EDITOR’S NOTE: For the next three weeks, this column will feature this year’s individual inductees to the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame.
While he’s nearly ready to call it on his career, basketball will always have a special place in Don Thorne’s heart, as well as the time he spent growing up in Collingwood.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we spoke with Thorne, 69, one of four individual inductees to the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame for 2024.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I was born in Toronto. We ended up moving to Collingwood in 1960. I was there until 1976.
I live in Kitchener now.
Q: Why did your family move to Collingwood?
A: We were in Thornbury before that. My dad ended up getting a job, eventually in the Shipyards, but he started off working in cold storage in Collingwood.
Q: What schools did you attend?
A: I went to Collingwood Collegiate Institute.
Q: When did you first show an interest in basketball?
A: I was in Grade 12, and Terry Geddes was teaching at Senior Public School. He asked me to come in and referee some intramural games at the school. That’s how I started to ref. I was playing on the high school team at the time.
I graduated, and about six years later I organized an inner-city YMCA men’s league in Kitchener. We played other YMCAs throughout south-western Ontario. At one of those games, a referee from Kitchener-Waterloo held a clinic and told us how to get involved in officiating. That’s how I started refereeing.
I wanted to be involved in the game a little bit more. I knew my playing career was going to be done soon and I wanted to get involved in the game. Officiating was the way to go.
Q: Where did your refereeing career take you then?
A: I starting refereeing high school ball. I reffed at two OFSAA championships. I was doing an exhibition game at the University of Waterloo, and one of the coaches suggested to the supervisor of the OUA (Ontario University Athletics) that he’d like to see me on the OUA floor. That’s how I started at the university level.
I did that for 10 years. Unfortunately, my knees were (bad). It would be one university game, and three days of ice. I ended up getting two knee replacements in 2018.
After I retired in 2000, a university supervisor asked me if I’d like to be an observer. I watched the other referees and wrote a report to him on what happened during games. I suggesting things to referees on how to improve the quality of their game. I did that until 2021. During that time I was the referee-in-chief at OFSAA tournaments and four college championships.
Q: You’re being inducted into the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame as a builder. What were you able to build in your time in Collingwood and beyond?
A: I think it’s more about building the sport province-wide. By me building referees throughout the province, when teams go to events they get better-quality referees.
Q: How did you feel when you heard the news you were being inducted?
A: I was totally shocked. I never dreamed that would ever happen. I can never thank the person who nominated me enough.
Q: What’s your job?
A: This is my last year of working before retirement. I work for a company called Northfield Metal Products for the past 35 years.
Q: Do you ever come back to visit Collingwood?
A: I come back every once and a while. My dad lived in Collingwood. He passed away a few years ago. He has a tree and a memorial bench down at Sunset Point Park.
We come back and visit, sit on the bench and look out over the bay.
Every once and a while, I do some fishing over by the grain elevators too.
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: I still go to basketball games. I work the score table for the Raptors 905, which is the farm team for the Toronto Raptors. I mainly do the shot clock. I do the score table at the University of Waterloo.
I like to golf a lot. I like to read.
I like spending time in my RV in Niagara Falls.
Q: Is there anything else you want people in Collingwood to know about you?
A: I’m looking forward to spending a lot more time with my grandkids and great grandkids. I have 10 grandkids and two great grandchildren.
I met my wife through basketball back in 2006, and she’s from Rhode Island. We spend time at her son’s place in Rhode Island and split our time between our grandkids here and there.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we speak with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, letting them tell their own stories in their own words. This feature runs on CollingwoodToday every weekend. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].
