New inductees to Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame no strangers to renown

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This article was published 16/7/2015 (1348 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Stanley Cup winner Bill Ranford, Grey Cup champion Trevor Kennerd and FISA world champion rower Jeff Powell headline the class of 2015 headed for the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame this fall.

The announcement made today named five athletes, one team and two builders for induction in November 7 at the Victoria Inn.

Winnipeg Wesmen basketball star Ken Opalko and top sprinter Ken Peters completed the roster of athletes chosen.

Dr. Gordon Cumming, a founding member of the Canadian Association of Sports Sciences, and Archie Chawla, an athlete and coach in badminton, squash and tennis, were the builders selected to the Hall.

In the team category, the 1964-65 University of Manitoba Bisons Hockey team was chosen for induction on the 50th anniversary of their CIAU (now CIS) championship.

Ranford, a Brandon native, was a Boston Bruins draft pick and won two Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers. He was also the Conn Smythe winner as playoff MVP in 1990.

Kennerd, a native of Calgary, spent 12 years as the Blue Bombers placekicker and was a three-time CFL all-star and Grey Cup champion. He set a league record for scoring in 1985.

Powell, who did not start rowing until he was 21, was a member of Canada’s first FISA world championship men’s eights plus cox boat, that in 2002 in Seville. He defended that title a year later and won a World Cup, Henley and competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in 2004.

Opalko was a five-time GPAC all-star and first-team all-Canadian retired as the Wesmen all-time scoring leader with 3,603 points — all before the three-point line was introduced to the game. He also played for Team Canada four times.

Peters was a superb sprinter, capturing the Dominion Junior 100-yard dash in 1947. He also held the Manitoba record for 100-yard and 200-yard dash for most of his career. Peters’ best 100-yard time of 9.8 seconds held held into the 1960’s. He went on to a law degree and retired as a provincial court judge in 2005.

Tickets for the November induction event go on sale Sept. 1.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca