Press Release
Four athletes and two builders make up the 2017 slate of inductees to enter the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame at the 36th-annual induction dinner and ceremonies set for Saturday, Sept. 30 in Thunder Bay.
They include:
Athletes
•John Jones of Thunder Bay enjoyed a successful auto racing career, which included podium finishes as the 1983 and 1984 Canadian Formula Ford 2000 champion and 1985 IMSA GTO winner, and as a top finisher in the F-3000 series in Europe.
Joining the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) Indy Car series, he earned the 1988 Rookie of the Year title and an 11th-place finish at the 1989 Indy 500 before retiring in the late 1990s.
•Bob “Battleship” Kelly developed his athletic abilities during the 1960s, making his way up through the local hockey ranks.
A sturdy left-winger, he was selected 16th overall in the 1967 NHL draft, going on to skate in more than 800 professional games, including over 400 in the NHL.
Spending the majority of his NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks, he made it to the playoffs in five of his six seasons before retiring in 1980.
•Lou Kok began his wrestling career at Lakeview High School in Thunder Bay during the 1970s, claiming early success as an OFSAA champ and national junior medalist.
Wrestling throughout the 1980s, he served as a member of Canada’s national team and claimed multiple national and international medals, including silver medals in both freestyle and greco-roman at the 1987 Pan-American Games.
•Chris Pronger of Dryden, one of hockey’s most decorated defensive stars, went second overall in the 1993 NHL draft and enjoyed a professional playing career that spanned 1993-2012 and included appearances in 1,167 regular-season games with five teams, recording 157 goals and 541 assists.
The winner of the 1999-2000 Hart and Norris trophies, he won the Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007, won gold for Canada at the 1997 world championships, and 2002 and 2010 Olympics, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.
Builders
•Ab Cava began his more than half-a-century of involvement in hockey as a player with Port Arthur teams during the 1950s and ’60s.
Moving behind the bench in the mid-1960s, he successfully led such junior squads as the Port Arthur North Stars and Marrs and Thunder Bay Vulcans and Case Eagles, helping to develop a number of future NHL players while serving as a role-model for future coaches.
The 1980s and ’90s were spent in senior hockey serving as a coach and president of the Thunder Bay Twins, and as a president and governor of the Thunder Bay Senators and Thunder Cats.
•Irene MacLeay has been involved in swimming since the early 1970s, serving in a number of volunteer capacities and as a highly-respected official for more than 40 years.
Starting out with the YMCA and moving into the Thunderbolt swim program, in 1974 she became the first female in Ontario to earn Master Official status.
She has dedicated herself to helping to train and mentor officials, as well as serving in such capacities as the chair of Officials for Canada, Swim Ontario board, and committee member, and as an official at various national and international meets, including the 1986 Commonwealth Games.
The 2017 slate of inductees officially will be inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 30 at the Valhalla Inn.
Lakehead University will be holding its 2017 Wall of Fame inductions during the afternoon, which will make it a full day of celebrations of our region’s rich and proud sports heritage.
Tickets for the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame’s dinner can be ordered by calling 1-807-622-2852 or via e-mail at nwosport@tbaytel.net, or dropping by the Hall at 219 May St. S.
