Sports greats we lost in 2017

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This article was published 02/01/2018 (3146 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The first Memories of Sport column of the new year is the time to remember the members of the sports community we lost in 2017.

Golfer Ted Homeniuk was inducted as an athlete into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. Herb Embuldeniya for boxing, Jim Mutcheson for baseball and Ray Turnbull for curling were honoured as HOF builders.

Sports HOF team members who passed were Irv Hanec of the 1972/75/76 St. Andrews basketball teams, soccer’s Midge Pennington of the 1954 ANAF Scottish and Ben McKinlay of the 1962 Scottish, and Marty Roy and John Starkell of the 1963 St. James Rams intermediate football team. Eddie Marchant played for the 1946 Canadian junior hockey champion Winnipeg Monarchs and Ted Knight played for the 1959 Canadian champion Winnipeg Braves. Don Collins played goal for the 1964 Allan Cup champion Winnipeg Maroons. He also was an outstanding catcher with the St. Boniface Native Sons teams inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame. John Buffie was the treasurer of the 1973-74 Centennial Cup champion Selkirk Steelers. Pat Riddell had served on the Sports HOF board and spent more than 30 years as a track and field volunteer.

The hockey community lost Billy Sutherland and Dunc Rousseau, who were members of the original WHA Winnipeg Jets. Inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame, Sutherland played pro for 19 seasons that included time with five NHL teams and later coached the Jets. Dave Semenko, who also is a HHOF member, won two Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers. Roy Forbes was a member of the RCAF Flyers team that won gold at the 1948 Winter Olympics. Gus Bohunicky and Tom Hanneson both played for the Dauphin Kings intermediate teams inducted into the HHOF in October and were outstanding football players. Dusty Durston coached the 1956-57 intermediate Poplar Point Memorials inducted in 2009. Ken Kronson, who had served as president of the Winnipeg South Blues junior hockey team, chaired the YMHA sports dinner for more than 30 years. The 50-plus members of the hockey community who died in 2017 are listed in The Final Face-Off column on the website www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca

A Blue Bombers running back, Johnny Stroppa was the Western Conference rookie-of-the-year in 1949. He later spent 26 years as a CFL official and supervisor. Stan Kaluznick went west to play for the Calgary Stampeders from 1950 to 1954. While in Calgary, he owned and was GM of the Western Hockey League Buffaloes and president of the World Professional Chuckwagon Association. An outstanding high school and junior football running back and later a coach and official, Bob Toth was inducted into the Football Manitoba Hall of Fame in 2017. A sprinter, Toth once ran against a race horse in Osborne Stadium. A founder of the Winnipeg Hawkeyes football club, John Debroni was inducted into the hall as a builder in 2010.

The Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame lost Cam Bouchard, who was the leading power hitter in senior men’s with Kiewel Seals during the 1960s, and infielder Eddie Keryluk, who starred in senior in Winnipeg and Brandon. Tigerettes star Janet Vickery also was a HOF basketball player, Vic Pidhirny from Portage la Prairie was the first Manitoba Softball Association president from outside Winnipeg. John Hamm played for the Black Knights in the HOF. Grant Riddell was a player and coach in senior men’s and a longtime security manager at the Winnipeg Arena. Ron Hewett, Jack Thomson and Carl Mattson were individuals inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame. Don Allen, Jim Hagemeister, Ron Littlejohn, Irv Snyder, and Orville Mayor played for teams in the Hall. Mayor also is a member of the Manitoba Ten Pin HOF.

Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame member Henry Kroeger was a two-time Canadian senior men’s champion. Dick Wright won a provincial men’s curling championship in 1967 at third for Bruce Hudson’s Strathcona team. An all-around athlete, Gene Walker skipped his Gordon Bell team to a provincial high school curling championship and pitched in organized baseball. Bob Bergson, Bill Bush and Jack Borthwick also were high school champs. Also lost were Janice Sandison, who was a provincial women’s champion in 2001, and Toby Crafter, who made it to a provincial mixed final. Joey Arnason and Bob Gould were Curl Manitoba honorary life members.

A member of the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association media roll of honour, Winnipeg Tribune and Free Press sportswriter Ralph Bagley was inducted into the Golf Manitoba Hall of Fame. Keith Armstrong headed both the Manitoba Golf Association and the Manitoba Open and served on the Blue Bombers board. Brian Gilhuly, Bob Gill and Alan Maxwell were longtime golf volunteers. An Elmhurst golf club member for 66 years, Stan Topolniski also was a curling volunteer and official. Jack Davies was greens superintendent at the Southwood Golf and Country Club for 40 years.

Jim Ogston and Harry Rosenbaum were honoured members of  the Manitoba Lacrosse Hall of Fame  while Ernie Gaudreau is in both the lacrosse and basketball shrines. The Basketball Hall of Fame also lost honoured member Jerry Abernathy. Claude Wilson played basketball for the U of M Bisons from 1948 to 1952. Ronald Dawson competed for Manitoba and Canada in rifle shooting. Fred David won a provincial trick water skiing title. Justus Pelland was a provincial judo champion. Don Preston won a Canadian swimming title in 1947. Reid Schindle was a former Mr. Canada bodybuilder.

Bill MacKenzie was inducted into the Manitoba Bowling HOF in 2016. Bill Tataryn had served as treasurer of Ringette Canada and Nancy Vesey was Ringette Manitoba’s volunteer of the year in 2005. George Tanner was the head coach of the Flying M athletic club. Tug Wilson formed the Manitoba Karate Association. Jean Cherrey was the founder of the Beausejour figure skating club. Zoli Gergely was a Manitoba table tennis champion and a senior soccer coach. Jim Jamieson served on the Manitoba Table Tennis Association executive.

Also lost during 2017 were Roger Garrod and Del Terry, archery; Jane (Rawson) Evans and Dale Swirsky, basketball; Stephen Edwards, cricket; John King, boxing; Roger Nault, shuffleboard; Blumie Portnoy, speed skating; Peter Scouras, rugby; and Janet Vickers, wheelchair sports. Jim Ferguson, Brian Kobylak, Doug Spilchuk, Keith Thompson and Elias Vieira all were involved in minor football and David Isaac, Gary Lynch, Thomas Munro, Geoff Pregnall and Domenico Romano in soccer;

Memories of Sport appears every second week in the Canstar Community News weeklies. Kent Morgan can be contacted at 204-489-6641 or email: sportsmemories@canstarnews.com