Jerome Drayton

In an age when athletic records are being broken on an almost daily basis, Jerome Drayton’s mark in the marathon stands steadfast and firm. It has been more than a quarter-century since Drayton established the Canadian record of 2:10:09 in the marathon. It is the longest standing record in Canadian Track.

That achievement alone established the Lakeshore Athlete of the Year as a true Hall of Famer. His time, which has withstood the assault of such latter day Canadian marathon stars as Dave Edge and Peter Maher is one of many great accomplishments recorded by the former Etobicoke resident.

Drayton became a hero in Japan for his three victories in the Fukuoka marathon. In 1977 he became the first Canadian in 29 years to win the Boston Marathon, before scolding the organizers of the event to clean up their act. This resulted in a series of much needed changes in the fabled event.

Drayton, who has worked as a fitness consultant for the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation, also won a silver medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. He finished a respectable sixth at the Montreal Olympics and was a 12 time Canadian champion in a number of long distance events.

He is most proud of his three victories in Fukuoka, particularly the 1975 race in which he set his record. Just prior to the race he signed a deal with a shoe company and was fitted with a new pair on the eve of the race. “The soles gave way in the last five miles and it caused my ankle to stiffen up” Drayton recalls. “I caught the leader with about three miles to go and it was like a Charlie Chaplin routine. I sort of hopped on by.”

His record holds a certain mystique for Canadian runners. Maher, a successful runner of the international circuit, once said his main goal before retirement was to break Drayton’s record.

George Chuvalo

George Chuvalo is the type of athlete who transcended his sport of choice. While the boxing community in Etobicoke was, and is still relatively small in comparison to some of the other sports, Chuvalo’s name was arguably the most recognizable in sport in the area.

Chuvalo’s toughness, not to mention his punch, is legendary in a sport few people recognize in Canada, let alone Etobicoke.

His mark on the sport is a claim no one else can make – that in two decades of pro and amateur fights, no fighter ever knocked Chuvalo down in the ring. That included 27 rounds with Muhammad Ali,15 in Toronto and another 12 in Vancouver 6 years later.

George Chuvalo,s career ended in 1973 after 90 fights in which he posted a record of 70-18-2. His exploits in the ring are still talked about today.

Gerry O’Flaherty

Gerry O’Flaherty’s journey from playing youth hockey in Etobicoke to a successful career in the NHL is a testament to his determination and passion for the game. Despite not being the most standout player in his high school days, O’Flaherty’s relentless drive and commitment propelled him to a distinguished career in professional hockey.

Born in Pittsburgh in 1950, O’Flaherty’s family relocated to Toronto when he was just three weeks old. Growing up in Etobicoke, he immersed himself in various sports, including hockey, baseball, and golf. While he excelled in multiple sports, it was on the ice where he truly thrived, playing for local teams like Michael Power and Queensway.

O’Flaherty’s talent and work ethic didn’t go unnoticed, and he caught the attention of scouts while playing Junior hockey in Kitchener. His impressive performance led to his selection by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft, fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a professional hockey player.

Although O’Flaherty’s NHL career began with the Maple Leafs, he found his true calling with the Vancouver Canucks, where he spent the majority of his six-season tenure. During his time in Vancouver, O’Flaherty established himself as a reliable forward, recording impressive stats and making significant contributions to the team.

Beyond his on-ice achievements, O’Flaherty also represented the United States in the inaugural Canada Cup tournament in 1976, showcasing his talent on an international stage.

After retiring from playing, O’Flaherty transitioned into scouting, where he continued to make valuable contributions to the sport. His scouting career with teams like the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning allowed him to stay connected to the game he loves while sharing his expertise with future generations of players.

O’Flaherty’s induction into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame alongside his father serves as a fitting tribute to his remarkable career and the lasting impact his family has had on the sport of hockey.

Eurico Rosa da Silva

Eurico Da Silva achieved victory in the world All Star Challenge held in Sapporo, Japan. His notable accomplishments include winning 500-plus races over a five-year span competing in Brazil and close to 300 victories in four and a half years in Macau. He also captured the Brazil Derby, a two-mile Grade 1 turf race.

Da Silva began his riding tenure in Canada three weeks after the 2004 Thoroughbred season started. It’s worth noting that his lifetime totals don’t include Brazil and Macau numbers. In 2004, Da Silva made his first year at Woodbine a memorable one, recording 47 victories, two added-money wins, and $2,116,932 in purse earnings.

Among his achievements, Mona Rose (fourth in balloting for Canada’s Champion Turf Female) added to his success, winning the Dance Smartly and Belle Geste Stakes. His first Toronto oval score came aboard Arthur Silvera’s Point Hidden on May 20. Notably, 30 of his wins came in sprints, and he posted 155 top-three finishes in all.

In 2005, he captured the Ontario Fashion Stakes with Colonial Surprise, showcasing his consistent performance. Da Silva moved up two spots in the rankings (13th to 11th) from 2004, with an average win odds of 8.34, which was second-best among top 20 riders.

The following year, in 2006, he upped his win total by 19 from the previous year (61-42) and increased his purse earnings total by nearly $400,000. Da Silva broke like a bullet and went wire-to-wire with Shot Gun Ela in the Ontario Fashion Stakes, marking the second straight year he won the event. He ranked 11th for the second consecutive campaign.

In 2007, Da Silva won 83 races (22 more than in 2006), ranking sixth overall. He also netted six Woodbine stakes wins, teaming with Torquay to take the Valedictory Stakes on December 9, the final added-money feature of the season. Notably, he set Woodbine-best marks across the board in purse earnings ($3,649,504), in the money finishes (228), and starts (651).

Da Silva’s achievements continued to rise, winning seven dashes over the final 10 days of racing. In 2008, he topped the 100-win mark at Woodbine for the first time, securing 105 victories and winning 13 stakes races, marking the second-best mark in the category.

Paul Laurent

Tom Watt, former coach of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues hockey team, shared a memorable story from the late 1960s involving one of his players, Paul Laurent. During a time when Varsity Arena was unavailable, Watt managed to secure ice time at Maple Leaf Gardens for early morning practices. One day, while practicing in a dressing room at the Gardens, Laurent noticed a pile of banners on the floor that were being used as paint drops. Among them was a banner commemorating the 1936 Memorial Cup champions, the West Toronto Nationals, a team that Laurent’s father, Bobby Laurent, played for. Paul took the banner home, much to his father’s delight, as it had been hanging from the rafters of the Gardens.

Paul Laurent’s own hockey career began in the Faustina House League in 1954, leading him to join the Toronto Marlboros system in 1958. He later signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ junior team and played for the Lakeshore Goodyears Jr. B team, where he was named Rookie of the Year. Laurent then joined the Jr. A Marlboros and won the Memorial Cup in his first year, followed by leading the club in scoring in his second year.

After his junior career, Laurent joined the University of Toronto Varsity Blues hockey team under Tom Watt’s coaching. Laurent helped lead the team to five consecutive Ontario league titles and four CIAU national championships. He received numerous accolades during his time at UofT, including being named a league All-Star in each of his five seasons and receiving the Dafoe Trophy as team MVP.

One of Laurent’s highlights at UofT was scoring the winning goal in the 1970 CIAU Gold Medal match in the last minute of regulation time. After graduating, Laurent went on to have a successful career in law and continued to play hockey with the Lakeshore and Etobicoke Oldtimers clubs until he was 69 years old. Despite turning down an opportunity to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs due to exams, Laurent has enjoyed a fulfilling career in both hockey and law.

Gerry Organ

Gerry Organ was born in 1944 in Cheltenham, England. He emigrated with his parents and four siblings to Canada when he was 12 years old, as his father had taken a job working on the legendary Avro Arrow.

The family settled on Swordbill Drive in Etobicoke and Gerry attended Scarlett Heights Collegiate. He left school before completing grade 13 because he had been told he would never make it to university. But after four years in the working world, he decided to “prove them wrong”, and went back to Scarlett Heights to get his grade 13 diploma.

At age 21, Gerry was so much older than the other students that on the first day of school, they kept directing him to the teachers’ staff room.

Gerry worked night and day to understand things like the “new math”, and after receiving his diploma he got accepted to the University of Guelph. At U of G, Gerry studied Human Kinetics and played football “without distinction” (as he humbly describes it) for the mighty Guelph Gryphons. Despite his downplayment of his university football skills, Gerry was named to the All-Canadian team in 1969.

If he calls his university football career somewhat inauspicious, things changed once Gerry joined the Ottawa Rough Riders as a placekicker. During his illustrious CFL career, which ran from 1971-1983, Gerry became Rough Rider MVP in ’71 and ’72, a CFL All-Star in ‘73 and again in 1982, a Grey Cup Champion in ’73 and ’76, and he was presented with the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 1973. A year after he left the Rough Riders, Gerry had the honour of seeing his number (#71) retired on ‘Gerry Organ Day’ at Lansdowne Park!

Gerry is currently the Director of National Initiatives at One Way Ministries in Toronto. His continuing love for the game is demonstrated through his website – www.EXCFL.ca – which was created for those CFL veterans that remember the glory days, and can still see well enough to read online! He has been married to Lore for 40 years, has two married children and five grandchildren. He resides in King City.

Freddie Black

Freddie Black was always an all-round athlete. He played on a variety of organized Etobicoke sports teams, including lacrosse, baseball and hockey, on the team sponsored by Kingsway Lumber, but after graduating from St. Michael’s High School he joined the Toronto Argonauts. His nick-name was “Blue Steel”, and he played in three consecutive decades in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s – during their “Glory Years”.

He was active in football from 1948 through to 1961, although he did sit out the 1958 season to get married.

In 1957, he was chosen co-captain of the Argos. Always a versatile player, that year he played both offence and defence – as an offensive linesman (guard and centre) and on the defence as end and linebacker. The results of the All-Star balloting showed Freddie with the greatest number of votes of any player – but unfortunately not the most votes in any one position. Since he couldn’t be named on position, they decided to name him an Honorary All-Star.

He played 132 regular season games and 13 play-off games. That included two Grey Cup encounters – 1950 and 1952.

He lived in Etobicoke for more than 40 years, and in that time has generously given back his football expertise to the community by helping to coach both the Lakeshore Bears and the Etobicoke Colts during many of their unbeaten seasons.

George Kapasky

George Kapasky was born in Etobicoke south, and still lives here. He attended George R. Gauld Public School and graduated from Mimico High School. He is married to Marie Duff, who is also from Etobicoke. They have 3 sons: George, Gordon and Glenn.

As a boy, George played all the sports available to him – baseball, hockey, lacrosse, football and basketball. Then in his final year at Mimico, he was selected to the Toronto Telegram all-star football team as a running back.

He also played lacrosse in Mimico, until its minor league activities were suspended and, with Dave “Porky” Russell, Paul Henderson, and Ross Bonar, he transferred to Long Branch and began a successful decade of winning games and capturing championships.

George was a naturally skilled player and team leader. He co-captained the junior teams and captained the senior ones. His Long Branch teams won 3 consecutive Eastern Canadian championships from 1953 to ‘55, culminating in the Minto Cup as Canadian Junior Champions. Then George captained the Port Credit Sailors to the Mann Cup senior championship. In all, he played in six Canadian final series, winning 2 national championships.

George played at the highest levels of competition and was regarded as one of the best Lacross players of his era, directing the play, playing the point and setting up the offensive. He was awarded the Merv McKenzie trophy in 1964 and ‘65 for his defensive skills.

In 1957, George introduced Morley Kells to the game. Not only did Morley play, but he raised the profile of the game. With these new opportunities, George played professionally with Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Tomahawks. In 2004 he was inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Erin Woodley

Erin Woodley is both an athlete and coach. This synchronized swimming sensation was born in 1972 in Mississauga, Ontario and later moved with her family to Etobicoke.

As a child, her parents encouraged Erin and her two sisters to try all sports – gymnastics, swimming and dance. She was a natural in the water. At the age of 9, Erin participated in a synchronized swimming camp, and fell in love with the sport.

She attended high school at Silverthorne Collegiate, and later the University of Toronto, as she trained for some of the biggest events of her swimming career.

In 1991, Erin won three gold medals at the Canada Games for her solo, duet and team performances, and was the recipient of the Unisys Quest for Excellence Award.

In 1994 she won the national duet title with partner Lisa Alexander, then on to a gold metal at the Commonwealth games.

And while the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 would mark the end of a fantastic career, Erin counts her Olympic experience as one her proudest moments. It was there, where years of training, goal setting and careful planning, would come to fruition for the entire world to see, and where she would lead her team to a silver medal win in the synchronized swimming team event.

Erin has been busy since her Olympic medal win nearly 10 years ago; counting motivational speaking, coaching synchronized swimming, and raising two beautiful little girls as some of her most recent accomplishments.

Donald K. Smythe

Few Canadian players can match Don’s fierce determination, sportsmanship, and professionalism in the sport of badminton. To his credit, Don won 27 titles between 1950 and 1956 in international competition.

Beginning in 1950, Don won five Ontario Singles Championships and numerous Ontario and National Doubles Championships. But what makes him stand alone is reaching the semis and finals of the World Championships held in England in 1953 and 1954. No other male Canadian has achieved such international standing to date.

Don represented Canada as a playing member of the Thomas Cup Team in 1953, 1955, and 1958. As Captain in 1971, he inspired the team into the semifinal round of the world championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Don was inducted into the Canadian Amateur Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974. He returned to competition in 1985 and reached the finals of the Canadian Masters Badminton Games held at the Etobicoke Olympium.