Category: 2001 Inductees

The 2001 inductees to the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame

  • 1994/1995 Sherry Anderson Rink – Team

    1994/1995 Sherry Anderson Rink – Team

    The Sherry Anderson rink was simply the best in Saskatchewan women’s curling ranks in 1994 and 1995.

    The 1994 rink was comprised of skip Sherry Anderson, third Kay Montgomery, second Donna Gignac, lead Elaine McCloy, fifth Kathy Fahlman and their coach Ron Meyers. The 1995 rink remained intact with the exception that Twila Fisher was the fifth team member.

    After two earlier appearances in the provincial championships, the Anderson rink entered the 1994 Scott Tournament of Hearts in Wadena with confidence that they had the experience to take the next step. That confidence proved well founded as the Anderson foursome became the first rink from outside Saskatoon or Regina to win the provincial title since 1981.

    At the Scott Tournament of Hearts in Kitchener-Waterloo, the Anderson rink had a strong showing at its first national championship. After qualifying for the playoffs through a tiebreaker, the Anderson rink reached the semifinals before losing 5-3 to Connie Laliberte of Manitoba. Laliberte then fell to the defending champions, the Team Canada rink of Sandra Peterson of Regina.

    A year later, Anderson scored a dramatic 7-5 victory over Michelle Schneider in Regina to successfully defend their provincial championship.

    The Scott Tournament of Hearts was held in Calgary that year and one of the highlights for the Anderson rink came in a 4-2 preliminary round victory over Peterson. Unfortunately, a 6-5 record in the round-robin was not good enough to qualify for the playoff round.

    In the pre-tournament skills competition, Montgomery captured the Hot Shots title and with it a new car.

    The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct the Sherry Anderson Rink in the team category. Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

    1994 Sherry Anderson Rink – Team
    1995 Sherry Anderson Rink – Team
  • Ken Bird – Athlete

    Ken Bird – Athlete

    ”Scooter”, a term used when Ken Bird played junior hockey for the Prince Albert Mintos, is an apt description of his life in sports.

    Bird was known as a member of the “Scooter Line” with linemates Bill Swarbrick and Dale Sweeny. As an athlete, Bird “scooted” from sport to sport, invariably finding success.

    As a hockey player, Bird moved from the Prince Albert Lions juvenile hockey team to the Prince Albert Junior Mintos where he played from 1949 to 1952. The 1950 Mintos captured the Saskatchewan Hockey League Championship and then went on to win the Northern Alberta and British Columbia championships.

    The same year saw Bird enjoy provincial success as a pitcher with the Melfort Junior Legion baseball team that captured the Saskatchewan championship. Bird played with the Prince Albert Anavets and Bohemian baseball clubs from 1949 – 52.

    Bird also excelled in track and field, tennis, ski jumping and rifle shooting as a young man, winning numerous championships, setting a host of records – including a pole vault mark that stood for 44 years.

    Golf has been a continuing passion for Bird as a competitor, coach and builder. Bird has captured several golf championships in various competitions; has been involved in the organization of many events; and with his wife Mary Lou, built a unique family and senior-oriented par-three golf course north of Christopher Lake.

    The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct Ken Bird in the athlete category. Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

    Ken Bird – Athlete
  • John Holash – Builder

    John Holash – Builder

    John Holash has been involved in the Prince Albert and Saskatchewan sporting world for more than half a century.

    Born in Regina, he participated in school sports as a player and then later as a coach. His coaching credentials include eight city championships with the senior and junior women’s basketball teams for Sacred Heart Academy.

    His involvement in sports in Regina later included leadership roles in tennis, the first Canadian five-pin bowling championship, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and, of course, football: high school, junior – the Regina Rams – and the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

    Holash moved to Prince Albert in 1973 and his heavy involvement with the sporting community did not lessen. In fact, it increased.

    Both as a volunteer and through his work with Molson Breweries, Holash could be found with a role in most of the major sporting activities in Prince Albert and area. The very long list of involvement includes:  the 1997 Canadian Junior Golf Championships; the 1984 Canadian Mixed Curling Championships; Prince Albert chairman when the 1991 World Junior Hockey Championships were staged in the province; founding director of the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame; and the 1998 Air Canada Cup midget hockey championship. In 1997, he was named the Prince Albert Sportsman of the Year.

    Holash has been involved with the Lobstick Golf Tournaments in Waskesiu since the 1970s and earlier this year was named the first life member of the Lobstick Golf Club in Waskesiu.

    A list of involvement does not provide justice to what John Holash has contributed to sports and the community. He is recognized as a modest, conscientious worker who has raised the level of every sporting event in which he has been involved.

    The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct John Holash in the builder category. Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

    John Holash – Builder
  • John Chad – Athlete

    John Chad – Athlete

    John Chad’s professional hockey career spanned 14 seasons, including three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League.Chad began his hockey career at the minor level in Prince Albert and first tasted success at a higher level with the 1935 juvenile hockey championship with the St. Mark’s team.

    After playing junior hockey with the Saskatoon Chiefs, Chad joined the Edmonton EAC’s in 1938 and 1939. The 1939 team won the Abbott Cup, emblematic of Western Canadian supremacy, and lost in the Memorial Cup final.

    The following season, Chad joined the Providence Rhode Island Reds of the American Hockey League. 22 points in 31 games with the Reds earned the right winger a place in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks.Chad had 11 points in 22 games with the Blackhawks in the 1939-40 season and followed that with 25 points in 44 games in the 1940-41 season.

    The Second World War interrupted Chad’s NHL career as he enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1941.

    Following the war, Chad returned to the Blackhawks for 13 games in 1946.The next season saw him back in Providence, where he established himself as an American Hockey League standout. Over five seasons Chad averaged better than a point a game for Providence. His performance earned Chad a number of honors, including the Jack Fox Memorial Trophy as the outstanding player combining sportsmanship and effective playing ability in the 1949-50 season. Chad completed his professional hockey career with two seasons with the Saskatoon Quakers of the Pacific Coast Hockey League. He continued to play at a high level of skill, being named to the league’s all-star team in 1951, and helping his club to the league championship in 1952.

    Chad was inducted into the Providence Rhode Island Reds Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.

    Following his playing days, Chad remained involved in the game, coaching the University of Saskatchewan hockey team for two seasons and the Prince Albert Mintos in 1960. He also managed the University of Saskatchewan curling rink and was a golf professional at Waskesiu for 10 years.

    John Chad passed away in 1983.

    The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct John Chad in the athlete category. Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

    John Chad – Athlete
  • Hubert Cooke – Builder

    Hubert Cooke – Builder

    The development of the game of golf in Prince Albert is closely linked to Hubert Cooke.

    Born in England in 1901, Cooke was managing superintendent from 1924 to 1965 at the golf course that now bears his name. He was instrumental in the construction and design of the original Prince Albert Golf Course.

    However, Cooke’s real stamp on the game in Prince Albert and Saskatchewan came with the development of people.

    Cooke was one of the founders of junior golf in Saskatchewan and developed four generations of junior golfers, several of whom later became golf professionals. He taught and coached Phil Lederhouse to the winners circle in provincial, western, national and international blind golf competitions.

    Recognized as one of the best teaching professionals in Saskatchewan, he was a mentor to many junior and adult players who represented Saskatchewan at the Canadian Amateur and Wellington Cup team championships. Among those he coached was his son Geoff who won many golf tournaments including the prestigious Saskatchewan Amateur.

    In 1955, Prince Albert hosted the Saskatchewan Open, an event that attracted such well known names in Canadian golf as Al Balding, Henry Martel and Stan Leonard.

    Hubert Cooke passed away in 1967.

    The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct Hubert Cooke in the builder category.

    Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

    Hubert Cooke – Builder
  • Danny Jutras – Builder

    Danny Jutras – Builder

    Danny Jutras has been a keen competitor and a contributor to the game of golf for more than 40 years.

    Jutras has dreamed, played, coached, taught and worked golf since the age of 11.Under the tutorship of Hubert and Alice Cooke, he learned about the game of golf, not only how to play it, but how to become absorbed in it.

    As a competitor, Jutras captured city and provincial age-group championships in the 1950s and 1960s and also competed nationally as a member of the Saskatchewan junior golf team.

    Since 1975, he has served as the managing professional at Cooke Municipal Golf Course. During his term of service, he has worked diligently to maintain the “Cooke Tradition” established by his mentors, Hubert and Alice Cooke and Clayton Robb. He has successfully managed the golf course through a period of tremendous growth and change in the golf industry. As an example of that growth, the number of rounds played at Cooke has grown from 21,000 in 1975 to over 44,000 in 1999.

    The 1993 Prince Albert Sportsman of the Year, Jutras was recently awarded Master Professional status by the CPGA. Of more than 3,000 CPGA members in Canada, only 14 have achieved this recognition.

    The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct Danny Jutras in the builder category.

    Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

    Danny Jutras – Builder
  • Charlie Mathiason – Athlete

    Charlie Mathiason – Athlete

    Charlie Mathiason is a name synonymous with the best softball played in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and Western Canada for more than four decades.

    “Chas” was an integral part of teams that won 11 city championships from the late 1950s to the early 1990s.

    He also enjoyed success at the provincial level with Saskatchewan championships in the Pee Wee Boys, Senior “B”, and Commercial levels.

    Mathiason competed at the highest level of softball with appearances at Western Canadian championships as well as at international events.

    In 1989, as a member of the P.A. Bingo Cards, Mathiason earned a bronze medal at the World Police and Fire Games in Vancouver.

    Two years later, Mathiason was part of the Gateway Mall Kings team that won a silver medal at the World Peace Officers and Firefighters Games in Memphis.Known foremost for his pitching prowess, Mathiason was a perennial all-star who added a strong bat and speed on the basepaths to a well rounded game. Individual recognition included most valuable player awards and batting championships along with several no-hitters.

    The individual honors were secondary to the team’s success for Mathiason who quietly went out and did his job to the best of his ability.

    The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct Charlie Mathiason in the athlete category.

    Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

    Charlie Mathiason – Athlete
  • Betty Payton – Meritorious Service

    Betty Payton – Meritorious Service

    Betty Payton’s contribution to sports in Prince Albert and area spanned many years and many sports.

    A member of the Prince Albert Ladies Golf Club from 1968, Payton served as president and club captain. She was on the host committee for various provincial tournaments as well as the 1976 Canadian Ladies Golf Championship. As a golfer, she twice achieved a hole-in-one and also had success at many tournaments in Prince Albert, Waskesiu and elsewhere.

    In the winter, rinks – both curling and hockey – were where Payton could be found.

    She both curled and was involved in the organizational level of the sport in Prince Albert.

    A member of the Prince Albert Raiders Booster Club since 1973, Payton also  supervised the usherettes at Raider games at the Comuniplex from 1973 to 1993. In 2000, she was named the first life member of the Prince Albert Raiders.Payton also found time to volunteer for major community events in Prince Albert such as the 1982 Saskatchewan Winter Games and the 1992 Saskatchewan Summer Games.

    Betty Payton passed away in 2000.

    The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to induct Betty Payton in the meritorious service category.

    Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

    Betty Payton – Meritorious Service