In 2026, as in 1963, September represents a transitional month in the world of Sudbury sports.
Summer leagues are putting a bow on competitions of all sorts, giving way to a generous heap of fall sports on the go, all while the more elongated winter sport schedules take their first trepidatious steps for what will be a busy winter ahead.
In that sense, the gap of 63 years has changed the local landscape very little.
In so many other ways, things have changed immensely.
In 1963, the Sudbury Hardrocks, precursors to the current Sudbury Spartans, were kicking off their Northern Ontario Rugby Football Union six game regular season set in late August, with a home and home planned with the Kirkland Lake Alouettes, North Bay Ti-Cats and Sturgeon Falls Bombers.
New head coach Bill Leach had made the move from Kitchener to guide the local crew which were dealing with an exodus of Hardrocks talent to Sturgeon Falls. Still, with quarterback John Leore welcoming back an offensive eleven that included the likes of Don Punch, Hugh Kedey, Rich Szkaley, Don Bretzlaff and newcomer Oscar Clouthier to the fold, there was reason for optimism.
Veteran linemen Bunny Edwards, Ron Desloges, Bob Ballantyne and Bob Bainbridge welcomed back the likes of Paul Hupola and Lorne Jaworski as the team got untracked, dropping their opener 13-6 to the Alouettes. Of greater concern was the loss of QB Leore to a broken leg, sidelined for the season along with tackle Bob McGawley (torn knee ligament).
While many are the stories of the setting of Queen’s Athletic Field in the annals Sudbury football history, the ’63 Rocks hosted their home encounters at the Mine Mill Camp Grounds off Richard Lake in the city’s south end. A 15-13 loss to North Bay gave way to a disappointing 27-8 setback to Sturgeon Falls, with the likes of Dave Morris (3 touchdowns), Don Cull (passing TD) and Joe Drago (2 TDs and 3 PATs) leading the way for the Bombers.
When the dust settled in late October, the Hardrocks had advanced to the finals, though beaten by Sturgeon Falls, with the league rebranding in 1967 as the Northern Football Conference, the Hardrocks becoming the Spartans and all involved moving to a full summer schedule, somewhere along the line.
Still with movable dates, the 16th annual edition of the Idylwylde Invitational was taking place in 1963 – though instead of the now traditional third weekend of July set in stone date, the local club would welcome 158 golfers to town on the last weekend of August.
Pre-tournament favourites included Dave Morland (first ever champion in 1948) and brother Bill (champion in 1949; 1955; 1957; 1959) from North Bay while local hopes rested largely with two-time Idylwylde club champion Sandy McAndrew, 1956 champion Johnny Poupore, or the likes of Dave Pernu, Bill Hutchison or teenage sensation Fred Silver.
* in the first 15 years of the Idylwylde Invitational, Poupore stood as the only local to claim the Inco Trophy
In windy conditions on Friday, a 72 from Gord MacKenzie of Toronto stood as low score, 78 was needed to make championship flight and the brothers Morland, as well as Silver, Poupore, Pernu, John Sykes and Chucker Ross all cracked the top 16. Come Sunday afternoon, it was 49 year-old Port Colburne native Merle Noyes who was deadlocked with rising star Fred Silver after 14 holes of play.
Noyes proceeded to capture 15, 16 and 17, taking the match play final 3 and 1 in his first ever appearance at the event – though he had play the course many a time as part of the Inco company tournament in the past. First flight names of note included Timmins native and future NHL Hall of Famer Frank Mahovlich as well as local legends Marcel Clements and Tony Demarco.
The gents of Sudbury soccer managed to crown their various champions by early September of 1963 as the powerhouse Italia Flyers overcame a semi-final scare against the Polish White Eagles, slipping past the upset-minded dark-horse before overwhelming Olympia in a two-game total goal final.
The White Eagles blanked the Flyers 2-0 in game one of the semis, only to see Italia rebound with a 3-0 victory of their own as Vittorio Fabbro scored a pair of late goals to grab victory from the jaws of defeat. But with the dynamic duo of Ferruccio Deni and Eddie Palladino sparking the offense, Olympia proved no match for the Azzuri.
Olympia simply could not maintain the momentum from their mild upset of Croatia Adria in the second semi-final after posting back to back wins over the favourites, 1-0 and 2-1, earning their shot at Italia. Klaus Cenowa would lead Olympia offensively, with Gunther Van der Zyl and Jerry Schuran also chipping in while Rudi Hupas stood tall in net.
Meanwhile, the Edinburgh Cup second division crown also went to the Italia Flyers, beating Polish White Eagles 2-1 as Toni Ciavarella scored late for the win.
A seven team loop would keep the courts at King George School hopping as Angelo Mazzuchin, Guy Delaire and Guy Henri helped power the Hawks to another summer basketball league championship. The Hawks bested the Celtics in the final as the one-two punch of Gary Polano and Claude MacMillan helped to keep the game close.
Where local rinks are abuzz these days by mid-August, typically thanks to a mix of junior hockey and higher end minor hockey teams on the go, there was scarce a mention of hockey in the Sudbury Star of 1963 until at least early September. Even then, it was largely scribes catching up with some of the pro or university talent who were finally getting back on the ice before heading to training camps in another week or two.
Doug Paul, Brian Hill, Moe Bartoli and George Tucar were among the gents taking to the ice in Copper Cliff as reporter Paul Patton made a stop at Stanley Stadium. In his column, Patton also made note of the Sudbury connections to the new Hockey Hall of Fame building on the grounds of the CNE.
Turns out that early version of the venue that now sits at the foot of Young Street and Front Street included sections that featured the 1936-1937 Frood Tigers (Allan Cup champions), the 1931-1932 Sudbury Cubs / Wolves (Memorial Cup champions), as well as a section devoted to Hall of Fame member Shorty Green (inducted in 1962).
