NEW GLASGOW –
The Pictou County Sports Heritage Hall of Fame will hold an induction ceremony on Oct. 19 at the Westville municipal building on Victoria Street. Below is a list of teams that will be inducted. Sportsnet broadcaster Ken Reid, a native of Pictou, will be inducted in the media category.
STELLARTON JUNIOR C ROYALS
When a team from Clare showed up in Pictou County to begin the provincial junior C hockey championship series back in 1987, they were sporting a 33-0 won-loss record for the season, “and they showed up in a streamlined bus,” recalls John Guthro, who was captain of the Royals, a team that had beaten Thorburn in overtime to advance to the provincial series (Guthro had scored in OT to clinch the series against Thorburn).
The Royals took the first two games at home in the best-of-five series, and travelled to Yarmouth the next weekend, needing just a single win to finish it off. They did that rather handily, taking Game 3 in a 9-2 rout.
“We didn’t have any superstars, we were all sort of grinders,” Guthro recalls. “We worked hard and played hard. It was awesome.”
Guthro says many of the players on that team are living in other parts of Canada, although one of his best friends from that team, Kevin Gerrior, passed away in September of 2018 while living in Ohio.
“A few of the guys are still around Pictou County, but a lot of them are out in Ontario, Alberta or British Columbia,” he says.
“I’ll remember those guys forever.”
TRENTON MUNRO JUNIORS
The 1985 Trenton Munro junior fastball team was the Trenton Fastball League champions that year, captured a Nova Scotia title and would go on to place fifth at the Canadian championships in Saskatoon, Sask.
“They were typical young boys,” said Glen MacKinnon, who coached the team. “They were very good at sport, and they learned how good they could be, playing together. They were a very talented team, a great group of young guys.”
MacKinnon said the players were from all over Pictou County.
“It was very rare to go to a Canadian championship,” he said. “You had to be the best in the province just to get in, and you had to raise all the money to get to Saskatoon.”
CURLING CHAMPS
The Haylett Clarke-skipped rink captured the 1993 Canadian Senior Legion Curling championship in Forest, Ont. They made it to nationals after winning the Nova Scotia championship in March 1993, in Liverpool.
In the Canadian bonspiel, they beat Alberta/Northwest Territories in the championship game 8-1. Team members also included lead Fred Mombourquette, second Cecil McIvor and mate Merle Pratt.
WOMEN ALIKE ABREAST-A-RIVER DRAGON BOAT TEAM
The dragon boat team formed in New Glasgow in 1999, and holds an annual dragon boat festival, attracting teams from throughout eastern Canada. The group has had members ranging from 23 to 81 years of age, and a few original members are still paddling with the team.
“They are beyond excited,” said Jessie Parkinson, who is chairperson of the organization. “When it was announced at the Race on the River (in August), it was a complete surprise to the team. More than anything, I think there is pride in the recognition of the work that we do in Pictou County.”
The organization has donated more than $350,000 to the Aberdeen Hospital over the years, and also supports other cancer-related projects.
NEW GLASGOW PANTHERS
Forever known as the Six Survivors (due to numerous suspensions), the 1932 New Glasgow Panthers were the Pictou County senior men’s hockey league champions, the APC Trophy winners, and were runners-up for the Nova Scotia title. The Six Survivors were Bruce Cox, Foster Dickson, Bull Forbes, Don MacDougall, Jimmy MacLean and Syd Malcolm.
