The Delta Sports Hall Fame has announced seven new inductees for its class of 2018.
They will be honoured at the annual gala banquet on Friday, Oct. 26 at the Coast Tsawwassen Inn. The evening’s festivities will also include recognizing the past year of athletic achievements with the Sports Champions Awards.
The Delta Sports Hall of Fame was launched in 2005 with the goal to “celebrate achievement, recognize excellence and honour past, present and future role models.” All the inductees are honoured on a permanent display outside of city hall.
Tickets for this year’s gala are $75 and can be purchased through to Oct. 19 by calling Rick or Carlene at 604-943-0469.
Here’s a brief look at this year’s inductees
Builder
Laurel Crosby
Wheelchair Sports
A remarkable run includes 39 years on the board of directors for B.C. WheelChair Sports and 26 more with the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association. Crosby served two years as president of the Canadian Paralympics Committee and was Chef de Mission for the Canadian team at 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona.
She was awarded the 125th Confederation Medal of Honor, Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award, Sport BC’s Daryl Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award and the Promotion Plus “In Her Footsteps” Award for her commitment to wheelchair sports.
Crosby was also inducted into the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association Hall of Fame in 2017.
Pioneer
Jill Proctor
Soccer referee
In 1993, Proctor began a journey that led her to becoming the first woman to work a professional match in B.C. and the first female FIFA credentialed referee in BC.
As a FIFA referee, Proctor was selected from a world-class group of referees to officiate at the U19 Women’s World Cup (2002), Algarve Cup (2002), China Four Nations Cup (2004), CONCACAF Women’s U19 World Cup Qualifying Tournament (2004) and the Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament in Costa Rica (2004).
Along the way, Proctor needed to face those that said FIFA would never accept a woman referee which only inspired her strive to be more competent than others. Despite this, she had a strong support network led by her husband Gerry, also a FIFA referee.
Athlete
Chuck Westgard
Baseball/hockey
An outstanding two-sport athlete growing up in North Delta, Westgard was offered various baseball scholarships and the opportunity to play for the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks.
Between 1972-to-1979, he led the Delta All-Stars to four provincial titles and three runner-up finishes. The team also finished second at Westerns twice and at the Canadian Championships.
A pitcher with a dominant fastball, Westgard was a fierce competitor who always “wanted the ball” in all situations.
He took his ball career to the University of Washington and led the Canadian national team to a 3-2 record at the 1992 World Championships in Korea with a complete game victory and two saves.
He was eventually signed by the New York Yankees where he spent two years in their farm system until a shoulder injury ended his professional baseball dreams.
Throughout his career, he was respected by his teammates for his competitiveness, leadership, and outstanding athletic ability.
Athlete
John Coflin
Football
Coflin started playing football with the Delta Rams community program where he led his team to a provincial title in 1979. Later, at South Delta Secondary, he was a team captain, top offensive lineman and the school’s Most Sportsmanlike Player. From there, Coflin earned a scholarship to SFU where he won honours as a First Team All Columbia Conference, First Team NAIA and Second Team All Northwest player.
Coflin was eventually drafted sixth overall by the Edmonton Eskimos and played seven seasons in the CFL with four teams, winning a Grey Cup with Toronto in 1991.
His dad Hugh was a former pro hockey player and his older brother Mark also played in the CFL.
Coach
Ed Anderson
Softball
One of the city’s most decorated softball coaches, Anderson guided the renowned North Delta Animals that enjoyed an outstanding run from squirt through to junior women’s.
From Pee Wee through to Midget, the Animals were no worse than second at provincials, winning three titles including back-to-back in Midget in 1984 and 1985. The ’85 run also included a silver at nationals back in Ontario.
In junior, the Animals reached the podium at Canadians two more times.
Anderson also had a hand in developing many players who went on to play for the national team or earn scholarships to U.S. schools.
To this day, Anderson still hears from and visits with many of the ladies whom he coached for so many years. He counts himself “very lucky to have had such good and talented girls,” noting that “we probably had more fun than we realized at the time.”
Team
1979 North Delta Colt All-Stars
Baseball
It was an amazing run for this special mix of friends and neighbours who just loved to play the game under coaches Gord Westgard, Don Robinson and Brian Sharp. North Delta won the provincial title on home turf at Mackie Park.
It was then off to the Western Canadian Championships in Merritt where the B.C. champs rebounded from a round-robin loss to Saskatchewan to win gold again.
North Delta then headed to Niagara Falls to represent B.C. at the All-Canada Midget Championships. A bid for the national title came up just short in a 3-2 loss in extra innings. Pitcher Chuck Westgard left everything on the mound, working a complete game and striking out 12.
The heartbreaker ended quite the journey for this team of 15-to-17-year-olds that saw over half the players live within three blocks of each other.
The team also included Aaron Denis, Eric Braumandl, Mark Nerland, Randy Pordan, Lee Cannel, Chris Young, Richard Holfeld, Paul Melton, Darren Hebert, Jay Donze, Tom Hill, Steve Lorenz, and Greg Durand. Three pick-ups for the Westerns and Nationals were Steve Clements, Gord Smart and Randy Regush.
Sponsor
Ladner Motors
Phil Breton
Active supporters of sports in Delta for many years. They have supported minor hockey and baseball in addition to being the keynote sponsor at several golf tournaments to raise money for amateur sports.
For more than 75 years Ladner Motors has been keeping up with the latest automotive technology and is equipped to service cars with personal service and local convenience. Their mission is to provide fair and honest automotive service to the South Delta community.
