Joe Primeau

“Gentleman” Joe Primeau had a distinguished career as both a hockey player and coach. From 1932 to 1936, Primeau centred the famous “Kid Line” of the Toronto Maple Leafs with wingers Charlie Conacher and Harvey “Busher” Jackson.

He finished second in National Hockey League scoring in the 1932 season by three points to his linemate Jackson, and second in the 1934 season by six points to his linemate Conacher.

The production of the Kid Line helped lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to their first Stanley Cup in 1932. Primeau won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1932 and was named to the 1934 NHL All Star team.

Born in Lindsay, Ontario, Primeau began his NHL Career in 1927. Along with his success on the ice, Primeau was also an outstanding coach. He is the only man to have coached Memorial Cup, Allan Cup and Stanley Cup teams.

Primeau won the Memorial Cup while coach of the Toronto St. Michael’s Juniors, the senior men’s Allan Cup while with the Toronto Marlboroughs and the Stanley Cup as coach of the Leafs in 1951.

Primeau began his coaching career while still an NHL player by taking the bench for the West Toronto Juniors in 1932.

He was a longtime resident of the Ripplewood Road area of Etobicoke, living in the community from 1957 until his death at age 83 in 1989. Primeau is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

Avelino Gomez

A proud statue of Avelino Gomez stands at the front of Woodbine Racetrack, a fitting tribute to one of thoroughbred racing’s greats. Gomez, who began racing a the age of 14 at the urging of an uncle won his first major race in 1944 and captured his first headlines as a jockey by riding six winners in an afternoon at Ascot park in Ohio. But it was 12 years later, after resettling his family to Etobicoke, when “El Perfecto” began his formative years in the sport.

Gomez won a total of 4,078 races during his brilliant career, mostly out of Etobicoke’s Woodbine Racetrack, and was Canada’s top race winning jockey in 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1964 and 1966. He was selected top rider in North America in 1956. He won the Queen’s Plate on four occasions.

“Never, in the history of Canadian racing, has there ever been another jockey who, through the sheer overpowering magic of his personality, dominated thoroughbred racing for 25 years” wrote famed Toronto sports columnist Jim Coleman in 1980.

Avelino Gomez was inducted into the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame in 1978, the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in 1982, and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. He also won the coveted Sovereign Award of Merit for his contributions to the sport in 1978.

Tragically, during the running of the Canadian Oakes Stakes at Woodbine in 1980, Gomez died following a three horse accident.

In 1984 friends established the Avelino Gomez Foundation, to aid hardship cases within the racing community. In addition, each year on the anniversary of the Canadian Oakes, the Avelino Gomez Memorial Trophy is awarded to a Canadian jockey who has made a significant contribution to thoroughbred racing.

Earl Walls

A long-time realtor and resident of The Kingsway area, Earl Walls was Canada’s Heavyweight Boxing Champion in the early 1950s. Born in Puce, Ontario, near Windsor, his boxing career was brief but extremely successful.

He began boxing at age 19 and quickly won the Ontario Amateur Heavyweight Championship. He then started his pro career with a knockout victory in a fight in New York City.

After losing his next three bouts, he set up training in Alberta and by June of 1952 had won the Canadian Heavyweight title. In his pro career, Walls knocked out 27 opponents — 14 of them in the first round.

By 1955, he was on his way to perhaps becoming the second Canadian ever (behind Tommy Burns) to take the World Heavyweight Championship. He was ranked fifth in the world, and a title shot against the champ Rocky Marciano seemed to be inevitable.

However, in June of that year, at the age of 27, Walls stunned the boxing world by announcing his retirement.

Married and with a young family, Walls no longer wanted to participate in the fight game. “Boxing is a business. Strictly a career with me. I don’t go for violence. And I don’t like the wrong impression people get of fighters – that we’re all gorillas, social bums. We’re really just an ordinary bunch of guys” Walls wrote in a 1955 article explaining his decision to retire.

Walls went on to enormous success in the real estate business while raising his family in Etobicoke. He was involved with a number of charities, including Variety Village’s Sunshine Games.

Walls, who was known as the “Hooded Terror” when he fought professionally, is a member of the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame and the Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame in Detroit. He died in December of 1996 of a heart attack.

Al Balding

Al Balding’s love of golf began during his time as a caddy at Islington golf Club, during his early school years. After returning from enlistment in the Canadian Army, Al started to take a more serious interest in the game. In 1950 he turned pro and was coached along by Les Franks.

Al joined the PGA Tour in 1952, and went on to become the first Canadian to win a Tour event – the 1955 Mayfair Open in Florida.

Altogether, Al has won four PGA Tour tournaments, and was a four time winner of the Miller Trophy, emblematic of the Canadian Match Play Championship. However, his greatest achievement came in 1968, while teamed with George Knudsen in Rome, winning the world cup championship as well as the individual championship.

Chosen as Canadian Athlete of the year in 1955 and 1957, Al has also been elected to Canada Sports Hall of Fame in 1968 and was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1985.

Michael Pelyk

A product of Etobicoke’s minor hockey system, Mike Pelyk was born in 1947 and grew up on Grand Avenue in the former town of Mimico. His mother still lives in the same south Etobicoke house.

Mike showed great skill as a young athlete, excelling in both hockey and baseball with the Queensway minor associations. At age 11, he joined the Toronto Marlborough hockey club, where he played for the next six years through pee wee up to midget.

In 1961, Mike entered Michael Power high school where he took part in hockey, football and track. During his high school summers he played junior baseball at Christie Pits. In his final year of high school, he played Junior B in the Metro league.

In 1966 Mike joined the Toronto Marlboroughs of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), now the OHL, where he won the Memorial Cup with the team in the spring of 1967.

Mike turned professional in 1967 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. After seven successful NHL seasons he was lured to the World Hockey Association where he played four seasons with Vancouver and Cincinnati before returning to Toronto to finish his pro career. He played thirteen years of pro hockey, nine with the Maple Leafs.

After his pro career ended he continued to play with the NHL Old-timers squad raising money for charities. He also coached hockey in Humber Valley and baseball in the Kingsway – Islington league. He still lives in Etobicoke with his wife Donna and their three children, Kimberley, Christopher and Leah.

Sandra Bezic

“Pre-eminent figure skating coach” is the only way to describe Sandra Bezic. Sandra and her brother Val were the Canadian Pairs Champions from 1970 to 1974.

After her retirement from competition, Sandra first began her coaching career working with Barb Underhill and Paul Martini, who won the 1984 World Pairs title.

Since then, her client list has grown to include many impressive names: Elvis Stojko, Kurt Browning, Brian Boitano, Brian Orser, Katerina Witt, Kristi Yamaguchi and Joseé Chouinard, to name just a few.

Sandra is an original who has carved out a unique role for herself. She has worked as a producer, choreographer and consultant on touring shows and television specials such as “Carmen on Ice” “Stars on Ice” “You must Remember This” and “Blame it on the Blues.”

It is said Sandra has the ability to read into a skater’s soul to develop programs. This talent has become her trademark.

Elfi Schlegel

A ponytailed teenage gymnast captivated Canadians at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton with her Gold medal performance.

Since then, Etobicoke’s Elfi Schlegel went on to a great gymnastic career representing Canada, followed by a career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and now with the National Broadcasting Company in the United States.

While she competed internationally for Canada, Elfi attended the University of Florida on a gymnastics scholarship in the early 1980s, where she was named a three time NCAA All American.

In 1997 she was named to the University of Florida’s Sports Hall of Fame and was named as one of the university’s Women of Distinction.

Along with her Commonwealth Games gold, Elfi was a member of the Canadian Gymnastics Team which won gold at the 1979 Pan-American Games. She was a member of the Canadian National team until 1985.

Elfi graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science (Telecommunications) degree and forged a strong reputation as a broadcaster. She covered Commonwealth and Olympic games for CBC, commenting on not only gymnastics but also on other sports including show jumping, skiing and Grey Cup football games.

Elfi also worked at NBC covering Olympic women’s gymnastics at the 1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Games.

Elfi grew up in the Burnhamthorpe Road area of Etobicoke. She and her husband Mark, a firefighter and former Canadian Olympic beach volleyball player, were married in December, 1999.

Norm Stoneburgh

A more than forty year resident of Etobicoke, Norm Stoneburgh began his football career with Toronto’s Balmy Beach Club in 1954. For the next thirteen seasons, from 1955 to 1967, he was a perennial Canadian Football League all-star centre with the Toronto Argonauts.

Growing up in the Danforth – Pape area of east Toronto, Norm attended East York Collegiate. He played junior football with Parkdale Lions before joining the Balmy Beach Club where he was noticed by Argos trainer George Stockwell. Norm began his pro career at the age of nineteen.

For nine years in a row, Norm was selected to the CFL’s all-star team. In 1974 he was selected to the Argonauts Team of the Century.

Professionally, Norm has provided jobs for many residents of Etobicoke through his various business enterprises including construction, home building and development.

Norm lives in the Markland Woods area. Along with his sporting contributions, Norm continues to give to the Etobicoke community through his volunteer work. For many years he has shared his compassion for the homeless through his work at the Scott Mission. He has also volunteered his time with terminally ill patients at Etobicoke’s Dorothy Ley Hospice.

Over the past years he has also donated blood more than 100 times to Canadian Blood Services. During his playing days, Norm was actively involved with Big Brothers. Norm and his wife Dolores raised six children.

Brendan Shanahan

A member of the elite Triple Gold Club, the recently retired winger has won all three of the most prominent team titles in ice hockey – an Olympic gold medal (2002), a World Championship (1994), and the Stanley Cup (1997, 1998 and 2002) – over the course of his esteemed, 22-year professional career.

Originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils second overall in the 1987 NHL draft, Shanahan went on to play with the St. Louis Blues, the Hartford Whalers, the Detroit Red Wings, the New York Rangers, and the Devils, scoring 656 goals in his NHL career.

All three of his Stanley Cup championships were won with Detroit, where he spent the majority of his career. Shanahan retired as the leader among active NHL players for goals scored, and as the only player in NHL history with more than 600 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes.

Ted Toogood

A member of the Toronto Argonauts’ All-Time Roster, Toogood was the Argo’s halfback and kick returner from 1950 to 1954. During his time with the CFL team, he not only earned accolades for turning two punts for touchdowns in one game – with no blocking – but he also established Ryerson University’s football team, serving as both athletic director and coach.

In 1960, Toogood joined the staff at Burnamthorpe Collegiate Institute, and later Etobicoke Collegiate Institute, as a physical education and health teacher, and coach. He is now retired from teaching.

In addition to the annual inductees, the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame also present two young local athletes with scholarships each year. The 2010 winners are Robert MacFarlane and Shea Seale, both for Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School.