Sports greats inducted into Hall of Fame.
Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame inductees for 2010 are, from left to right, Jim Bannon, Bob Harris, Brian Hoskins, Joan Toogood (representing her husband Ted Toogood), Ken Gibb, Gerry Meehan, and Brendan Shanahan.
Photo/NICOLA BETTS
Seven exceptional members of Etobicoke's athletic community were inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame (ESHF) on Tuesday night, Oct. 26, at a gala dinner at the Old Mill.
ESHF's 17th annual induction dinner introduced the class of 2010, led by NHL superstar Brendan Shanahan and featuring veteran Woodbine racing analyst Jim Bannon, community hockey boosters Bob Harris and Brian Hoskins of the Lakeshore Lions, longtime minor hockey coach Ken Gibb, former NHL player and general manager Gerry Meehan, and Argonauts football great Ted Toogood.
Toronto's mayor-elect, Rob Ford, entered to an enthusiastic standing ovation.
"As you know, I love sports, and I love Etobicoke. So it usually doesn't get any better than this," Ford told the crowd of 400, including sporting legends Johnny Bower and Ferguson Jenkins.
Bannon, a widely respected racing analyst and educator, could not control his joy. He recognized the support he received from colleagues such as jockey Sandy Hawley, Woodbine president Nick Eaves, announcer Dan Loiselle, and Chaplain Shawn Kennedy, along with CBC sports broadcaster, Ron Maclean, all of whom were on hand.
"What little I have absorbed, I thank you for," said Bannon, who encouraged attendees, "If you have a skill, please teach it. If you have an affinity for something, please share it. That's how we're going to build a better Etobicoke."
During his 35 years coaching minor hockey, Gibb mentored future NHL stars Steve Thomas and Adam Oates. The open-hearted coach was known for turning "problem kids" into productive citizens, and for raising enough money so that none of his players ever paid a dollar to play.
Several of Gibb's former players from the Royal York Royals were on hand to honour their coach, who in a brief speech said his career highlight was seeing his players grow up to be good people.
"What more could a coach dream of than that?" he said.
The modest duo of Harris and Hoskins ran the original Lakeshore Lions Arena for many years and spearheaded the construction of the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence, a four-pad arena on Kipling Ave. north of Lakeshore Road that hosts several community hockey organizations and doubles as the official practice facility of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Marlies.
"We look forward to many generations of players and fans enjoying this complex," said Harris.
After a solid playing career, Meehan became general manager of the Buffalo Sabres and selected Pierre Turgeon with the first overall pick in the 1987 entry draft, instead of highly touted prospect Brendan Shanahan. Meehan said that choosing between the playmaking Turgeon and the power forward from Mimico was "the toughest decision I ever made in my life... I think we made the right choice, but I can't be sure."
"Growing up in Toronto and being a big Maple Leafs fan, I hated the Buffalo Sabres," Shanahan later told Meehan, as the crowd chuckled. "You made the right pick."
The high-scoring winger played 21 seasons and is ranked among the all-time greats, but the crowd cheered loudest for a photo of his OFSAA hockey championship team at Michael Power/St. Joseph High School.
Mimico's reputation as a tough but tightknit community shaped Shanahan, who in an emotional speech thanked his three brothers and their friends for letting little "Shanny" tag along and learn the game.
"The true definition of a teammate was Ted Toogood," said Zeke O'Connor, who played with Toogood on the Grey Cup-winning 1952 Argonauts squad. Toogood created the athletics program at what is now Ryerson University, and taught high school phys ed. in Etobicoke for many years.
O'Connor and fellow Argos alumnus Nick Volpe accepted the award for Toogood, who was too ill to attend the ceremony. O'Connor called Toogood "someone I could respect and trust" and "as good a football player as I've ever seen, but who probably hasn't got the recognition he should."
Bannon joked that some of the inductees should also be members of the Apache Burger Hall of Fame, and in Shanahan's case, the Blue Goose Tavern Hall of Fame.
Proceeds from Wednesday's gala, which included a sports memorabilia auction, fund the Hall's exhibits and scholarships for student athletes.
"I think the scholarships are the greatest part," said Jim Sturino, president of Royal LePage West, who became ESHF president in 1999. "The five at Humber College, the two for the high school students, and the $3,000 we give to Special Olympics makes it a special evening."
The 2010 high school winners both graduated from Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School last year. Robert MacFarlane, a five-sport athlete and active volunteer now attending McMaster University, calls the scholarship "a real big confidence booster going into university."
Shea Seale, in her first year at the University of Guelph, plans to put the money towards her costly textbooks. Now an intermural basketball referee, Seale captained Redmond's basketball team, excelling at sports and in the classroom.
Wednesday's gala capped off a fruitful year that saw ESHF settle into its new permanent home at the MasterCard Centre. The Hall is free to visit and "I encourage people to get down there and take a look, because it's fantastic," Sturino said, adding that he hopes the Hall boosts the pride Etobicoke residents have in their hometown.