Collingwood Collegiate Institute (CCI) will be honouring some of its best athlete alumni at the upcoming 160th anniversary reunion.
Eleven athletes and three builders will be inducted into the Black and Gold Society, an honour reserved for those who were exceptional athletes while at CCI and accomplished great things in sport once they graduated.
Ralph Sneyd is a retired history, geography and political science teacher and was a wrestling coach at CCI for 31 years. He was part of the committee that formed the Black and Gold Society in 1998.
“It’s a special thing that they’ve come through this school and contributed to the athletics and leadership programs here,” said Sneyd. “It’s good to bring them into a group of people who receive recognition for what they achieve.”
Inductions are done at each CCI reunion. This year, the ceremony takes place at CCI on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m.
The Black and Gold Society inductees are listed and pictured in a case in the hallway outside the schools old gym. In the “new” gym they are pictured on life-size flags to inspire other athletes at CCI.
“It’s encouraging for kids to look at these photos and say, ‘if they did it, why can’t I?’” said Sneyd.
The society has a list of about 90 names they hope to include one day. The athletes and builders are high-calibre.
One of the first inductees was Lou Stapleton, or Stapes as he was known by his students. Stapleton helped form the Georgian Bay Athletic Association, which still exists today as the host of regional athletic competitions for local high schools. He was also a football, basketball, softball and track and field coach from 1918 to 1938 and serves as principal at CCI.
Wilfred Sheffield and his sister Yvonne Sheffield Wilson are both in the Black and Gold Society as builders. Yvonne held records at the school in track and field, and Wilfred was considered one of the best hockey players for several generations. He was president of school council, yearbook editor, captain of the track and field, baseball and hockey teams at CCI, and lead his cadet corp. Sneyd said he was scouted by NHL teams, but he played hockey in the 1930s, and as a black man, he wasn’t allowed a spot on a national team.
Jack Portland attended CCI in 1925, where he earned a provincial title in high jumping and was the all-star for his football senior league championships. After high school he played NHL hockey for Montreal, Chicago and Boston, and was part of the Bruins for their Stanley Cup win in 1939. He played football for the Toronto Argonauts, and was the Canadian National Champion in high jump in 1932 before competing in the Olympics for high jump the same year.
This year’s inductees include Olympic rower Matt Buie, NHL player Jason Arnott and national soccer player Stacey Van Boxmeer Gillham among others. Watch CollingwoodToday.ca for profiles and photos of this year’s inductees over the coming days leading up to the CCI 160th anniversary reunion, which takes place Sept. 21-23 in Collingwood.
