Ukrainian sports hall honours Manitobans

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This article was published 29/11/2023 (1024 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Dec. 9 in Horsham, Pa., the Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame will induct its classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022. The induction ceremonies had been placed on hold owing to the COVID-10 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The 2020 group consists of 36 individuals and one team, the 2021 class features 13 people and one team from Winnipeg, and the 2023 class features 17 individuals. The HOF also will honour six organizations identified as legacy as well as players and coaches with Ukrainian heritage who have won the Stanley Cup.

Winnipeg’s Bill Ezinicki is being honoured in the 2020 group for both hockey and golf. The right winger, nicknamed Wild Bill, played minor hockey in Winnipeg with Excelsiors and junior with the Rangers. He played in the NHL over a nine-year period with Toronto, Boston and the New York Rangers and won three Stanley Cups with the Maple Leafs in 1947, ’48 and ’49. He was later a golf pro in Massachusetts.

A 2021 inductee, Wally (Whirling Dervish) Stanowski, was Ezinicki’s teammate for the first two Cups with the Leafs. The defenseman, who won the Memorial Cup with the St. Boniface Seals in 1938, also won Stanley Cups with Toronto in 1942 and ’45. He spent 10 seasons in the NHL, the latter three with the Rangers.

Two brothers, who were born and started curling in Grandview, Man., are also being inducted — Mike Slyziuk is part of the 2020 class and Ernie is in the class of 2021. Mike joined the Detroit Curling Club in 1948 and Ernie in 1950. In 1963, with Mike skipping and Ernie playing second, they represented the USA at the world curling championship, then known as the Scotch Cup. The Americans won bronze medals and gave Canadian champion Ernie Richardson his only loss.

The Ukrainian Sports HOF is also inducting another Manitoba curler. On its Facebook page, the organization lists 2022 recipient Kerry Burtnyk as being from the USA. This columnist has advised them, in the hope that they get it right on Dec. 9, that Burtnyk, who skipped his Canadian team to the world title in 1995, is a proud Winnipegger.

A 2021 inductee, Ron Shewchuk from Minnedosa is a baseball umpire whose more than 40 years on the diamond at both the amateur and professional level included umpiring at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was inducted into the Manitoba Baseball HOF in Morden in 2018. Joe Wiwchar, retired manager of the Morden hall, who was inducted into the Ukrainian Hall in 2019, nominated Shewchuk.

The Ukrainian Students Club Kozaks from the University of Manitoba are the Winnipeg team being inducted. The Kozaks entered the intramural hockey league in 1974-75 and won the championship that season and again in 1976-77. In February 1976, the Kozaks travelled to New Jersey to play the Chornomorska Sitch all-star team in the first competition between Ukrainian-Canadian and Ukrainian-American hockey teams. The Kozaks won 5-2 and 9-0.

Terry Sawchuk and Eric Nesterenko, both of whom won Stanley Cups, and former Winnipeg Jet Dale Hawerchuk were part of the Ukrainian hall’s 2017 class. Nine individuals with Manitoba roots were honoured in 2018, including hockey greats Turk Broda and Bill Mosienko, former Blue Bomber Steve Patrick, world curling champions Orest Meleschuk and Ed Werenich, major league baseball third baseman Corey Koskie, and Evelyn (Wawryshyn) Moroz, who played in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. Volleyball coach Mike Burchuk and cross-country skiing and biathlon coach Myron Zatwarnicki were builder inductees.

Former Jet Dave Babych and his older brother Wayne, who moved to Winnipeg after his NHL career, were honoured in 2019. The Babyches have been involved with a program formed in Winnipeg called Canadian Friends of Hockey in the Ukraine.

In addition to those Stanley Cup winners mentioned, the list of individuals of Ukrainian heritage born in our province or who played here with their names on the Cup includes Nick Wasnie, Alex Shibicky, Bill Juzda, Eddie Mazur, Pete Langelle, Dave Semenko, Bill Lesuk, Curtis Leschyshyn, Mike Nykoluk and Barry Trotz.