Category: 1996 Inductees

Josef Tesar has had a remarkable career as an amateur wrestler and it is almost a certainty that the achievements would have been even more far reaching if certain circumstances would not have entered the picture.

Born in Teplice in the Czech Republic of Czechoslovakia, Tesar first took up the sport of Greco‑Roman wrestling at the age of 13. Seven years later, in 1976, he was the Czech junior champion and top sportsman of the Czechoslovakian army. In total, Tesar won Five Czechoslovakian championships ‑ twice in espoir (19 and 20‑year‑old division), twice in junior and once in senior.

In 1979, Tesar defected from his native Czechoslovakia and was a political refugee in Austria for one year before coming to Canada and Prince Albert in 1980. Without having trained for over a year, Tesar placed second at the Canadian national Greco‑Roman championships and was second in the provincial freestyle discipline in 1980.

Tesar tried, without success, to attract the attention of a national coach and for the next three years he trained exclusively by himself. In 1983, Tesar won both the provincial and Western Canadian Greco‑Roman championships and the following year, after first‑place finishes in the Detroit Open and New York‑Albany Open, he tried out for the Canadian Olympic team and landed a spot on the squad for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. However, an application to his homeland for permission to compete for his new country was denied three weeks before the Olympics and he had to remain at home.

Tesar retired from competing for four years, but in 1988 he returned to place third at the Canadian Championships. One year later he was the national champion in his weight class.

Tesar won the United States master’s championship in 1991, but again he retired, this time for much more serious reasons. Tesar was diagnosed with cancer in 1993 and after a brave battle he fought the disease into remission.

Tesar returned to competitive wrestling in 1995 and one year later he was fifth at the Canadian championships. Tesar was hoping to secure a spot on the 1996 Olympic team while his son, Josef Jr., vied for a place on the Czech national team. Both were unsuccessful, but the dream lives on for the 2000 Games in Australia.

Tesar’s accomplishments in wrestling are not only limited to those as a competitor. Since moving to Prince Albert in 1980, he has been a driving force with the Prince Albert Wrestling Club.

In 1983 and ’87, Tesar was the provincial Greco‑Roman coach at the Western

Canada Summer Games and in 1986 and ’88 he was the national Greco‑Roman coach for the world championships.

Tesar has been named the Prince Albert Wrestling Club coach of the year in 1988 and one year later he was the Prince Albert Sportsman of the Year, Saskatchewan Dairy Producer rural coach of the year and winner of the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association Maple Leaf Coaching Award.

It is with great pride and honour that the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame welcomes Josef Tesar into the hall in the athlete and builder’s divisions.

Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Michael Kopchynski moved to Prince Albert at a very young age and it didn’t take long for the community to hear about the talented youth.

Michael played hockey and soccer in his formative years and excelled in both sports. His talents helped local clubs win numerous city championships, but it was his proficiency in a soccer skills competition that gained him national and international recognition.

In 1972, at the tender age of 12, Kopchynski won the provincial Adidas Soccer Skills Competition and for the next year he trained daily in preparation for the national competition to be held in Toronto, Ontario.

The skills competition was complex at best as all participants had to compete in 10 events which ranged from juggling the ball with their feet ‑ one at a time and then alternating from one to the other ‑ and with their head. They also had to shoot accurately after juggling the ball down field for a short distance plus general skills competitions.

Over 60,000 children between the ages of nine and 14 started out seeking the national championship, but in 1973 the only one left was Michael Kopchynski.

As a reward for his first‑place finish, Kopchynski travelled to Germany and France in 1973 to attend a professional soccer game and compete in the European Finals Skills Competitions as a guest of Adidas, the sportswear corporation.

Kopchynski continued his involvement in the skills competition in later years as he helped Dave Tippett and Lester Mylymok also claim national championships. The trio of Prince Albert soccer stars were recognized for the accomplishments as they travelled to Montreal in 1976 to be ball boys for the Summer Olympics.

As a player, Kopchynski won a city championship with the West Hill Rascals in 1972, played for the Saskatchewan under‑ 16 Selects in 1975, competed in the 1976 Saskatchewan Summer Games in Saskatoon and participated in the 1974Western Canada under‑18 select games in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and the 1979 Western Canada Summer Games.

Although his achievements in hockey weren’t as recognized as those in soccer, Kopchynski did reach a high level in his winter pastime.

Kopchynski was captain of a peewee all‑star team in 1972 that won an interprovincial tournament in Kildonan, Man., he captained the Prince Albert Midget Raiders in 1976‑77 and that same year he also played part of the season with the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. His junior career came to an end in 1980 when he led the Prince Albert Junior “B” Jaks in scoring.

Michael Kopchynski has been an excellent ambassador for the city of Prince Albert and it is with great pride that the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame welcomes him into athlete’s category of the local shrine.

Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Richard Gordon Wilson was born in Prince Albert in August of 1950 and at a very young age it was evident that he would excel in sports.

Wilson played hockey, fastball and baseball in his youth, winning city championships in all three sports. In fastball, he played for the P.A. Wreckers and was a pitcher on a championship team at 10 years of age. In baseball, he was a pitcher and catcher for the Dog and Suds and again won a city title. Hockey, however, was his first love and after graduating through the minor ranks with the Parkland Community Club he played at the Junior “B” level with the Prince Albert Knights.

While attending high school at Riverside, Wilson added another sport to his portfolio as he was the quarterback for the Rams. It was while he was playing football that he first attracted outside attention and garnered local recognition.

Both the Saskatoon Hilltops of the Prairie Junior Football League and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League showed an interest in the capabilities of the Prince Albert athlete and after three exhibition games with the Hilltops, the Roughriders sent Wilson to Grand Forks, N.D., on a football scholarship. Before he left, however, he was honoured as the Prince Albert athlete of the year in 1967. Wilson was a dual‑sport athlete for the Fighting Sioux in North Dakota as he played football in the fall and hockey all winter. Wilson’s talent on the blueline helped the Fighting Sioux win one division championship and in 1970 he was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League entry draft ‑ 66th overall.

Wilson then turned professional and went to the Canadians’ farm team in Halifax before making the jump to the big league with Montreal, St. Louis and Detroit. Wilson’s professional career ended in 1978 when he played for the Philadelphia Flyers’ farm team in Hershey. In total, Wilson played in 239 NHL games scoring six goals and adding 26 assists. He also accumulated 165 minutes in penalties.

Wilson then returned to his alma mater in North Dakota where he finished his physical education degree with honours and got his masters in business administration. While completing his education, Wilson began his coaching career as he was an assistant with the fighting Sioux for two years.

In 1980 Wilson returned to Prince Albert and was an assistant coach and assistant general manager to Terry Simpson with the Saskatchewan junior Hockey League Prince Albert Raiders.

His first two years with the Raiders were highly successful as the club won back to back titles before moving up to the higher‑calibre Western Hockey League in 1982. After just three years at the new level, Wilson was again a national champion as he and Simpson had the Raiders hoisting the Memorial Cup in 1985.

When Simpson departed for the NHL to coach the New York Islanders in 1986, Wilson eased his way into the head coach and general manager positions with the Raiders. Wilson spent two years at the helm of the Raiders before he, too, returned to the NHL as an assistant to Simpson in Long Island.

After one season with the Islanders, Wilson moved to sunny California where he was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings for four years before he moved on to Stars’ organization in Dallas.

Wilson’s accomplishments have been plentiful and it is with great pleasure that the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame welcomes him into the athlete’s category of the local shrine.

Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.</p