Recently, for the first time since he could recall, Art Connor
was speechless.
The long-time volunteer with the Red Hamill Memorial Silver
Stick hockey tournament couldn't believe it when he got a call
from the House of Kin indicating to him he had been inducted,
under the Administration category, into the Sudbury Sports Hall
of Fame.
"When I got the call…I was so overwhelmed," said Connor. "I
usually don't have a problem with words, but I was stuck…I
didn't know what to say. It was hard for me to believe they
would take the time to honour me. I consider it a truly great
honour."
Connor has been a volunteer with the Silver Stick for 37 years
and has also refereed all levels of hockey.
Connor was joined in the Hall of Fame by boxing legend Gord
Apolloni (Builder category), Dave MacKenzie (Media), Investors
Group (Corporate), and figure skaters Gerty Desjardin and
Maurice Lafrance, ringette guru Mirl "Red" McCarthy, Vern Dow
and the 1985 Cambrian College women's curling team and curler
J.R. "Chucker" Ross (Players category) as the 2007 inductees at
a huge press conference earlier this week.
"We have a diverse selection representing many different sports
and eras," said Joe Drago, House of Kin vice-chair and
member.
Although he was thrilled with the picks, Drago also pointed
out, as he and many others do frequently, they don't have an
actual place to be forever enshrined.
"I have to stress the importance that we still don't have a
hall of fame in Sudbury to show off all of our great athletes
and their accomplishments," said Drago. "It should be one of
the priorities of this community."
Ross was also beside himself at the nomination to the hall.
"It's a real honour," said the curling veteran. "I've been
around a long time, so it was a bit of a surprise and I
appreciate it. One of the nice things about being inducted is
now I have caught up to my wife, Sheila, who was inducted in
2002 for curling."
Ross guided Northern teams to the 1974 Brier and the 1982 Mixed
Canadian Championships and the 1987 senior national
championships. He also won a NOSSA basketball title with
Sudbury secondary in 1953 and won a Canadian Senior 'B'
Championship in 1956.
Apolloni is always amazed at being recognized.
"This is huge for me…I never thought of this happening," said
the boxing coach. "It has given me a real boost…it's tremendous
to be inducted with such a fine group of people."
Lafrance and Desjardin were two of Canada's top pairs figure
skaters in the 60s.
Together, they represented Canada at two World Championships in
1962 and 1063, finishing in sixth and fourth place
respectively. Desjardin was unable to attend a media conference
as she lives in Las Vegas, but Lafrance knows she's blown away
too.
"We never expected it and we are both so happy," said Lafrance.
"We started skating together at the Sudbury Arena…and it was
our honour to represent Canada."
The 2007 House of Kin Sports Celebrity Dinner takes place on
June 6 at the Caruso Club. Tickets are $40 and can be obtained
by calling 522-3600. All Hall of Fame inductees will be on hand
to relive their moments in Sudbury sports history. As well,
winners of the individual 2007 awards will also be
announced.
