Miramichi News: CITY OF MIRAMICHI SPORTS WALL OF FAME FEBRUARY 17

The Board of Directors of the City of Miramichi Sports Wall of Fame has selected ten (10) honourees to be inducted to the wall at a ceremony to be held on Friday, February 17, 2012 at the Rodd Miramichi Inn.

The inductees include one (1) team, four (4) builders, one (1) of whom is honoured in the Veteran’s category, and five (5) athletes.  Following are brief profiles of the inductees for 2012.  Miramichi Online will be broadcasting the event from its Website www.miramichionline.com just click on the MO Cam button in the main menu from 7-10pm.  See you there!

LOGGIEVILLE BISONS 1966

TEAM

          The Loggieville Bisons’ teams of the 1960s era were among the most successful in the storied history of Loggieville softball.

Loggieville teams were Maritime Intermediate A Champs in 1964, Maritime Senior B Champs in 1965, and Maritime Senior A Champs in 1966.  These successes led to a berth in the first Canadian Senior Men’s Fast Pitch Championships in Saskatoon, in 1967.

All but one of the Bisons’ players came from within a mile radius of the “dust bowl” in Loggieville.

Three members of the team were to become mayors of Loggieville, and five became educators on the Miramichi.  All team members exemplified the spirit of volunteerism in their community, led by the likes of Don Ross, Junior MacDonald, Stan Hennigar, Peter Manderson, Tom and Joe Lanteigne, and many others.

The team was inducted into the Softball N. B. Hall of Fame in 1996, and now assumes its rightful place on the Miramichi wall.

BERNARD “BUNNY” DEMPSEY

BUILDER

VETERAN’S CATEGORY

          The name Bunny Dempsey is synonymous with the growth and development of cross-country skiing in the Miramichi area.          Bunny was instrumental in building the first ski club on the river, located at the rifle range in Nordin, in 1976.  He was one of the main “movers and shakers” as the club moved to French Fort Cove, to Douglastown, and finally, to its present home in Nelson-Miramichi.

During his more than thirty-five years of involvement, Bunny has served on many executive positions at the club, but his greatest contribution may be his unceasing commitment to teaching the youngsters of the community, from those involved in the “Jack Rabbit” program to the hundreds of school children who use the club as part of the school system’s physical fitness initiatives.

Bunny is himself an avid skier, a recognized artist and poet, and a committed volunteer with various organizations.

          The Miramichi wall is pleased to recognize the excellence, tenacity, and longevity of Bunny’s contributions to physical fitness on the Miramichi.

PATRICK FLANAGAN

ATHLETE

          Pat Flanagan, simply stated, is the best male golfer ever developed at the Miramichi Golf and Country Club.  Beginning in the 1970s when, in 1979, he won both senior and junior club championships at the Miramichi club, Pat has been the dominant tournament and club-event golfer, year after year, right up to the present day.

He has won more than twenty club championships at Miramichi; he has represented the club at more than thirty North Shore team events; he was a member of the New Brunswick’s Willingdon Cup team in 1986; he has won more than fifteen stroke-play tournaments throughout New Brunswick; and he and his wife, Paula, make up one of dominant mixed-teams on the New Brunswick golf circuit.

          Pat has held various executive positions at the M.G.C.C. and at the provincial level.  He is currently chairman of the player-development committee of the N.B.G.A.

DONALD GRANT

BUILDER

          Don Grant of Moncton has had a legendary career in N. B. sports as both an athlete and a builder.  He attended St. Thomas University in Chatham in the 1950s, where he was an outstanding quarterback of Tommies football teams.

He was a great senior basketball player and won three provincial championships with the Newcastle Legionnaires.  He played baseball with the Douglastown Combines in the late 50s.

But it is as a coach, organizer, referee, and administrator that Don has had his greatest influence.  He coached basketball, football, and track and field at Harkins High in Newcastle in the 1960s.  He went on to be one of N. B.’s outstanding basketball officials, coaches, umpires, and NBIAA executives.

He has won numerous awards and recognitions for his work, including a place in various Walls and Halls of  Fame throughout N. B.

          He is well remembered and honoured for his contribution to sports development on the Miramichi river.

JAMES GRAHAM

BUILDER

          Jim Graham has been a respected physical education teacher, and a volunteer basketball and volleyball coach and official in the Miramichi area for more than thirty-five years.  The growth of volleyball in Miramichi schools and the success of school teams from the Newcastle area are directly attributable to Jim’s efforts as a coach, organizer, official, and as a volunteer with Volleyball New Brunswick.

Jim’s teams have won numerous championships at the bantam, midget, and juvenile levels, and many of his players have competed at the university and Canada Games levels.

Jim has been recognized with a lifetime achievement award by the

New Brunswick Basketball Referees Association, and with induction to the Volleyball New Brunswick Hall of Fame in 2005.

JOHN HENRY

ATHLETE

          John Henry is said to have been one of the best athletes ever produced on the Miramichi.  He excelled in hockey, baseball, softball, and soccer, on school representative teams and at the bantam, midget, junior, intermediate and senior levels.

He led his hockey teams in Newcastle to provincial championships at the bantam and midget levels in 1967 and 68.

He had tryouts with the Montreal Junior Canadians and the London Knights, but opted to return to the Miramichi for schooling.

At the age of 17, playing with the Newcastle Schooners, he was the youngest player ever selected to the North-South All Star game.  He was a member of a Maritime midget  baseball championship team in Newcastle in 1970, and he competed with the Loggieville Bisons softball teams at the juvenile, junior, and senior levels in the 70s, and with the Chatham Junior Ironmen baseball team in the same era.

A back injury at the age of 23 shortened his player career, but John is still actively involved with programs at the Chatham Head Recreation Center and with Chatham Head Oldtimers’ programs.

JIM MATHESON

ATHLETE

 

          Jim Matheson was an all-around athlete whose portfolio includes major achievements in hockey, football, baseball, softball and curling.

He competed at the highest levels of amateur hockey including minor, intermediate, junior and Atlantic university levels.

His resume includes the distinction of being the last quarterback to play for the Harkins High School football program in the fall of 1969.

His twenty-five years as a competitive curler produced numerous bonspiel and cashspiel wins along with two provincial championships.

He competed with the Chatham Ironmen Senior baseball team in 1981 and 82, and was a member of the bronze medal Ironmen team at the Canadian championships in 1982.

He was a member of no less than eight provincial-championship teams, and was said to be “an all-around good teammate who could adapt to any position, in any sport”.

          Jim continued his involvement in sports as a coach in curling and hockey, and as the radio voice of the Newcastle Cardinals in the 1990s.

PERLEY TOZER

BUILDER

          Perley Tozer, a 2009 inductee of the Volleyball New Brunswick Hall of Fame, is widely recognized as one of N. B .’s premier volleyball coaches.

Beginning in the 1970s, he coached at Sunbury West Junior High School, moving to Newcastle in 1974.  His tenure at Miramichi Valley High School has produced four NBIAA Senior Girls (AAA) Provincial titles and two NBIAA Junior Girls (AAA) Provincial titles.

Perley led Team New Brunswick at the 1979 Canada Winter Games in Brandon, Manitoba.

Perley has been a volleyball referee, a coordinator for Volleyball N. B., a mentor and friend to hundreds of young athletes, and a dedicated organizer and administrator for many school and community activities, leagues, and development programs.

          His level of commitment and dedication is lauded by his former students and his peers in the sports fraternity.

       TANYA WHALEN-JOHNSON

ATHLETE

          Tanya Whalen-Johnson is recognized as one of Chatham’s outstanding female athletes in field hockey, basketball, and track and field.

She competed and excelled in field hockey at the University of New Brunswick, on a perennial A.U.A.A. championship contender, and on a team that vied for national recognition during much of her career.

Tanya was a team leader who achieved athlete-of-the-year awards at Dr. Losier Junior High(1986), and at James M. Hill Memorial High School (1988-1989).

Tanya was named a CIAU All-Star and All-Canadian on several occasions for her excellence in field hockey, and she was recognized as an Academic All Canadian in 1992 and 1993 for excellence in the classroom.

Tanya has been the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards, and she was named the Miramichi Female Athlete of Year in 1991 and 1992.

LARRY WOOD

ATHLETE

          Larry Wood was one of the Miramichi’s elite athletes in the 1950s and 60s.

Larry played minor, midget, and high school hockey in the early and mid-1950s.

From 1958 through 1963, Larry was a star with St. Thomas Tommies in collegiate hockey and was a leading contributor to the 1961 Maritime Intercollegiate Championship Tommies’ team.

In 1959-60, taking a break from his college career, Larry was one of the leading scorers on the Chatham Ironmen team which won a provincial intermediate title.

In February of 1962, the Tommies played Laval in a game that was unofficially billed as a Canadian Championship final.  Larry Wood scored twice in that game, won by the Tommies 7-4.

In 1967, Larry was the captain of the Newcastle Schooners team which won a Maritime Intermediate Championship.

Larry played baseball in the old Miramichi Valley League from 1958 through 1966.

During his career, Larry established a reputation as a skilled athlete, and, when his playing days were over, as a leading contributor to the sporting tradition of the Miramichi through his involvement as a teacher, coach, and volunteer.