By Keith Lacey
Alex Fex insists he never would have enjoyed as much success in life and politics if it werenÂ?t for his association with the Sudbury Spartans.
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Ken Shaw says his one year with the Spartans paved the way for him to join the Ottawa Roughriders in the Canadian Football League (CFL), where he went on to win two Grey Cup rings in the late 1960s.
Fex, Shaw and several hundred other former players, supporters, wives and friends have all circled Saturday, Sept. 28 on their calendar.
ThatÂ?s the day former Sudbury Hardrocks and Spartans will huddle to celebrate 50 golden years as a sports organization.
Â?The Spartans have one of the longest and most colourful histories of any sports organization in northern Ontario,Â? said Fex. Â?Thousands of people have shared in the Spartans/Hardrocks experience.
WeÂ?ve had a lot of wonderful times and it is going to be great to get together and reminisce about them.Â?
As many as 300 former players are expected to attend the reunion dinner, which will be held at the Great Hall at Laurentian University.
Fex says heÂ?s been looking forward to the reunion for the past several months, since several former players got together and planned a special event to commemorate the amateur football organizationÂ?s silver anniversary.
Fex played fullback for the Spartans for most of the 1960s through the end of the 1972 season. He was part of Spartans championship teams in 1968 and 1972. He was also a member of a team from Sturgeon Falls that captured a league title.
Playing hard and winning is important to any competitive football player, but the friendships you make and camaraderie you share in a team game are what he remembers most from those days, said Fex.
Â?I met an awful lot of friends through my days with the Spartans,Â? said Fex. Â?In our days most of us were married young and all the players and wives did a lot of socializing together and we became very close.
Â?To this day, whenever I see any of the former Spartans, I stop and take the time to talk to them. Those were very good days back then and I still remember them fondly.Â?
As the teamÂ?s leading rusher and scorer for many years, Fex became highly visible in the local press.
When he decided to enter the political arena, he has little doubt his popularity helped him immensely.
Â?We used to pack QueenÂ?s Athletic Field tight and weÂ?d get a couple thousand fans to our games,Â? said Fex. Â?I used to play a lot and score a lot of touchdowns and people recognized me all over town.
Â?When I decided to go into politics, most people knew who I was and about my athletic ability. I guess a lot of people know about the hard work you need to do to succeed in sports and figured you could bring the same thing to the table in politics.Â?
In the early 1980s, Fex became mayor of Walden.
Fex has little doubt the reunion will be a wonderful experience.
Â?I know IÂ?m going to have a really, really good time,Â? he said. Â?Reunions of all kinds tend to be a lot of fun, but getting back together with a bunch of guys you played and practised so hard with will be something special.Â?
Through almost 20 years of competitive football, Fex said he was fortunate to never sustain a serious injury and to this day he still plays hockey and golf on a regular basis.
Ken Shaw played one season for the Spartans in 1967, before earning a spot with the Ottawa Roughriders. Shaw was an offensive lineman on the Ottawa team, which captured consecutive Grey Cups in 1968 and 1969.
Shaw still remembers his season with the Spartans almost as vividly as his two CFL championship years.
Â?Sid Forster had just become head coach and we won the championship that year,Â? said Shaw. Â?If I remember correctly, we only lost one game all season. We had a very good team with a lot of very good players and it was a real honour to be on that team.Â?
Forster became the heart and soul of the Spartans organization, leading the team to 12 championships and 21 appearances in the Northern Football Conference championship game in his 27 years as head coach.
Forster became a good friend and would regularly visit him in Ottawa during his two seasons there (a serious knee injury ended his playing days in the late 1960s), said Shaw.
Â?ThereÂ?s not enough good things you could say about Sid,Â? said Shaw. Â?He was a real competitor as a player and gave everything he had when he turned to coaching.
Â?He was a sportsman with a great knowledge of the game and while he liked to tell stories and share jokes, he hated to lose and put in so much hard work. He dedicated his life to the game and helping kids and I still admire the man immensely.Â?
Shaw is also very much looking forward to seeing a lot of old faces and sharing plenty of memories and stories, many of which heÂ?s sure will include Forster.
Â?ItÂ?s going to be a lot of fun,Â? he said. Â?IÂ?m going to see a lot of old players I havenÂ?t seen in a long time and there are sure to be some good laughs.Â?
Ironically, Shaw said he doesnÂ?t know exactly where his two CFL championship rings are in his Sudbury area home, but heÂ?s the proud owner of the NFC championship trophy that hangs from a wall in his garage.
Frank Pagnucco, in charge of media relations for the Spartans for more than 20 years, said the planning committee, which includes Fex, Shaw and other former players Bill Sauve, Ken Naples and Ernie Lekun, has put in a lot of work to ensure the reunion is a big success.
Players from Alberta, Pennsylvania and dozens of towns and cities across Ontario have confirmed their participation, said Pagnucco.
Football is the consummate team game and teaches players not only about winning and losing, but how to strive for success.
ItÂ?s no coincidence so many former Spartans have gone on to great professional careers as doctors, lawyers, politicians and engineers, said Pagnucco.
Â?Being a part of this organization has played a very important role in the formative lives of so many people,Â? he said. Â?ItÂ?s truly amazing how many former Spartans have gone on to big success in their lives away from football.Â?
A select few players also played professionally including Shaw, Randy Fournier, Jim Piaskosko, Mike Derks and Frank Rocca.
Without the financial support of veteran businessman Phil Smith Sr. and leadership of Forster, the Spartans legacy would not have stayed so strong for so long, said Pagnucco.
Smith will be in attendance and ForsterÂ?s widow Anne will also be there, and Pagnucco expects their names to be on the lips of most players at the reunion.
Â?Phil and Sid are the heart and soul of this organization,Â? he said.
The reunion is designed to get former players back together, but wives, friends and fans are all welcome and Pagnucco is expecting a large crowd of several hundred to attend.
Tickets for the Hardrocks/Spartans 50th Anniversary Alumni Reunion Dinner are $45 each and include dinner. There will be a cash bar.
All proceeds will go towards the football club.
Special rates for alumni from out of town have been arranged at the Travel Way Inn and Cardinal Motor Hotel.
For tickets, phone Bill Sauve at 522-8095, Ken Naples at 869-1079, Alex Fex at 688-0007, Ernie Lekun at 566-3168 or Frank Pagnucco at 564-7124.
You can also leave a message on the Spartans website at www.cybersudbury.com/sports/spartans/.
