Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame 2010 Inductees

The Mariner’s Men’s Soccer Team of 1983 captured the Canadian College Athletics Association’s National Championship on Nov. 12, 1983.

Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame Announces 2010 Inductees

Before the Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee retires for the 2010 season, it has one more task to complete: announcing the line-up of this year’s honoured inductees.

From the Spirit of ’83 to the name sake of one of our most beloved hockey arenas, the Sports Hall of Fame will once again pay tribute to Nanaimo’s most gifted and hard-working athletes, teams, builders, pioneers, and media personalities. The following seven inductees will be the guests of honour at a special ceremony in September:

Dr. Leo Margolis – Builder Category – Hockey
Dr. Leo Margolis not only coached hockey for many years in Nanaimo, but according to his fans, he made huge strides in the development and contribution to the game of hockey in British Columbia. He was an adamant supporter of amateur hockey, first as a player and coach and then as the president of the BC Amateur Hockey Association, the youngest Canadian ever to hold such a position in any province.

 In recognition of his past services, the Association made Leo an honourary Vice-President from 1968-1988 and then honourary Life Member in 1988. He also received the Diamond Stick Award in 1989, the highest honour granted by the BC Association.

“Leo contributed so much, so unselfishly over such a long period of time for the advancement of hockey throughout the BC Minor Hockey system and across Canada,” says Bob Nicholson, President of Hockey Canada, who nominated Leo for the Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame.

Vancouver Island University (Malaspina) 1983 Men’s Soccer Team – Team CategoryThis outstanding Mariner soccer team captured not only the league and provincial titles in 1983, but the Canadian College Athletics Association’s National Championship on Nov. 12, 1983 as well. Their victory capped an outstanding season that saw the team go undefeated in all 18 games en route to the provincial and national titles.  It was the institution’s first national championship, and established a level of excellence for all future teams and athletes. 

The Mariner’s Men’s Soccer Team of 1983 was also the first team inducted into the Mariner Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. At that time, the team established an annual bursary to be awarded to an outstanding men’s soccer player at VIU.

 

Angela Chalmers – Athlete Category in Track and Field
Angela Chalmers was one of Canada’s finest female distance runners and one of the country’s few aboriginal Olympians. Born in Manitoba, she moved to Nanaimo as a four-year-old. Spotted by Bill English at an elementary school meet when she was 10 years old, she joined the Nanaimo Track and Field Club where she spent her Junior Development years.

Angela would go on to secure a silver medal in 3,000 metres at the Pan American Games in 1987, gold medals in both 1,500 and 3,000 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland in 1990, an Olympic bronze medal in the 3,000 metres at Barcelona in 1992, and gold in 3,000 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria in 1994. Angela has been inducted into both the Manitoba and BC Sports Hall of Fame.

 

Barry Pederson – Athlete Category in HockeyBarry Pederson, who moved from Big River, Saskatchewan to Nanaimo in 1965 at the age of four, was selected as a first round draft choice by the Boston Bruins in 1980. He was rated as the NHL`s no. 11 prospect that year. During his illustrious 12 year career in the pros he would go on to play for not only the Bruins, but the Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Hartford Whalers.

Leading up to his selection in the NHL draft, Barry played all of his minor hockey in Nanaimo. His pre-draft teams included the Nanaimo Clippers, as well as Victoria and Maine, before heading to Boston where he would begin his professional career that would culminate in a Stanley Cup Championship with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991. 

 

Barry certainly made an impact in his hockey career, breaking numerous records during his tenure with the NHL including scoring four goals in one period against Buffalo in 1982, most goals by a rookie (44 in 1981-82), most points in one game (7 of them against Hartford in 1982), and most points in one playoff year by a rookie (18 in 1982). Following his career as a professional hockey player, Barry returned to Boston and worked as an investment broker and part-time hockey broadcaster.

 

Michael Rhode – Media Category
 To his peers, Michael Rhodes was known as the “dean of Nanaimo sports reporters” for more than two decades. With a tireless devotion to community sports, Michael (affectionately called Rhodsie by all who knew him) was responsible, more than any single person in those two decades, for providing Nanaimo with its sporting news.

Rhodesie, who sadly passed away in early 2010, wasn’t known for just focusing on “star” athletes and administrators. He was better known for providing a forum for athletes of any age to receive public recognition for their feats. His role at the Nanaimo Daily News and its predecessor, the Daily Free Press, brought him in contact with literally thousands of people, and the positive attitude and impact his work had on their lives was estimable.  Michael also volunteered for a variety of organizations, and spent countless hours helping others who simply asked for a hand.

 

Alfred “Red” Carr – Athlete/Builder Category in Hockey
To many, the name “Red” Carr is synonymous in the Nanaimo hockey world with athlete, builder and pioneer. He played with the Nanaimo Clippers for nearly 30 years, helped coach numerous teams over the decades, and supported countless youth with hockey instruction, skate sharpening, stick taping and above all, encouragement. He also recognized when an individual had the skills and ability to play hockey at a more elite level, and was instrumental in assisting a number of players as they pursued their careers and dreams at a more advanced level.

Red and his wife Pauline, who owned the Texaco station right next to the Civic Arena from the 1950s-70`s (known as “Hockey Central” to most), were known for the over-the-top generosity, often helping struggling families with skates and sticks they carried in their inventory, to merchandise and gas. As Arnie Duggan, a current Hall of Fame member puts it: “We should reflect and honour the strength of conviction and selfless dedication to sport and youth so exemplified in the day-to-day life of Red Carr and his wife Pauline.

 

Frank Crane – Builder Category in Hockey
Nanaimo’s “Man of the Year” in 1973, Frank Crane, was known, respected and loved not only as a dedicated sportsman and team builder, but as a talented, hard-working man who always had the best interests of the city at heart.

The name sake of the Frank Crane Arena at Beban Park was known to have personally dedicated thousands of hours and a great deal of his own money to build and promote the sport of hockey in Nanaimo. Following the collapse of the Clippers Intermediate league in 1951, Frank worked hard to get it back off the ground, which happened in 1955. He was also a major proponent of launching an old timer’s hockey team, for which he took out a personal loan to buy used equipment for some of the players.

 

Frank would eventually become the chairman of the Parks Recreation Commission and a tireless community worker who spearheaded the campaign to promote a recreation centre at the exhibition park, now known as the Beban Park Complex. Although Frank passed away unexpectedly at the age of 54, his legacy remains. Jim Hume, a friend and former sports reporter with the Victoria Daily Colonist, wrote that “the hockey community and the City of Nanaimo will never be able to thank him enough for what he accomplished. He more than deserves a place of honour.”