The list of inductees is out for this year’s Guelph Sports Hall of Fame additions.
Every year the board of directors releases the list of those honored ahead of the annual Kiwanis Sports Celebrity Dinner, which includes the induction process and typically includes as honourees three athletes, a builder and a team.
The inductees listed below will be honored at Celebrity Dinner on May 16 at the Italian Canadian Club in Guelph. Tickets for the event go on sale on March 6 and begin at $80 per adult. Students and those under the age of 17 can purchase tickets for $35.
For further information on the event or to purchase tickets call 519-822-1260 extension 2033 or email coralee.barfoot@guelph.ca.
Here are the inductees for 2018 :
Bryan DeCorso (Athlete) — The professional golfer who started playing golf with his father at the Victoria Park East golf course in Guelph. DeCorso won the Ontario Junior Championship in 1989 and placed second at the Canadian Juniors. In 1994, he placed second at the Canadian Amateurs. DeCroso attended Kent State University where he was named Male Athlete of the Year, was named an All-American and turned pro in 1995. He was inducted into the Kent State Hall of Fame in 2004.
Some of his professional highlights include winning the South Georgia Classic Web.com Tour in 2008.
Charles Robert Crowe (Veteran Athlete) — Crowe was a Canadian sport shooter born and raised in Guelph. He was a part of the Canadian team that defeated Great Britain in the Kolapore Challenge Cup in Bisley, England in 1896, returning to the Kolapore 10 more times, winning on two occasions.
Crowe would take over his father’s iron works business in 1908, growing the enterprise into one of the largest employers in the Royal City. He served as Colonel of the Wellington Rifles.
Charles Robert Crowe was a decorated marksman and shooter in his time, winning many medals and cups throughout his career. He won the Governor Generals Cup in rifle shooting in 1911 and a bronze medal with the first Canadian military rifle team at the London Summer Olympics in 1908.
Rob Pavan (Veteran Athlete) — A professional linebacker who made his name in Guelph with the Guelph Minor Football’s Argonaut Pee Wee team, and for leading his Bishop MacDonnell High School squad to three consecutive District 10 Football Championships in 1980, 1981, and 1982. During his high school days, Pavan was named Defensive Player of the Year on two occasions.
After High School, Pavan attended the University of Guelph, where he was named a first team OUA All Star in ’84 and ’85, and won the Yates Cup and Vanier Cup with the Guelph Gryphons in 1984.
Pavan was drafted to the Canadian Football League in 1987 by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, where he would play his first of two seasons in the league before heading to Ottawa to play as a Rough Rider on Specialty Teams and as an Outside Linebacker before being forced to retire due to injury in 1989.
Following his CFL career, Pavan returned to the UofG to coach for six seasons, where he won another Yates cup in 1996. He also took his coaching talents to the Centennial CVI Spartans.
Dave Scott-Thomas (Builder) – Scott-Thomas developed what is considered one of the country’s best collegiate programs at the University of Guelph and the Speed River Track and Field Club. His team has set numerous OUA and USports records, including the longest national title win streak in any sport in Canadian intercollegiate history in Women’s Cross Country for 12 years in a row.
Scott-Thomas was named USport Coach of the Year on 30 occasions and was named Ontario High Performance Coach of the Year in 2007.
He’s also served as a National Team coach representing Canada more than 30 times at international events such as the Olympic and PanAm Games, World Championships and Commonwealth Games, coaching more than 50 national medalists and champions over the years, recently coaching in Rio at the 2016 Summer Games.
He also spearheaded the Guelph Track Project, which raised more than $1 million in just over one week to redevelop the track and field facilities at the University of Guelph Alumni Stadium.
2003 Guelph Royals Midget AAA Baseball Team (Team Inductee) – A team touted with a fairy-tale season, which advanced to the provincial championships and went undefeated in the double knock-out tournament that consisted of 10 of Ontario’s best baseball squads to win the Gold Medal and Provincial Title. The Guelph team was the only one that consisted solely of Guelph players, defeating the two-time defending champion London Badgers 6-5 in a comeback win during the final game.
At this time they are still the only Midget squad from Guelph to have ever won the Major Midget AAA Provincial title. Many on the roster would advance to win the Junior National Title in 2006 as members of the Guelph Silvercreeks.
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