Many have been the times when Sudbury has been the hub of sport hosting, with countless provincial and national championships having enjoyed the pleasure of all that is special to the Nickel City.

It’s unlikely, however, that any period can come close to matching the year that was 1983 and, in particular, the stretch of time that ran from the beginning of August through until early September.

The backdrop, if you will: celebrating the 100th anniversary of the origin of Sainte-Anne-des-Pins, the Jesuit settlement that was to become the town of Sudbury some ten years later, and blessed with a boatload of new sporting facilities, local organizations were jumping all over the opportunity to welcome visitors to town for athletic competitions of all kinds.

With the Labatt Brier setting the tone in March of 1983, the feverish pace ramped up through until late summer. Consider, for a moment, the flurry of activity that would see the Canadian Games for the Physically Disabled, the Canadian National Senior Men’s Baseball Championship and the Ontario Summer Games all take place in the same city, all within a period of just over three weeks or so.

And this was but the tip of the iceberg.

Everyone was climbing aboard the bandwagon to bring folks to town that year.

Reunion 1983 would create a string of gatherings, including several with a sporting angle, that welcomed graduates of Sudbury High School, Sudbury Mining and Technical School (which later became Sheridan Technical School) and the current Sudbury Secondary School (which merged all of the above) to reminisce about days past.

The Warren Gingell – Alex MacPherson Golf Tournament came right on the heels of the Tech-High Grads Basketball Game that featured names that continue to live on in local hard-court lore to this day: John Tymchuk (Jr and Sr), Jim Hann, Chucker Ross, Frank Bell, Ted Evans, Connie Jarrett, Ray Owens, Don Sarmatiuk, Peter Andler, David Sitko, Dave McKnight and Tom Hopkin were all part of the festivities.

A post-game “Coaches Roast” filled a packed hall with laughter and joyful banter as friends and colleagues recognized the incredible contributions to Sudbury high-school sports of both MacPherson and Gingell, as well as Joe Costigan and Ellis Hazen.

That theme followed suit just a few weeks later when two of Sudbury’s most famous hockey mentors shared the spotlight on an evening which acknowledged the impressive coaching resumes of Toe Blake and Al Arbour. The local natives garnered a who’s who of well-wishers, among them Montreal Canadiens captain and Hall of Fame centre Jean Beliveau.

No sport was overlooked as the calendar of events was filled to the brim. With Sudbury Olympic cyclist Gary Trevisiol just a year removed from his participation at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, his hometown staged the Ontario Provincial Cycling Championships in Copper Cliff.

Rob Seaman, who would also represent this area at the Ontario Summer Games, finished 5th in his race, with Sudbury Cycling Club teammate Mike McInnis just two slots back. The accompanying Caruso Club Festival would see locals dominate the winners circle, with all of the following emerging triumphant: Eric Versterback (novice); John Wornig (Senior 1); David Spears (Elite); David Girolametto and Dan Bartoli (Senior II), while Trevisiol captured the 400m sprint event.

The Royal Canadian Legion Provincial Track and Field Championships allowed for a wonderful lead-in to the track portion of the Ontario Summer Games, with several local teens participating in both competitions.

Highlighted by the likes of Dave Savage, Marnie Pettit and Lisa Stone, the Sudbury representation in the T & F disciplines also assembled Melinda Lucas, Jane Wardill, Kathryn Stoner, Cy Maxwell, Vic Wasylenko, Drew Innes, Mike Ellis, Steve Langille, Darry Hay, Tim Dunthorne and John Gibson.

The grandstands at Laurentian University Stadium were bustling like seldom before as an audience of more than 4000 jammed in some two weeks later for the opening ceremonies of the Canadian Games for the Physically Disabled. With Ontario Lieutenant Governor John Black Aird joined by Games Chairman Charlie Laberge on stage, the evening really came to life with the unveiling of the Games mascot (Charlie) and the singing of the national anthem by Sudbury teenage sensation Leisa Way.

The Games were a huge success, with 41 new records being set and Ontario leading the medal parade with a grand total of 72, 39 of which were gold.

As the cross-Canada array of athletes for this multi-sport extravaganza made their way out of northern Ontario, the next delegation arrived, a multitude of provinces represented at Baseball Nationals. Local hopes rested on the shoulders of the Sudbury Shamrocks, who opened play in front of a boisterous crowd at the Terry Fox Sports Complex, facing Québec.

“Everyone feels really good and are confident that we can put on a first class championship in Sudbury,” stated tournament chairman Eldon McDonald.

And when the eyes of the sporting world were not on Sudbury, it was local athletes who were grabbing headlines out of town as swimmer Alex Baumann and basketball star Eli Pasquale captured three of Canada’s nine gold medals at the 12th World University Games in Edmonton.

Still, Baumann would make his way home, opting to pass on the Pan-Am Games in Venezuela in order to allow his body time to recover in anticipation of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (a very wise decision, most would agree). Keeping active, the world record holder did take time to participate in the two-mile Moonlight Swim, the third leg of the Sudbury Fitness Challenge, finishing well ahead of Alex Wallingford, with Mike Chmara in third.

The women’s race would see Sylvia Boissonault and Kim Vendette claim the top two placements, while the one mile swim featured former Laurentian Swim Club member and Lockerby graduate Peter Ferguson edging out Tony Staalstra.

Yes, it was a summer of highlights, both on the part of local athletes but also those from one coast to the other, making their way to a city that was, at one time, as prime a sport tourism destination as any other venue in Canada.

Those were the days, indeed – a time of pure paradise for local fans of sport (and even moreso for a student of Sports Administration at Laurentian, who would develop an absolute passion for local sports, a passion that lives on to this day).