For the first time in the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame’s 50-year history, a women’s hockey team was inducted this year.
The Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place at the Collingwood Legion on Oct. 19, bringing local sports fans together to celebrate contributions made to sports in Collingwood. The 2024 inductees are Andrea Bevan, Andrea Ironside, William "Bill" Kirby, Don Thorne, and the 2003-2004 Jean Vanier Catholic High School varsity girls' hockey team.
“It’s so lovely to see all the women hockey players being front-and-centre tonight. It’s long overdue,” said Pat Houlton, grandniece of Bill Kirby.
It was the first year Jean Vanier (now Our Lady of the Bay Catholic High School) had a girls hockey team. The team won both the Georgian Bay Secondary School Championships and the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations "A/AA" gold medal in 2004. The team played its full regular, playoff and championship seasons undefeated.
Some members of the team were in attendance and spoke about the impact coach and teacher Liz Peyton had on their lives.
“We love our coach so much, we don’t want to make her come up here because she hates public speaking,” said player Justine Murphy. “It’s pretty special to be here.”
“Our time playing for Jean Vanier was nothing short of memorable. This is pretty much all because of Peyton,” she said. “Ultimately, she became our friend.”
Bevan is a Collingwood Collegiate Institute Black and Gold Sports Hall of Famer (2018) already, and is a high-achieving hockey player, playing for Team Canada. To read more about her, click here.
Ironside is a graduate of Jean Vanier Catholic High School (now Lady of the Bay) and was a member of the school's 2004 OFSAA championship winning team. She was part of five consecutive OUA Championships (2005-2010) with the Laurier Golden Hawks, and earned the OUA Women's Hockey scoring title in 2008/09. She also played for Team Canada and helped win the gold at the World University Games in both 2009 and 2011. To read more about her, click here.
Thorne will also be inducted as a builder for his dedication to officiating in basketball. He began officiating the sport as a student at Collingwood Collegiate Institute in 1973, and continued to officiate at the Ontario university level for ten years. He served as the referee-in-chief for seven Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association (OFSAA) championships and at four Ontario College Championships. To read more about him, click here.
Kirby is being named posthumously to the hall of fame as a builder in the hockey world. He was instrumental in founding Collingwood's juvenile and bantam hockey teams in 1946, was an executive member of the Collingwood Minor Hockey Association, and known for his skill in woodworking.
Houlton shared that Kirby would regularly collect broken hockey sticks, repair them, and donate them back to players who needed them.
“This, no doubt, allowed many young people to play hockey, who wouldn’t have otherwise had the equipment or opportunity,” said Houlton. “Thank you to the committee for selecting him.”
Kirby died in 1961.
Back in September, Collingwood council voted unanimously in favour of renaming the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame Room in the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena the WJ (Scotty) Carmichael Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame Room.
Carmichael was a quintessential sports fan and promoter who called hockey games and worked as the Collingwood sports correspondent for the Toronto Telegram. He highlighted local athletes and games through his radio career, and is remembered for having an uncanny ability to pull stories from the games and athletes.
As a founding member, Carmichael and eight others – John Freudeman, Greg Titus, Bob Bush, Ron Ralph, Darryl Sly, George Butlers, Jack Wheeler, and Nip Spooner – served as the first selection committee for the hall of fame in 1974. Carmichael died in 2006.
On Saturday night, members of Carmichael’s family were in attendance to talk about how much the name change means to them.
“With my grandpa’s name now adorning the sports hall of fame, the Carmichael name will live on for at least another 142 years, and for this, my family and my grandfather would be very proud and thankful. I thank you all,” said John Liotta, Carmichael’s grandson.
For more information on the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame, click here.
