More memorable St. James sports figures

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/09/2021 (1788 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With St. James 100 years old in 2021, Memories of Sport once again wants to recognize individuals and teams from St. James-Assiniboia who made their mark on Manitoba sport and beyond.

Many have been honoured by the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame or their specific sport shrine. In earlier columns, several of the best were recognized along with championship curlers from the area.
Beginning with builders of sport, Peggy Colonello (MSHOF1994), who started golfing at the long-gone Bourkevale course, served as president of both the Manitoba and Canadian Ladies Golf Associations.

Herb Embuldeniya, an international boxing judge and administrator, was inducted in 1999. His wife Nieva, who judged at the 2012 Olympics in London, joined him in the HOF in 2018. Gordie Kerr (2007), a top hockey official, headed the growth of registered officials during his tenure as referee-in-chief of the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association.

Tom Miller (HHOF2013) was the driving force behind the St. James Canucks of the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League. A 2010 Curling HOF inductee, Rick Mutton was the youngest president of the Manitoba Curling Association. Al Mayer, a 2003 Softball HOF inductee, who served as president of the Optimist Club of Assiniboia and the Winnipeg Men’s Industrial Fastball League, coached and managed for 30-plus years including with the junior Colonels and Optimists and the St. James Teachers. Jane Seal was the founding president of the Cavalier Fencing Club, now in its 47th season.

Athletes who deserve recognition include multi-sports star Lindsay Gauld (SHOF1997) and Olympic volleyball player Mary Dempster (SHOF2003), both Silver Heights grads, and Westwood Collegiate basketball great Joey Vickery (SHOF2018). Pro wrestler Chris Jericho is aso a Westwood grad. Rifle shooter Donald Sewell was inducted in 1993 and , when his wife Doran was honoured in 1999, they became the first husband and wife team inducted as athletes. Henry Gerow (SHOF2004), who won a bronze medal in the 1999 Pan Am Games, got his start at the Assiniboine Junior Rifle Club.

Bob Boucher (SHOF1994) competed for Canada as a speed skater in the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France and as a cyclist in the Games that summer in Mexico City. Chris Weber (SHOF2002), who started running near his home in Woodhaven, was a seven-time Canadian cross-country team member who competed in the Commonwealth Games.

On the hockey ice, Andy Hebenton (SHOF2009) played pro for 27 seasons including nine in the NHL. He said he got his start on a backyard rink in St. James. Kevin McCarthy (HHOF1999) played minor hockey at Deer Lodge CC. He now is an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals after a pro career that included 10 NHL seasons.

Bob Hamerton (SHOF1991) swam for Canada in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In his later years, he competed for the St. James Masters swim club and established five Canadian records. His daughter, Lesley (Hamerton) Divers (SHOF2009), is another Silver Heights grad who starred on the basketball court and went on to play for Canada’s national team between 1969 and 1971.

Two St. James football teams deserve mention. The Winnipeg Rods, who won Canadian  junior titles in 1955 and 1956, relocated to St. James in 1959 and won a third championship in 1961. The final was played in Calgary with the Rods downing the defending Canadian champion Montreal Rosemount Bombers 16-13. Two seasons later, with former Blue Bomber Buddy Tinsley as head coach, the St. James Rams beat the London Lords 16-14 to win the Canadian senior championship.