Journalist Randy Turner honoured by Sport Manitoba Late Free Press reporter among 2024 Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame inductees By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 6:40 PM CDT Tuesday, Jul. 30, 2024

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This article was published 30/07/2024 (797 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Oh, to imagine what Randy Turner would have had to say about his induction into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

You know it would have been hilarious. It would have been brilliant. And, of course, it would have been self-deprecating. That was Turner in a nutshell, a beloved talent with the Winnipeg Free Press who left us all too soon in 2019.

The pride of Boissevain is among the HoF Class of 2024 announced Tuesday.

“Randy was a truly gifted writer whose love of sports also came with a deep knowledge of sports,” said editor Paul Samyn.

“Whether he was covering Canadians at the Olympics or a rural curling bonspiel, his brand of sports storytelling was always golden, always on the button.”

Turner began his Free Press career in 1987 as a rural reporter on the news side before moving to sports in 1993, where he initially covered the Winnipeg Goldeyes. He shifted to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat in 1997 and later gifted readers with his musings as a sports columnist.

He won two National Newspaper Awards and covered some of the world’s biggest tournaments and events before he died of gall bladder cancer at the age of 57.

“This honour is well deserved and a testament to Randy’s reporting on sports in our province,” said Samyn.

Turner’s entrance comes via the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour, which is now under the authority of Sport Manitoba. He’s joined by three athletes, two builders and one remarkable team.

“This year’s class is an incredible group who have excelled across sports and causes,” said board co-chair Don MacDonald.

Here’s a look at all the inductees, who will officially be honoured at a gala dinner on Nov. 7.

Ted Irvine (Athlete — Hockey)

Nicknamed the “Baby-Faced Assassin” Irvine left his mark in on the ice.

After a successful junior career with the St. Boniface Canadiens and Winnipeg Braves, Irvine made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins, recalling how he drew a penalty on his first shift against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“A guy kneed me in the chest — Eddie Shack,” Irvine said Tuesday with a chuckle. “I got back to the bench, I couldn’t breathe and (a coach) said, ‘Keep your head up, kid.’”

Irvine went on to play 724 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues with 154 goals, 177 assists and 657 PIMs across 724 games.

Away from the rink, Irvine was instrumental in bringing the Special Olympics to Manitoba.

“A shock,” is how Irvine described the news. “I know a lot of people in this hall. Some I played against. I idolized a lot of them when I was as kid. To go in with them is a real honour for me.”

Irvine’s son is professional wrestler Chris Jericho, who is having his own Hall of Fame career in the squared circle.

“We’ve got some great athletes here,” said Irvine. “So for me to be a part of this, it really means something special.”

 

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Brita Hall (Athlete — Special Olympics)

A true trailblazer, Hall is the first inductee from the Special Olympics — which Irvine said is a special source of pride.

Hall has won six gold and eight silver Special Olympics Games medals in cross-country skiing and track and field (1993, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2007), and that’s just the beginning of her long list of accomplishments.

She is the recipient of the Duke of Edinburgh Award and the first athlete to receive the Dr. Frank Hayden Lifetime Achievement Award from Special Olympics Canada, making her the first Manitoban with an intellectual disability to receive these awards.

 

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Jennifer Botterill (Athlete — Hockey)

Currently working as an on-air analyst for Sportsnet, Botterill certainly knows of what she speaks.

The Ottawa-born, Winnipeg-raised Botteril holds the all-time record for points in an NCAA hockey career — including women and men — and is a three-time Olympic gold medallist for the Canadian National Women’s Hockey Team (2002, 2006, 2010).

Botterill also won silver at the Games as the youngest member of the first Canadian National Women’s Hockey Team (1998), along with five IIHF Women’s World Championships.

 

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1999-2003 University of Manitoba Bisons (Team — Men’s Volleyball)

Look up the term “dynasty” in the dictionary and you might just find a photo of this crew.

They dominated CIS (now known as USports) for four straight seasons, capturing three national championships and nearly making it four straight triumphs.

“This was a special group. Over the 30 plus years that I coached, this is the best long-term group that I had. What they did was incredible,” Garth Pischke said Tuesday.

He called this is a classic case of Manitobans punching above their weight.

“We’re small here. For every good athlete we have, there’s 10 in Ontario and 10 in B.C.,” he said. “For us to compete the way we have over the years is really special.”

A total of 28 players from those four seasons are being inducted in this team category.

 

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Dr. Sandra Kirby (Builder — Multi-Sport)

She’s seemingly been there and done it all.

From participating in the Olympics as an athlete, becoming a trusted sports researcher and presenter and implementing standards for safe sport with numerous organizations, Kirby has been a force.

She’s also served as an international multi-sport umpire at the Pan Am Games (2011) and the Paralympic Games (2012), as well as a founder and coach of the University of Winnipeg Rowing Team (1989-1995).

“As a trusted voice in the sport community, Kirby continues to advocate for gender equality and safe sport,” said Matt Leibl, the chair of the Hall of Fame selection committee.

 

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Russ Horbal (Builder — Sport Medicine)

He’s never hit the ice or the field with the Jets, Bombers or Goldeyes, but Horbal has been a key team player with all three organizations.

The Winnipeg product has also worked with Canadian athletes at three Olympics along with multiple Pan Am and University Games.

Horbal is one of three founders of the Sport Physiotherapy Centre and its predecessor, the Institute for Sports Medicine. He continues to practice and also teaches at the University of Manitoba.

“(All of the inductees) have set a shining example for future generations,” said Susanne Dandenault, the chair of the board with Sport Manitoba. “Your legacy will continue to inspire and motivate for years to come.”

 

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg