award would have meant a lot to her husband. MC Steve Foxcroft added a personal touch when he said that he and Bryce had traveled to many OUA basketball games over the years and said two things that hit home with the audience, many of whom knew Bryce: Steve said that Bryce had a habit of giving advice when you didn’t know he was giving you advice, and he nodded to the table full of grand-kids and told them that they meant a lot to their grandpa as he talked about them all the time. Beautifully said.
Curling world-champion team leader Wendy Morgan gave special mention to the many sponsors as events like this, and most things in amateur sport in Canada, need the corporate involvement to allow athletes and coaches to reach the heights that they achieve. Wendy felt her enshrinement into the BSHOF was a special honour. Her induction gives credence to the many athletes with physical disabilities she had the pleasure to work with throughout her career. Yes, she achieved great things as team leader for one of the world’s best curlers in Jennifer Jones, but she thanked the opportunity to work with wheelchair curlers as it opened her eyes and her heart to people achieving their best in sport after many of them dealt with life-altering accidents or conditions that dictated their path, who continued to challenge themselves and challenge the world. She also mentioned that, with her travel to several Olympics and world championships over many years, her family’s support was central to any success she herself may have accomplished.
World-champion hockey goalie Cathy Phillips shared her thoughts on the growth of women’s hockey, how thrilled she was to have played in the first-ever world championships, and to be named the most valuable goalie at those championships, in Ottawa in 1990. She made fun of the pink uniforms that Hockey Canada had given them as being too “lady-like” for her and her teammates but that the pink became a rallying point throughout the city of Ottawa for the tournament. She wowed the crowd at the end of her acceptance speech when she brought out her pink jersey to show the crowd. She also felt that her induction meant a lot because it signified the recognition of the beginnings of women’s hockey in the 1980s, and it being worthy of such an honour.
Raptors radio personality Eric Smith’s induction closed the evening, and he combined a real sense of honour in the accomplishment with an acknowledgement that sport provides a way to meet people and share of our talents. He mentioned that Halton Sportsweek first gave him the idea that sports broadcasting might be a path he could follow. He also reflected on the very backdrop of the location of the event by pointing across Burlington Bay to the steel mills where his father worked for 30 years, which helped pave the way for Eric to attend Humber College and to go on to a 25-year career with The Fan590, Sportsnet, and the Raptors. He reflected on his love for basketball as a factor in his getting the opportunity to broadcast the Raptors games. He always feels lucky that he was in the right place at the right time. He was just finishing at Humber when the Raptors came into existence, and he jumped at any chance to do work with basketball and that let his resume grow. He also mentioned learning his craft from some of the best in the business, like Chuck Swirsky, Jack Armstrong, and his long-time broadcast partner Paul Jones.
The BSHOF used the occasion to launch their touch-screen technology, where residents can go to the Burlington Sports Wall of Fame at 414 Locust Street and make use of the latest in computer know-how to scan the members of the BSHOF, read their biographies, and capture the pride that is felt in the great sporting community of Burlington. For more information on the members of the hall, or how you can nominate someone for next year’s event check out the website at burlingtonsportshalloffame.ca
