Scouring Sudbury for more sport history

Sudbury Northern Life 

There will come a day, somewhere down the road and much to my wife's surprise, when I will look to retire. I am quite sure that I will remain active in some way, shape or form within the realm of the Sudbury minor sports scene. But more than anything else, I look forward to throwing myself passionately into a project that I feel is both needed and potentially quite beneficial to the community.

A good portion of my time, I hope, will be spent essentially taking on a role as a "Sudbury sports historian." Since the initial launch of my website ( www.sudburysports.com ) back in January of 2004, I committed to ensure some sort of legacy to the various athletic accomplishments that are registered by the thousands who become involved in sports in the Nickel City.

Right from the start, I incorporated a feature titled "This Week in Sports," which is essentially a look back in time from the 1950s through to the new millennium, highlighting noteworthy or just plain intriguing tidbits from the local sporting news of the day. It remains one of my most enjoyable pastimes, simply browsing through old microfilmed copies of the daily paper and revisiting the lore of the athletes of old.

While the Sudbury Public Library provides a wonderful source of information, I am quite sure there exists a great untapped potential within the files and data that various Sudburians involved heavily in sports have accumulated over the years. And that does not yet touch the rich fabric of the sporting community that exists within the memories of former athletes, coaches, administrators and parents who witnessed first-hand many of Sudbury's finest moments.

I still find myself fascinated with the facts and trivia that can be unearthed via a visit to our sporting past. Allow me to share just a few of the news items that have caught my eye over the past five years of researching "This Week in Sports:"

n Did you know that current hockey analysts Don Cherry and Harry Neale both were members of the Sudbury Wolves at one time? It dates back to the days when the club was a member of the Eastern Professional Hockey League and well before the colourful duo rose to media prominence.

n Did you know that there was a time when it was next to impossible to find a new candidate to coach said Wolves without the gentleman in question being equipped with a suitable nickname? How else to explain the fact that for the 1956-57 season, Grant "Nobby" Warwick was called in to replace Johnny "Peanuts" O'Flaherty as bench boss for the local crew.

n Did you know that, just under forty years ago, the Sudbury Arena played host to NHL exhibition games just three days apart as the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins set the stage for the St Louis Blues vs Oakland Seals encounter just three days later? (Of course, if you've never even heard of the Oakland Seals, it's not very likely you knew of the exhibition games on hand)

n Did you know that Sudbury paddlers Joe Derochie and John Beedell attended the 1960 Olympics in Rome, back in the day when the Sudbury Canoe Club regularly produced top-level national competitors? Of course, recent signs at the club suggest that a return to glory is not that far-fetched at all.

n Did you know that boxing great Joe Louis actually appeared at the Northland Boxing Club (in 1952), courtesy of the efforts of long-time Sudbury boxing organizer Johnny Teale?

n Did you know that current Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci was a member of the Sudbury Separate School basketball powerhouse St. Alphonsus Angels in 1971? The team claimed its fourth consecutive city championship that year with a 27-20 victory over St. Albert's.

n Did you know that hockey star Bobby Orr, boxing champion Archie Moore and reknown referee Red Storey were among those on hand at the 1967 Sudbury Kinsmen Club sports celebrity dinner? Inductees into the Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame that year included Jim Dewey, Dom Demarco and Max Silverman.

The reality is that these tidbits only begin to scratch the surface of Sudbury's sports history. With that in mind (and perhaps looking to get a head start on that special retirement project that lies ahead), I welcome anyone who has archived records from any Sudbury and area leagues, associations and sporting events to email me at [email protected] in order to begin the process of bringing it all together.

I'm sure it will keep me busy for many years to come.