Hall inductions honour Penetanguishene's best
Posted By LUKE EDWARDS
Posted 11 months ago
Six people and three teams are now immortalized in the Penetanguishene Sports Hall of Fame.
The 2009 induction ceremony took place on Saturday, introducing the latest batch of athletes, builders, and teams to be recognized by the Hall. They joined the more than 60 inductees that have already been honoured in the shrine.
The event was no small event, as the Hall of Fame committee spent countless hours organizing the evening, which included a book signing and Q&A session with NHL Hall of Famer and former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie, Johnny Bower.
Committee member Dave Dupuis spent the week leading up to the ceremony working ungodly hours ensuring everything went off without a hitch. Dupuis takes great pride in the sporting history Penetanguishene has to offer, and made sure the induction ceremony showcased that history and enthusiasm.
"That's what the Hall of Fame is about, celebrating the best we have to offer," he said.
One thing that Dupuis emphasizes is that Penetang isn't a one or two-sport town. And that was shown by the variety in the 2009 inductees. From a provincial championship and two world championship curling teams to a high school wrestling coach who developed a provincial powerhouse from scratch, from a junior Ontario tennis champion to a fourth-degree black belt in karate, Penetang has a rich variety of sporting greats.
"They're great examples for youth to follow...some people would have no idea that a Queen's Plate-winning jockey (Gilbert Robillard) came from Penetang," Dupuis said.
Dupuis believes there's something special about the small town nature of Penetang.
Historically, he says, sport was always something the town could turn to. He believes that the strong athletes and teams -- and it didn't matter what the sport was -- helped create a sense of community within Penetang. The great athletes and teams were something of which everyone in Penetang could be proud.
"Like with the (Junior C Penetang) Kings and the peewees (ball hockey provincial champions) people rally around the players and the team...sport brings people together" Dupuis said.
That passion for sport was clearly demonstrated by the nomination process itself. Dupuis says that the nominations were very "deep and thorough" and they uncovered some "fantastic history." In fact, one of the nominations the committee received was over 100 pages long.
Inductees for 2009 included three curling teams. In 1980, skip Russ Howard led a team consisting of Kent Carstairs, Larry Merkely, and Bob Ruston to the provincial championship. In 1987, Howard joined forces with brother Glenn, Carstairs, Merkely, and Tim Belcourt, to win the world championships. Howard repeated in 1993, once again with Glenn and Merkely, but this time with Wayne Middaugh and Peter Corner.
Kevin Scott came to teach at Penetanguishene Secondary School in 1989 and built a wrestling program from the ground up. The program would go onto produce local, provincial, and national champions.
When Liz Duval grew up, women's hockey wasn't what it is today in Canada. Even so, she excelled at the sport and was an all-star for the University of Guelph, and was an MVP in Switzerland.
The Canadian Oldtimers Hockey Association came about as the result of John Gouett, a Penetanguishene native. His idea for non-contact, no slap shot hockey for older players took off. It is now an international phenomenon.
Although we may not think of tennis as a huge sport in North America, it the 1950s it was quite popular in Penetang. Brian Dubeau was one of the local tennis stars and went on to win an Ontario junior championship in 1959.
People who take up a sport at the age of 38, don't usually go on to excel at it the way Ken Desjardins did. Desjardins, through determination, has become a fourth degree black belt in karate and runs Shito-Kai Murayama Penetanguishene, a karate school.
Bill Hartman helped bring more championships to Penetang that he has fingers. He coached the PSS volleyball team for 22 years, winning 14 Georgian Bay championships, three Georgian Bay silver medals, 15 provincial appearances, and four provincial medals (two antique bronze, one bronze, and one silver).
Induction ceremonies take place once every two years. This marked the first induction ceremony in the newly renovated Penetang Sports Hall of Fame at the Penetang Arena. The first induction ceremony was held in 1987. There are now over 60 inductees in the Hall.
