As many folks are aware, the Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame has become something of a passion for yours truly in recent years. And while there remains much to be done - culminating, of course, with a physical home for said HOF - there are certainly some steps that can be taken, in the interim.

With the Hall website now live (Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame) comes the task of populating all of the very deserving inductees. With the help of esteemed local writer Laura Young, the work has begun: she starting with the most current classes and working backwards; I heading back to the launch of this initiative and moving forward.

Seemed straight-forward enough - or so I thought.

As folks who attended the 2025 Dinner are aware, the Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame was actually borne of the Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Dinner, an initiative that was first launched in 1960. A stag event with guest speakers on hand, the first two editions of the gala would see Errol Gibson (track and field) and Alex MacPherson (HS coach) recognized as Sudbury Sportsperson of the Year.

In 1962, things became more interesting.

In searching through a variety of notes, artifacts and old programs, it became apparent that there are some discrepancies in the record keeping. The majority of sources point to the Allan Cup winning 1936-1937 Sudbury Frood Tigers becoming the first ever inductees into the Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame.

Other notations will offer the 1931-1932 Memorial Cup winning Sudbury Wolves squad as the first entry. And it is possible to stumble across some indications that both teams were enshrined in the same year that figure skater Gertie Desjardins became the first female athlete celebrated at the shing-ding, sharing Sportsperson of the Year honours with partner Maurice Lafrance.

So what to make of all of this.

Best to head back to the Sudbury Star newsprints of that time, a time when, thankfully, the daily lead-ins to the annual sports gathering would become fodder for stories for as much as a week prior to the evening itself.

With sportscaster Danny Gallivan on hand along with the Crown Prince of Baseball, Al Schacht and a handful of Sudbury hockey notables (Al Arbour, Leo Labine, Noel Price), the 1962 event was held, with nary a mention of an inaugural class of Hall of Famers being feted.

Now, to be fair, there are several references to the Sudbury Frood Tigers (1936-1937) being on hand as head table guests, largely in connection with the fact that this represented the 25th anniversary of their claim to the Allan Cup, defeating the North Battleford Beavers in the national final.

Come the spring of 1963, former NFL running back and popular CBS football commentator Fred (Curly) Morrison teamed up with baseball comedian Lefty Gomez in Sudbury to provide the entertainment while the likes of Tim Horton, Jerry Toppazzini and Moe Bartoli shared updates on their hockey happenings.

Amateur wrestler Matti Jutila, fresh off silver medal performances at both the 1962 Commonwealth Games and the 1963 Pan-American Games, was named as Sportsperson of the Year, overcoming a field of finalists that included the likes of Doug Gathercole (curling), Sandy McAndrew (HS student - multiple sports, including golf) and legendary hockey coaches Red McCarthy (Espanola Eagles) and Bert McClelland (Copper Cliff Braves).

Nowhere in these stories could I find any reference to any kind of Hall of Fame induction - which is not to say that this honour may not have been bestowed after the fact, based on the information moving forward. While I still have to investigate the 1965 era onward, there are some undeniable truths that emerge as of May of 1964.

That is the year in which Toe Blake shows as the first individual inducted into the Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame. Based upon the writings of the time, this much appears to be cast in stone:

“Blake was awarded a Kinsmen Sports Hall of Fame Shield that goes to someone who was raised in the district but has gone on to greener sports fields and carved a name for themselves in sports.”

So read the account of the evening, which went on to further note that Blake was not on hand for the honour, with Bobby Rousseau (Montreal Canadiens) stepping in on his behalf as his coach was dealing with a libel suit, at the time, filed by former NHL referee Eddie Powers.

Furthermore, a Google search of Toe Blake and 1964 Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame unveiled a link to www.classicauctions.net, a website that features the actual plaque presented to Blake on May 13th (1964), one that was presented by the Sudbury and District Sports Hall of Fame.

Though this will be my starting point, of sorts, moving forward as I scroll through the years to come, there is much to be gleaned from every stop I make along the way. I honestly knew very little of Bob Leduc, the Sudbury Cubs star forward who snapped up the Sportsperson title in 1964.

In addition to being named as league MVP, it turns out Leduc established two new records, netting 50 goals and 95 points over the course of a 40 game season. At season’s end, he was called up by the North Bay Trappers for their playoff set with the Toronto Marlboros and proceeded to also lead that team in scoring.

Certainly enough there to warrant his selection in a year that featured finalists John Kratz (Canadian cross-country ski champion from Espanola), Mike Jakubo (St Charles athlete who led three teams to city titles: midget baseball (pitcher), junior football (QB) and senior hockey), Wilf Biron (skip of mixed curling team that finished 3rd at nationals), Rene Paquette (coach of Garson Badminton club that produced two gold medals at provincials) and Bob Harkins (coach of Copper Cliff midget hockey team that excelled in 1963-1964).

Of interest: the master of ceremonies duties for the first five Kinsmen Dinners (1960-1964) was handled by Sault Ste Marie sports broadcaster Russ Ramsey, who clearly enjoyed quite a following across all of northern Ontario.

Dinner guests in 1964: Bob Feller (Hall of Fame baseball pitcher); Rudy Pilous (former coach of Chicago Black Hawks and widely considered the most entertaining banquet speaker of the time), John “Peanuts” O’Flaherty (former Wolves coach), NHLers Jim Pappin, Bob Pulford, Jerry Toppazzini and members of the 1953-1954 Sudbury Wolves who lost the Allan Cup final to the Penticton V’s in a much talked about (and written about) series.

That is a story for another day.

(as always, anyone having access to any kind of scrapbook notes, programs and such from the times in question are welcomed to reach out to Randy Pascal at info@sudburysports.com - any and all assistance that leads to 100% factual accuracy is appreciated)