MOOSE JAW – Five of the finest athletes and one of the most successful teams in Moose Jaw’s history will be enshrined in the first induction class of the Moose Jaw and District Sports Hall of Fame.
Clark Gillies (hockey) – four-time Stanley Cup winner with the New York Islanders in a 14-year NHL career, inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as well as the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame
Mike Mintenko (swimming) – two-time Olympian was a World Cup champion in both 50 metre and 100 metre Butterfly events and is one of the top Canadian swimmers of all time, inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2012
Lisa Franks (multi-sport) – winner of five Paralympic gold medals in wheelchair track, also playing wheelchair basketball
Justin Abdou (wrestling) – 17 national titles and 26 international medals, winning gold at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and finishing 11th at the 2000 Olympics, inducted into the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame
Scott Schultz (football) – 2007 Grey Cup champion with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, inducted into the Riders ‘Plaza of Honour’, 6th on the club’s all-time sack list and known for his celebration, the ‘Moose Jaw Stomp’
1985 Moose Jaw Generals (senior hockey) – Senior AA Hardy Cup national champions, going 49-2 in the 1984-85 season, inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2015
For a hall of fame that took several years to get off the ground, the list of potential inductees may be endless.
“We’re going to be at this for a very long time, there are lots of accomplished athletes, teams and builders in this city,” said Larry Graham, the hall’s president.
“Everyone we talk to in the sporting community and community at-large is very supportive of the project. Everybody recognizes that it’s been a long time coming.”
The induction ceremony and banquet will be held in Moose Jaw on November 6. The athletes will then forever have a spot on the wall at Mosaic Place.
Comments