[BCMA] Media Release: Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame 2010 Inductees

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Media Release
July 15, 2010
For Immediate Release

*Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame Announces 2010 Inductees
*
Before the Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee retires for the
2010 season, it has one more task to complete: announcing the line-up of
this year’s honoured inductees.

>From the Spirit of ’83 to the name sake of one of our most beloved hockey
arenas, the Sports Hall of Fame will once again pay tribute to Nanaimo’s
most gifted and hard-working athletes, teams, builders, pioneers, and media
personalities. The following seven inductees will be the guests of honour at
a special ceremony in September:

*Dr. Leo Margolis – Builder Category – Hockey*
Dr. Leo Margolis not only coached hockey for many years in Nanaimo, but
according to his fans, he made huge strides in the development and
contribution to the game of hockey in British Columbia. He was an adamant
supporter of amateur hockey, first as a player and coach and then as the
president of the BC Amateur Hockey Association, the youngest Canadian ever
to hold such a position in any province.

 In recognition of his past services, the Association made Leo an honourary
Vice-President from 1968-1988 and then honourary Life Member in 1988. He
also received the Diamond Stick Award in 1989, the highest honour granted by
the BC Association.

“Leo contributed so much, so unselfishly over such a long period of time for
the advancement of hockey throughout the BC Minor Hockey system and across
Canada,” says Bob Nicholson, President of Hockey Canada, who nominated Leo
for the Nanaimo Sports Hall of Fame.

*Vancouver Island University (Malaspina) 1983 Men’s Soccer Team – Team
Category
*This outstanding Mariner soccer team captured not only the league and
provincial titles in 1983, but the Canadian College Athletics Association’s
National Championship on Nov. 12, 1983 as well. Their victory capped an
outstanding season that saw the team go undefeated in all 18 games en route
to the provincial and national titles.  It was the institution’s first
national championship, and established a level of excellence for all future
teams and athletes.
The Mariner’s Men’s Soccer Team of 1983 was also the first team inducted
into the Mariner Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. At that time, the team
established an annual bursary to be awarded to an outstanding men’s soccer
player at VIU.
**
*Angela Chalmers – Athlete Category in Track and Field*
Angela Chalmers was one of Canada’s finest female distance runners and one
of the country’s few aboriginal Olympians. Born in Manitoba, she moved to
Nanaimo as a four-year-old. Spotted by Bill English at an elementary school
meet when she was 10 years old, she joined the Nanaimo Track and Field Club
where she spent her Junior Development years.
Angela would go on to secure a silver medal in 3,000 metres at the Pan
American Games in 1987, gold medals in both 1,500 and 3,000 metres at the
Commonwealth Games in Auckland in 1990, an Olympic bronze medal in the 3,000
metres at Barcelona in 1992, and gold in 3,000 metres at the Commonwealth
Games in Victoria in 1994. Angela has been inducted into both the Manitoba
and BC Sports Hall of Fame.
**
*Barry Pederson – Athlete Category in Hockey
*Barry Pederson, who moved from Big River, Saskatchewan to Nanaimo in 1965
at the age of four, was selected as a first round draft choice by the Boston
Bruins in 1980. He was rated as the NHL`s no. 11 prospect that year. During
his illustrious 12 year career in the pros he would go on to play for not
only the Bruins, but the Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Hartford
Whalers.
Leading up to his selection in the NHL draft, Barry played all of his minor
hockey in Nanaimo. His pre-draft teams included the Nanaimo Clippers, as
well as Victoria and Maine, before heading to Boston where he would begin
his professional career that would culminate in a Stanley Cup Championship
with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991.

Barry certainly made an impact in his hockey career, breaking numerous
records during his tenure with the NHL including scoring four goals in one
period against Buffalo in 1982, most goals by a rookie (44 in 1981-82), most
points in one game (7 of them against Hartford in 1982), and most points in
one playoff year by a rookie (18 in 1982). Following his career as a
professional hockey player, Barry returned to Boston and worked as an
investment broker and part-time hockey broadcaster.
**
*Michael Rhode – Media Category*
 To his peers, Michael Rhodes was known as the “dean of Nanaimo sports
reporters” for more than two decades. With a tireless devotion to community
sports, Michael (affectionately called Rhodsie by all who knew him) was
responsible, more than any single person in those two decades, for providing
Nanaimo with its sporting news.
Rhodesie, who sadly passed away in early 2010, wasn’t known for just
focusing on “star” athletes and administrators. He was better known for
providing a forum for athletes of any age to receive public recognition for
their feats. His role at the Nanaimo Daily News and its predecessor, the
Daily Free Press, brought him in contact with literally thousands of people,
and the positive attitude and impact his work had on their lives was
estimable.  Michael also volunteered for a variety of organizations, and
spent countless hours helping others who simply asked for a hand.
**
*Alfred “Red” Carr – Athlete/Builder Category in Hockey*
To many, the name “Red” Carr is synonymous in the Nanaimo hockey world with
athlete, builder and pioneer. He played with the Nanaimo Clippers for nearly
30 years, helped coach numerous teams over the decades, and supported
countless youth with hockey instruction, skate sharpening, stick taping and
above all, encouragement. He also recognized when an individual had the
skills and ability to play hockey at a more elite level, and was
instrumental in assisting a number of players as they pursued their careers
and dreams at a more advanced level.
Red and his wife Pauline, who owned the Texaco station right next to the
Civic Arena from the 1950s-70`s (known as “Hockey Central” to most), were
known for the over-the-top generosity, often helping struggling families
with skates and sticks they carried in their inventory, to merchandise and
gas. As Arnie Duggan, a current Hall of Fame member puts it: “We should
reflect and honour the strength of conviction and selfless dedication to
sport and youth so exemplified in the day-to-day life of Red Carr and his
wife Pauline.
**
*Frank Crane – Builder Category in Hockey*
Nanaimo’s “Man of the Year” in 1973, Frank Crane, was known, respected and
loved not only as a dedicated sportsman and team builder, but as a talented,
hard-working man who always had the best interests of the city at heart.
The name sake of the Frank Crane Arena at Beban Park was known to have
personally dedicated thousands of hours and a great deal of his own money to
build and promote the sport of hockey in Nanaimo. Following the collapse of
the Clippers Intermediate league in 1951, Frank worked hard to get it back
off the ground, which happened in 1955. He was also a major proponent of
launching an old timer’s hockey team, for which he took out a personal loan
to buy used equipment for some of the players.

Frank would eventually become the chairman of the Parks Recreation
Commission and a tireless community worker who spearheaded the campaign to
promote a recreation centre at the exhibition park, now known as the Beban
Park Complex. Although Frank passed away unexpectedly at the age of 54, his
legacy remains. Jim Hume, a friend and former sports reporter with the
Victoria Daily Colonist, wrote that “the hockey community and the City of
Nanaimo will never be able to thank him enough for what he accomplished. He
more than deserves a place of honour.”

-30-

Photo Caption: The Mariner’s Men’s Soccer Team of 1983 captured the Canadian
College Athletics Association’s National Championship on Nov. 12, 1983.

For more information, contact Debbie Trueman at 250-753-1821.
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