2013 BC SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

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1 2013 BC SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ATHLETE CATEGORY KEVIN ALEXANDER Lacrosse One of the greatest goal-scorers in Canadian lacrosse history, Victoria s Kevin Alexander was called the Gretzky of the lacrosse floor and idolized by none other than a young Steve Nash. When Alexander retired in 1986 at the conclusion of a ten-year career in the Western Lacrosse Association, he stood as the league s fourth all-time leading scorer. In exactly 300 career senior games encompassing regular season, playoffs, and Mann Cup play, he amassed a remarkable 797 goals and 584 assists for 1381 points, good enough for a place in the top twenty professional players who ever played the game. If his career had been as long as others around him on this list, he would undoubtedly be ranked even closer to the top. One of the highest scoring junior players ever, including a record 217 points in 28 games in 1976, Alexander was named MVP of the Victoria MacDonald s 1976 Minto Cup victory, emblematic of the Canadian junior lacrosse championship. Twice he led Victoria to the Mann Cup, as senior Canadian champions in 1979 and In 1986, while representing Canada, he was named best midfielder at the world field lacrosse championships and named to the All-World team. DAWN COE-JONES Golf Over the course of a 25-year LPGA career, Lake Cowichan s Dawn Coe-Jones established herself as one of the most successful Canadian female golfers of all time. In that time, Coe-Jones won three LPGA Tour events (1992 Kemper Open, 1994 HealthSouth Palm Beach Classic, 1995 Chrysler-Plymouth Tournament of Champions) and accumulated over $3.3 million in career earnings, including a career high $271,978 in She remains in the top seventy in the LPGA s all-time career money leaders and stands as the second highest earning Canadian player ever behind Lorie Kane. Along with her close friend Lisa Walters from Prince Rupert, Coe-Jones did much to establish a place for Canadian women on the LPGA Tour. Other highlights of Coe-Jones remarkably consistent career include 72 top-ten finishes and a victory in the 1992 Pizza-La LPGA matchplay championship. Before turning pro, Coe-Jones won the 1978 and 1979 BC Junior Girls championship, the 1982 and 1983 BC Ladies Amateur, and the 1983 Canadian Ladies Amateur. 1

2 BRENT HAYDEN Swimming Mission s Brent Hayden produced one of Canada s most dramatic moments of the 2012 Olympic Games in London winning a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle, arguably swimming s most hotly-contested event. Hayden finished in a time of seconds, off his mark of which he set during the controversial body suit era, but it may have been his gutsiest race ever he was the oldest swimmer in the field by five years and was plagued by back problems in the four years leading up to the games.. Canada had not placed an athlete in the Olympic 100m freestyle final since Dick Pound 52 years earlier and had never captured a medal until Hayden achieved what had eluded him while competing at two earlier Olympics in 2004 and Earlier, Hayden was 2007 co-world champion in the 100m freestyle, after finishing in a rare tie with Italy s Filippo Magnini, which marked Canada s first gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships since the late Victor Davis 21 years earlier. Over the course of his senior career from , Hayden also won three silver and one bronze medal at the world championships and eight Commonwealth Games medals including two gold. He retired after the London Olympics as the Canadian record holder in the 50m, 100m, and 200m freestyle events, both short and long course. Notably he was the first human in history to break the 48 second barrier in the 100m freestyle without the aid of body suits. ROBERT RO HINDSON Rugby For eighteen years, when rugby foes looked across the pitch at Canadian and BC teams they were faced with an imposing sight towering 6 5 Robert Ro Hindson. Yet, Hindson was more than simply height. As one of the best all-round rugby players Canada has ever produced, he could beat you with power, agility, excellent ball skills with both hands and feet, and surprising speed. His unique skill set made him a dominant presence in both the 15-a-side and 7-a-side versions of the game. When Hindson retired in 1990, he had accumulated a record 31 international caps. Two of those caps were earned representing Canada against Ireland and Wales at the inaugural Rugby World Cup in Twice Hindson was selected for international matches overseas alongside players from some of the biggest rugby-playing nations on the planet. In 1974, the Irish Rugby Football Union selected Hindson to play for the Irish Wolfhounds in two matches and as a reserve in a third for the President s XV against the full Ireland side. Few Canadian players had ever been recognized in this way previously. Thirteen years later, Hindson was the only Canadian player selected to play for South Pacific Barbarians on a tour of South Africa. PETER REID Triathlon When it comes to the grueling sport of Ironman Triathlon, few athletes can boast the resume that is owned by Victoria s Peter Reid, a three-time world champion. In a sport where it s considered an accomplishment just to finish the 3.86 km swim, km bicycle ride, and a full 42.2 km marathon run, Reid pushed the limits of what the human body is capable of. Besides his three world championship titles (won in 1998, 2000, and 2003), he also has three 2 nd -place and one 3 rd -place finish at the event. He won the Ironman Canada event twice, Ironman Australia three times, and the Ironman Austria and Ironman Lanzarote once each. Reid owns the third-fastest Ironman triathlon time ever completed at seven hours 51 minutes 56 seconds and the fastest-ever time in the run portion with a time of two hours 35 minutes 21 seconds. A four-time Triathlete of the Year winner ( , 2003), Reid was also named Canada s Athlete of the Year in

3 BUILDER CATEGORY KATHY SHIELDS Basketball One of the most respected coaches in Canadian women s basketball history, Victoria s Kathy Shields created a dynasty at the University of Victoria from Hired to coach the UVIC women at the same time as her husband Ken was hired to take on the UVIC men, Shields coached the Vikes to a CISrecord eight national championships and fourteen Canada West titles, at the same time compiling a remarkable in regular season play. Three times she was named CIS Coach of the Year and nine times Canada West Coach of the Year. In 2000, Shields received the 3M Coaching Award for Excellence. Her record at the university level inevitably garnered a great of attention and she was soon assisting with the national women s program as well. She served as an assistant coach of the senior women s national team for two stints in the 1980s and later served as head coach beginning in 1993, when a year later she led Team Canada to a seventh-place finish at the 1994 FIBA world championships. KEN SHIELDS Basketball The other half of the dynamic University of Victoria coaching duo alongside his wife Kathy, Ken Shields stands as the most the most successful coach in the history of Canadian university basketball. Shields began his coaching career as co-coach of the championship-winning UBC Thunderbirds women s team. Later he coached the Laurentian University men s team for six seasons and was named CIAU Coach of the Year in Moving to UVIC in 1978, Shields coached the Vikes men s basketball team to a CIS-record seven straight national championships beginning in By the time he exited the program in 1989, he had accumulated more coaching victories than any man in the history of Canadian inter-university sport and was honoured with three more CIAU Coach of the Year awards. After coaching the junior national team at major events through the 1980s, Shields then devoted his time to the senior men s national team, serving as head coach for five years from His best result at the Team Canada helm was a seventh-place finish at the 1994 FIBA world championships in Toronto. Shields was also instrumental in the establishment of the UVIC National Coaching Institute and served as the founding president of the Commonwealth Centre for Sport Development. 3

4 TEAM CATEGORY 1965 OCEAN FALLS AMATEUR SWIMMING CLUB The Ocean Falls Amateur Swimming Club must stand as one of the great underdog stories in Canadian sport. From a tiny isolated company town (population 3000) that could only be accessed by boat or seaplane on BC s northern coast, coach George Gate and Bob Fisher s swimmers routinely defeated much larger big city teams while developing a reputation as one of the most dominant swim teams in Canada from Perhaps no greater highlight for the club occurred than in 1965, when the tiny Ocean Falls team of four men and one woman won the combined (men and women) team trophy at the Canadian national swimming championships. Besides the isolation, the Ocean Falls team overcame other challenges that made their story even more amazing. The team s only training facility was a tiny 20-yard four-lane indoor pool, about a quarter of the size of a standard international pool. The good news was the pool was a refuge from the incessant rain that soaked the region as the wettest inhabited community in North America. The town received approximately 175 inches of precipitation a year, about four times that which Vancouver receives. During the program s twenty-five year reign, Ocean Falls swimmers accounted for 26% of placements on international teams and won 35% of all medals won by Canadians in international competitions such as the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. Team Members: Bob Fisher (coach), Sandy Gilchrist, Ralph Hutton, Rudi Ingenhorst, Jack Kelso, Anne McDaniel PIONEER CATEGORY LARRY KWONG Ice Hockey Blazing a similar trail as those of Jackie Robinson and Willie O Ree, Vernon s Larry Kwong was the first Chinese-Canadian to play in the National Hockey League. In fact, Kwong, known popularly as The China Clipper, was the first player from the Okanagan to reach the NHL and only the fourth born-andraised in BC to crack an NHL line-up. Today, he remains one of only a handful of Asian-Canadians whose skates have carved NHL ice. His career began with the Vernon Hydrophones, where as the team s star player he won the 1939 BC midget championship and 1941 BC juvenile championship. From there Kwong jumped directly to senior amateur hockey with the Trail Smoke Eaters, playing two seasons there and winning the 1946 Savage Cup, emblematic of BC senior A champions. While with Trail, his strong play caught the attention of a New York Rangers scout who invited Kwong to try-out with the NHL club. He was assigned to the Rangers farm team and quickly became one of their top scorers. On March 13, 1948, he finally got his big chance, taking to the ice for the Rangers at Montreal s revered Forum against the Canadiens and history was made. Although he was never again given the opportunity to play at the game s highest level, he later established himself as one of the Quebec Senior professional league s top players, battling a young Jean Beliveau for the league scoring title in , leading his Valleyfield team in scoring one season later, and winning the league s MVP award in

5 MEDIA CATEGORY LARRY ISAAC Sport TV Producer In the media industry, too often forgotten are the men and women working behind the scenes making the games and sports that are watched by millions look good. Over a thirty-five year career, Coquitlam s Larry Isaac has established himself as one of the best producers in the business. Whether it s NHL hockey, PGA golf, or the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, millions upon millions of people have watched a sport broadcast produced by Isaac. His career began in Vancouver at CKVU, where he worked as the original producer of Sports Page, the groundbreaking program that laid the foundation for the type of sports television coverage seen all over Canada today. In 1980 Isaac moved on to BCTV where he produced Canucks and Whitecaps broadcasts. He has continued to produce Canucks, Oilers, and Flames mid-week broadcasts to this day. For over a decade he worked as Hockey Night in Canada s senior producer, raising the bar with an inventive, creative style while covering twelve Stanley Cup Finals. You name the sport and event, Isaac has probably produced it from eight Olympics, mostly with the World Host Broadcast Feed, to the world track and field championships for CBC, world cycling, swimming, college basketball, LPGA golf, WTA and ATP tennis, even the Nanaimo to Vancouver Bathtub races in the 1980s his fingerprints are on nearly everything in the Canadian sport spectrum and beyond. WAC BENNETT AWARD PAT QUINN Ice Hockey One of the most recognizable faces in Canadian sport, Pat Quinn has made an enormous contribution to sport in British Columbia as an athlete, coach, general manager, and owner. Quinn first came to Vancouver as a member of the Vancouver Canucks inaugural NHL team in 1970 and played two seasons for the Canucks as a popular leader on and off the ice. After retiring following a nine-year NHL career, he became a remarkably successful NHL coach and general manager guiding several NHL clubs. Quinn holds the fifth highest all-time winning percentage amongst NHL coaches with 657 wins to his name. Twice he led his teams to the Stanley Cup Final first with Philadelphia in 1980 and then Vancouver in His eleven-season stint as the Canucks coach, general manager, and president was a turning point in the franchise s history, rebuilding the organization from top-to-bottom into one of the best in the game. Internationally, few coaches have achieved success at all levels to match Quinn s. He coached four Canadian teams to world championships: 2009 U-20 men, 2008 U-18 men, 2004 World Cup of Hockey, and, of course, the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Canada s first Olympic hockey gold in fifty years. His work in the community is second-to-none, devoting countless hours to many charities and organizations ranging from the Vancouver Giants, Canuck Place, Greater Vancouver Open, and Hockey Canada Centre of Excellence. After moving on from the Canucks in 1997, his heart remained in BC and he maintained a permanent residence in West Vancouver, where he still lives to this day. 5