Four athletes, a builder and an event will go into the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame this fall.
The Class of 2024 includes a National Hockey League (NHL) veteran, Grey Cup champ and legendary Hamilton, Ont. race, the 130-year-old Around the Bay Road Race.
With a 30-kilometer course that loops around Hamilton Harbour, the renowned event is North America’s oldest long-distance road race, first established in 1894.
Over the years, it has grown in popularity, attracting thousands of participants from around the world and raising money for several local charities.
Hamilton-born NHLer Steve Staios will be one of the five athletes to join the club.
Staios spent 18 seasons in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames, New York Islanders and was instrumental in the Edmonton Oilers’ unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006.
Playing in over 1,000 NHL games, he accumulated 220 points and earned two gold medals representing Team Canada at the World Hockey Championships.
After retiring in 2012, Staios transitioned into coaching and management including becoming president and general manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), winning two OHL Championships in 2018 and 2022.
Two-time Grey Cup champion Frank Cosentino began at Cathedral High School as a multi-sport athlete playing baseball and football.
After attending the University of Western Ontario, the quarterback would be drafted in 1960 by his hometown Tiger-Cats and play for them, the Edmonton Eskimos, Toronto Argonauts, and Ottawa between 1960 and 1972.
He won two Grey Cup championships with the Tiger-Cats in 1963 and 1965, and became a university head coach following his retirement.
Staios and Cosentino will be joined by two-time Olympic cyclist Susan Palmer-Komar, first-ever Olympic sailor, Norm Robertson and manager, coach, and trainer, Ray Jones in 2024.
The Hall of Fame’s annual induction luncheon is set for Wednesday, October 23 at Michelangelo Banquet Centre.
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