’Tis the season to honour our own

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/05/2023 (1258 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The time has come once again to clear out the notebook and recognize members of the sports community who have made an impact in our province.

Greg Ferguson, who has been involved in slo-pitch softball since the 1980s, reported on the 2023 SPN Manitoba Hall of Fame induction held April 6 at the Thistle Curling Club. The new players to become honoured members are Shelly Bohn and Sheri Wood from the Winnipeg Women’s League. Builder Steve Mymko and two umpires, Dave Radinsky and Dave Black, were also inducted. Mymko was a driving force behind the excellent Buhler Recreation Park in Transcona while Radinsky is a former provincial umpire-in-chief. An umpire for about 25 years, Black has served as the UIC at the Little Mountain Sportsplex.

The second group of athletes and builders to enter the Manitoba Indigenous Sports Hall of Fame was inducted on April 12. The athletes class of 2023 included basketball’s Michelle Foreman, former NHL forward Jamie Leach, Shelly Hruska from ringette and bandy, and boxer Maurice Camyre. Brian Chrupalo from the Pine Creek First Nation was honoured as an official. His football career includes working in the CFL. Builder Arnold Asham is best-known for his support of curling. On the diamond, he was a playing coach for the Carman Goldeyes in the Redboine Senior Baseball League and the manager of the Winnipeg Internationals in the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Major Fastball League.

The Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association will induct this year’s hall of fame class May 13 at the Canad Inns Club Regent. Entering the hall as builders will be retired MHSAA executive director Morris Glimcher, and rural coaches Ken Overby from Teulon, Daryl Ford of Glenboro and Gord Nixon of Russell. The 1996-1998 Morris School varsity girls volleyball team also will be inducted.

Switching to baseball, Joe Wiwchar, whose involvement with the game has spanned seven decades, will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on June 17 in St. Mary’s, Ont. On June 11 in his hometown of Morden, the baseball community will celebrate his induction beginning at 2 p.m. at Buhler Field and continuing later in the afternoon at the Access Event Centre, which is home to the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The induction of this year’s provincial honourees is in Morden on June 3. Jim Mutcheson, who was inducted into the HOF in 1999, has replaced the retired Wiwchar as the administrator/manager of the Hall and Museum.

In other news, Rick Brownlee, the sports heritage manager at Sport Manitoba, officially retired at the end of March after nearly 40 years in sports administration. One of his major roles was spearheading the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame through countless selections and inductions and he will work in a consulting role through the 2023 induction in the fall. Sport Manitoba will honour Rick with a retirement reception on May 11 in the HOF and Museum at 145 Pacific Ave.

Sport Manitoba has hired Jon Waldman as its sports heritage specialist. Waldman is the author of books on wrestling and sports collectibles, plus one about the Winnipeg Jets, titled 100 Things Jets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die.

Although it had no connection to Brownlee leaving, this columnist has submitted his resignation from the HOF independent selection committee after serving for more than two decades. I was first elected to the committee for a three-year term in 2001 as a provincial sports organization member and since then served as an appointed representative of the veterans research and selection committee. It’s been a privilege to serve with many dedicated volunteers and bring what I hope was a mature voice and a broad knowledge across the sports spectrum to the selection process.