The Prince George Sports Hall of Fame originated in 1996 when a group of local sports enthusiasts came together with the dream of creating a Hall of Fame to recognize the City's and district's top athletes, builders and teams.
On the board were Neil King (Chair), Shirley Gratton, Neil Fowlie, Mike Jenkins, Ken Pineo, Bette McKay, Geoff Paynton, Ken Stanyer, Dave McWalter and Brian Kelly. It is because of these dedicated sports enthusiasts that the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame is a reality.
Since its creation, the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame has inducted 75 individuals and two teams in 24 sports.
1997 Saw the first year of Prince George Sports Hall of Fame inductees. They were Greg Blackburn (swimming), Howard Foot (water skiing), the Mohawks hockey club, John Dinsmore (baseball), Jim Fowlie (swimming), Diana Lowrie (figure skating), Harold Mann (boxing), Neal Marshall (speed skating), Rolf Pettersen (cross-country skiing) and Randy Wagner (volleyball).
1998 Inductees were Chris Bowie (swimming), Russell Ko (judo), Laurie Mann (boxing), Joe Martin (baseball), Tom Masich (track and field), the Molson Oldstylers lacrosse team, Darcy Rota (hockey), Debbie Ward (racquetball) Findlay Young (golf) and Dick Zarek (swimming).
1999 Inductees included Fred Doig (lacrosse), Ron Thorsen (basketball), Shirley Gratton (baseball), Delores Neukomm (Special Olympics), Doug Gudwer (cross-country skiing), Vern Martel (arm wrestling), Matt Pearce (football), Harold Pretty (golf), Brad Suey (freestyle aerial skiing) and Harry Thacker (hockey).
2000 Inductees were John Da Silva (soccer), John and Geraldine Huntley (judo), Bruce Hawkenson (canoeing), Bruce Kamstra (judo), Sid McKnight (boxing) and Kevin Smale (curling).
2001-02 Inductees were Glen Johnson (archery), Dick Voneugen (roadrunning), Jack Meda (boxing), Rae-Ann Mitchell (volleyball), Sallie Szanik (Special Olympics) and Gale Russell (soccer).
2003-04 Inductees were the Martin Family (baseball), Stewart Malgunas (hockey), Ken Larsen (basketball, baseball), Alan Bayne (boxing), John Kazakoff (baseball) and Kathy Mears (golf).
2005-07 Inductees for these years were Boyd Bayne (boxing), Don Nachbaur (hockey), Fernie Ollinger (hockey, baseball) and Shafeed Rahman (soccer).
2008-09 Inductees were Hans Niedermayer (soccer), Tony Tomra (powerlifting), Kurt Ottesen (taekwon-do), Wayne Sponagle (boxing), Scott Bellavance (freestyle skiing) and Kim Chadwick (bowling).
2010-11 Inductees were David Jenkins (lacrosse), Sylvia Hausot (judo), Lyle Dickieson (canoeing) Dale McMann (softball) and Niilo Itkonen
2012-13 This year featured eight inductees: Pat Harris (wheelchair basketball), Jason LaBarbera (hockey), Bjorger and John Pettersen (cross-country skiing), Ed Day (cross-country skiing), Dave Wood (cross-country skiing), Glen "Moose" Scott (lacrosse) and Gibby Chasse (powerlifting).
2016 Inductees were Orv Claffey (hockey), Nino Fabbro (fastball), Audrey Foster (baseball) and Charlie Ghostkeeper (fastball).
Feb 25, 2024