The Timmins Sports Heritage Hall of Fame is celebrating its class of 2024 inductees.
From track and field to cricket to hockey, football and more, 10 people were added to the field of athletes who've left their mark on the local sports scene. Over the weekend, the seventh edition of the hall of fame inductions was held at the McIntyre Community Building.
The inductees are Jacques Belec, Frère Raymond Corbeil, Danny Belisle, Gord Hansuld, Mark Bragagnolo, Real (Chevy) Chevrefils, Lisa Amsden, Kim Demers, Wally Kapel, and William (Bill) Place.
This year's ceremony saw a new honour, the Lou Battachio Friend of Sport Award, which celebrates people contributing to sports behind the scenes or in ways that often go unnoticed. The inaugural award was given to Corbeil, who was a fixture at track and field and cross-country races for more than five decades.
Amsden is a decorated track and cross-country runner, who at one point was ranked 10th in the country in the 800-metre race and qualified for the Canada Summer Games.
Belec was drafted by the Toronto Argonauts in 1954, but ended up playing for the Montreal Alouettes as part of an earlier deal between the teams. Injuries forced him to retire at 26 years old, and he later became a TV sports commentator while working in the insurance industry. Later in life, he served as the president of the Quebec Golf Association and was a Canadian Seniors Golf Association board members.
Belisle signed with the New York Rangers when he was 18. While he only played four games in the NHL, he enjoyed a 14-year career in the minor leagues. After hanging up his skates from playing, he was a coach in the NAHL, NHL and CHL. As a scout for the Detroit Red Wins for 17 years, he was part of the team's dynasty that won three Stanley Cups. In the cult movie classic Slapshot, Belec is in the final fight scenes, with his son Dan Jr. acting as a stick boy.
Bragagnolo played in the CFL from 1977-84, suiting up for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Before hitting the professional leagues, he played for the University of Toronto, where he still holds the single-season record of 1,018 rushing yards, which he earned in his rookie year.
From 1951-59, Chevrefils played in the NHL for the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. While he made it to the Stanley Cup finals in 1957, the Bruins were eliminated by the Canadiens.
Demers has taken home medals at all levels of competition, earning a full scholarship to Southeast Missouri State in 1998 where her bronze medal in the 400 metres helped her school win the championship. After two years in Missouri, she spent three years at the University of Wyoming where she continued to flourish on the track and field scene. Today she is a teacher and coach in Ontario.
Hansuld starting weightlifting and powerlifting to see gains on the wrestling mat and found his niche. In the early '80s, he won four provincial powerlifting championships and two national championships. He qualified for four world events and in 1984 register an eight-place finish at the World Championships.
In the 1970s, Kapel entered the Canadian Wrist Wrestling Championships in Timmins on a dare. The then 17-year-old won, but he was too young to move on to the world championships. He went on to win five national titles and even arm-wrestled Lou Ferrigno and Bobby Hull behind the scenes.
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While cricket is picking up in popularity again locally, it first hit the sporting scent in the 1930s. Willam (Bill) Place made cricket history by hitting the first and only recorded Century by a batsman at the Timmins Cricket Club.
The sports hall of fame is located in the J.P. Bickell Auditorium at the McIntyre Community Building. Check out more photos from the ceremony here.
