This year 13 Albertan’s have been selected for this prestigious honour. World class athletes, builders, pioneer, and media who have dedicated endless hours to build sport and sport legacies to where they are today.
2019 Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Inductees:
Kreg Llewellyn Water Skiing Athlete
Kreg won his first Provincial Junior Boys Overall Title and then set his first Canadian Junior Boys Trick record in 1979. He became an integral part of the Canadian National Water Ski Team in 1984 and for the next twenty years competed in the Overall events of Slalom, Trick, and Jump. He was Canada’s top skier for three straight years. Kreg set 24 Canadian national records and won 7 individual World Championship medals, 3 Team Canada World Championship gold medals, and 18 Pan American Games medals. He was a natural athlete and an innovator both on and off the water.
Kreg first started water skiing at Sylvan Lake, and Dodd’s Lake – which was located at his hometown of Innisfail. At age six he entered his first tournament, the Alberta Summer Games and began competitive water skiing in the late 1970s. As a junior, and then senior water skier, he had numerous wins and set Canadian Records along the way. In 1984, he joined the National Team for his first World Championship in Sweden. As an Overall skier, he faced the challenges of competing against single-event skiers who were able to train for, and focus on, a single tournament event. His personal best tournament results were 202 feet in Ski Jump and 11,300 points in the Trick event.
Kreg had success at every Major Amateur / Professional Water Ski tournament in the World. The Pan American Games were the ultimate multi-game championship for water skiers, and his success over the years at the Games included 7 gold, 9 silver, and 2 bronze medals. He was a U.S. Masters Trick Champion, two-time U.S. Open Overall and Trick Champion, and a Moomba Masters Overall and Trick Champion. Twice, he was a World Overall silver medalist (at Austria and Colombia), and a World Slalom bronze medalist, in Italy.
Although Water Skiing is an individual sport, Kreg was a role model for his younger brother Jaret, and for the other members on the Canadian team. His fondest memories are of contributing to Team Canada as they won three World Team Titles. In 1991, with an injury to his lower leg that required fifty stitches, he persevered in the individual finals to capture two event medals – and his points helped Team Canada beat the undefeated U.S Team – for the first time since 1949. Kreg’s other World Team titles came in 1993 in Singapore, and in 1999 in Italy.
As an innovator, Kreg was willing to try anything and was constantly redefining moves. He would take tricks that had been hard to accomplish by others, and master them with speed. His flips were done with ease, and his technical adaptations to Step Overs evolved to become the Body Overs that water skiers continue to use as they strive to go bigger and faster. At the 1989 Worlds, he was the first to wear a proto-type speed suit for ski jumping. The speed suit brought a positive change to all disciplines of water skiing. Kreg also helped design and test the first ever Skurfer – which was the precursor to the evolution of wakeboarding. He was the first to perform a back-flip on a wakeboard, and he won the very first World Wakeboard Championships, in Hawaii.
Kreg retired from water skiing in 2001. He was named Canadian Skier of the Year multiple times and was Alberta Skier of the Year from 1985 through 1990. He was inducted into the Canadian Water Ski Hall of Fame in 2006, the Water Ski Alberta Hall of Fame in 2017, and honoured on the Innisfail Wall of Fame.
Mike Rogers Hockey Athlete
Mike Rogers was a centreman in the NHL for seven seasons, beginning with the Hartford Whalers expansion team in 1979/80. He was traded to the New York Rangers in 1981/82. He earned the distinction of being one of only four players to achieve 100 points in his first three seasons in the NHL; the others were Wayne Gretzky, Peter Stastny, and Mario Lemieux. Mike scored 519 points in 484 regular-season NHL games. Mike played in the World Hockey Association for five seasons starting in 1974/75. He led the Edmonton Oilers rookies in goals and points, and was named the WHA’s Most Gentlemanly Player.
During Mike’s time in the WHA, he scored 145 goals and had 222 assists for 367 points in 396 games. He was traded during the 1975/76 season from the Edmonton Oilers to the New England Whalers. He helped the Whalers reach the WHA semi-finals in 1976 and advance to the WHA Championship series in 1978.
After the WHA merged with the NHL in 1979/80, Mike played some of the best hockey of his career. He scored 105 points in both his first and second season in the NHL. He had more than 40 goals both seasons and was the Whalers top scorer in 1978/79. Mid-way through the 1980/81 season, he was named team captain.
Mike was traded to the New York Rangers for the 1981/82 season and led the Rangers with 103 points. He averaged 67 points in his next three seasons as the team adapted to a more defensive style of play under the direction of Herb Brooks – the former coach of the 1980 Olympic Games ‘Miracle on Ice’ USA team.
Mike had the opportunity to wear the maple leaf, and represent Canada in 1981 when he was selected to play for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships in Sweden. The team finished fourth at the championships.
Mike closed out his hockey career in 1985/86 in Edmonton, as he played eight more games with the Oilers. He then returned to his hometown of Calgary where he had been a star player with the Calgary Centennials of the Western Canada Hockey League for four seasons. During that time, Mike helped the team win two WCHL West Division pennants and reach the WCHL finals one more time, in 1974.
During his stellar hockey career as an amateur, and twelve years as a professional, Mike Rogers ranked among the very best players of his era.
Lyndon Rush Bobsleigh Athlete
Lyndon Rush had his breakthrough in 2009/2010 when he captured his first World Cup gold medals in the two-man and four-man bobsleigh events. He made his Olympic debut at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games where he piloted his four-man crew to a bronze medal. At the 2012 World Championships, Lyndon raced to a second place finish with brakeman Jesse Lumsden. Lyndon claimed his first overall World Cup Title in the 2012/2013 season when he took top spot in the two-man standings. At the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games, Lyndon piloted both his two-man and four-man crews to ninth place finishes.
Lyndon attended his first bobsleigh camp in 2004 to train as a brakeman. While there, he suffered a hamstring injury and made the decision to go to bobsleigh driving school instead. He quickly excelled in the skills needed to pilot a bobsleigh and soon became the top development pilot in Canada.
During the next few years, Lyndon, worked his way up the results board in both the two-man and four-man events. He had a 21stplace finish in 2007 in the 4-man, and a 13th place finish in 2008 in the 2-man event. At the 2008 World Championships in Altenberg, Germany, he won a silver medal in the Mixed Team event. He would win two more Mixed Team medals during his career, capturing bronze in 2011 and 2013.
Lyndon started the 2009/10 season with a victory in Park City Utah as he piloted his 4-man team to a first place finish. He then piloted the 4-man team to a third place finish in Cesana, Italy.
At the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, Lyndon’s bobsleigh crashed during the 2-man event. With determination and heart, he piloted his 4-man bobsleigh – with David Bissett, Lascelles Brown, and Chris LeBihan – to a bronze medal. It was an incredible comeback on one of the most difficult tracks in the world. Lyndon and his team members missed the silver medal spot by 1/100th of a second. It had been 46 years, going back to 1964, since a Canadian four-man bobsleigh team had won an Olympic medal.
The new season in 2011/2012 marked a major change for Lyndon, as he became the leader of the Canadian men’s team with the Canada 1 bobsleigh. In February 2012, he won his second gold medal in the two-man event and his eighth medal on the World Cup circuit. It was his first victory with Jesse Lumsden as brakeman. They raced together for two seasons and ultimately captured the overall World Cup two-man bobsleigh title for the 2012/2013 season. Lyndon raced the following season in the two-man event with brakeman Lascelle Brown, and again at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. Lyndon Rush retired from the sport following the 2014 Games.
James Donlevy Hockey/Football Builder
Jim’s professional career as a coach and administrator spanned more than fifty years. He started coaching bantam and high school football in 1954. As an assistant coach with the Edmonton Huskies from 1961 to 1963 he won two Canadian titles. Jim coached the University of Alberta Golden Bears to four National Championship games, with Vanier Cup victories in 1972 and 1980, and set the record for Golden Bears football coaches with 89 wins. As the WHL’s Education Consultant from 1993 to 2015, Jim built a formal education and scholarship program for student athletes who played in the league.
Ron Robison, Commissioner of the Western Hockey League stated,
“We credit Jim as the individual who was primarily responsible for building the largest privately funded amateur sports scholarship program in Canada and one of the most comprehensive education programs for hockey in the world today.”
Jim originally saw the benefits and importance of athletes furthering their education while he taught and coached at the University of Alberta. He became a part of the football coaching staff in 1965 and was named head coach in 1971. His impact was immediate – as he took the team to the National Championship game two years in a row, in 1971 and 1972. He coached the team to back-to-back championship games again in 1980 and 1981. As of 2018, the 1980 Vanier Cup victory remains the last championship victory for the Bears.
Jim took a sabbatical from the U of A and coaching in 1982 and 1983. He returned to coach the Bears from 1984 to 1990 and his overall record of 89 wins, 69 losses and 3 ties set the standard for future U of A football coaches. He was named Conference Coach of the Year three times, in 1971, 1984, and 1987, and was a provincial coach of the year two times.
Along with his professional career, Jim was also a volunteer who spent countless hours devoted to help the growth and development of sport. During the 1960s, he was one of the founding fathers of the Alberta Coaches Association (later known as the Alberta Amateur Football Association and then in 1972, Football Alberta). He served as president of the Alberta Football Coaches Association, Football Alberta, and the Canadian University Football Coaches Association. He was commissioner of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association. In 1982 and 1983, he dedicated his time and efforts to the Universiade Games as second in command. He also served as Mayor of the Athletes Village. Between 1991 and 2016, Jim served as the Canada West football convenor and worked with the conference’s head coaches and administrators to shape the direction of university football.
Jim impacted generations of student-athletes in both football and hockey. He gave them a choice for career options through education which left them better prepared for when their playing days were over. His commitment to the coaches, the sport, and the various levels of play will remain invaluable for years to come.
Jim Donlevy was inducted onto the University of Alberta Wall of Fame in 1996. He received the WHL Governors Award in 2013, and Canada West honoured him for his work with football in 2016.
Dorothy Padget Artistic Swimming Builder
Dorothy worked her way up through the judges ranks in the sport of synchronized swimming (renamed Artistic Swimming in 2017) to ultimately become a ‘Level A’ FINA judge, the highest designation there is. She judged more than fifty international competitions in more than twenty countries worldwide. Involved in the sport since the late 1960s to 2019, she also wrote judge’s training materials and was a clinic leader – where she mentored and evaluated both athletes and officials. Dorothy served on boards, committees, and held administrative roles, which included the UANA (North, South Central America Aquatic) Masters committees from 2007 to 2019.
From 1970 to 1985, Dorothy earned her various levels of accreditation in Canada. Once she made the FINA officials list in 1985, she travelled internationally with the National, Provincial and Club teams until retiring from FINA in 2015. She judged World Championships, World Cup events, Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games and many other high profile International competitions. Highlights included judging the 2015 FINA World Masters Championships, the 2015 Pan American Games, the 2008 Olympic Qualifiers in Beijing, and the 1990 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand.
Dorothy also trained and developed beginner and intermediate level officials in Calgary and throughout Alberta. She worked tirelessly to enhance judging for others as she wrote numerous manuals and handbooks – which created a valuable resource for the sport. Dorothy revised and produced the Judges Training and Accreditation (J-TACS) Level II Manual in 1985. She helped develop the Synchro Alberta Figures Official program and developed the Officials Handbook. She was instrumental in continuing the development of training manuals for judges and produced the International Officials Handbook.
Dorothy was the sole clinician at FINA Seminars in Jamaica in 2003 and Calgary in 2008. She also served on the FINA (International Federation) Masters subcommittee developing Technical Elements. Active in numerous areas of the sport, Dorothy also participated with event organizing committees for both National and International Seminars.
Dorothy originally had her first synchronized swimming lessons in 1959. As recently as 2015 she was still competing in Masters events at the provincial, national and international levels. In 2005 she was on the team that won the World Masters Games Trio and Team events. At the FINA World Championships in 2014, Dorothy and the team won the Team and Combo events, and then in 2017 she was back on the podium with gold in the Team event and silver in the Combo event. In 2015, at the UANA Masters’ Championships in Colombia, South America, Dorothy won gold in the solo technical and free events.
Dorothy received the Alberta Sports Park and Wildlife Foundation Officials Award in 2005, the Synchro Canada Bridge Builder Award in 2012, the Aquatics Canada Service Award in 2017 and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Canadian Artistic Swimming in 2018.
Edward Thresher Wrestling Builder
Ted was active with the Alberta Amateur Wrestling Association, starting in 1967, as a coach, official, administrator and event organizer. Ted was an outstanding national and FILA ranked official. He officiated at Nationals fourteen times and at Senior Nationals for eighteen years. He officiated internationally for thirteen years at forty-eight events, including five World Championships, three Pan American Games, and three Commonwealth Games. He also organized and co-chaired the wrestling portion of the 1978 Commonwealth Games. He was instrumental in the successful bid for Edmonton to host the 1982 World Wrestling Championships and served as the event’s executive director.
Ted attended his first international competition in Mexico City in 1972. He became an international official in 1975, and in 1977 he became a ‘FILA one’ official – next to the top level. Through the years, Ted officiated at more than 1000 international matches and travelled to events in Budapest, Dubrovnik, Stockholm, Edinburgh, Caracas, and Brisbane, as well as competitions held in the countries of France and the United States. Ted always took time to return to the roots of the sport. He officiated at many levels and conducted clinics for our national team as he prepared them for the World stage.
Ted’s ultimate goal was to become an Olympic official. He was ranked fourth among Canada’s officials, and at the time, only three were chosen. He made it to the 1976 Olympics in Montreal as a minor official and stated, “It was a privilege to be involved at almost any level.”
Through it all, he “had a sense of humour and kept things light, calm and focused on providing good officiating.”
Ted’s passion for wrestling first began after University in 1967, as he taught in the Edmonton Public School system at Garneau School. He attended many coaching clinics to better himself and soon his club was one of the top-two school-age wrestling clubs in Edmonton. He moved on to Harry Ainley Composite High School from 1974 to 1977. The wrestling program there supplied a large number of wrestlers to the University program. Along the way, Ted also coached provincial elite wrestling teams. In 1978, he restarted the wrestling program at Jasper Place Composite High School and was their coach for three years. He completed the last ten years of his career as an Adjunct Professor at MacEwan University.
Ted applied his administrative talents to the various wrestling associations. He served on the Edmonton Amateur Wrestling Association Board and then as their chairperson. He went on to serve on the Alberta Amateur Wrestling Board of Directors, the Alberta Amateur Officials Board of Directors, and the Edmonton Officials Association. He was on the Canadian Officials Board of Directors for eight years and served as their president in 1983/84.
For his contributions to wrestling, Ted Thresher was inducted into the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association Hall of Fame on May 3, 2003.
Randy Ferbey 2001 – 2005 Curling Team
Randy Ferbey, David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer, Marcel Rocque
Randy Ferbey’s team of David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer, and Marcel Rocque were one of the most successful curling teams of all time. Known as ‘the Ferbey Four’, they won five consecutive Provincial men’s titles (2001-2005), four Canadian Brier Championships, and three World Championships. They were the only team, at the time, to win four Brier championships with the same members. They also were the first team to score a ‘5’ on any single end in the World finals. As innovators, they promoted the use of the ‘numbered zones’ to communicate the weight (speed) of the curling stones.
The team’s success at the provincial level carried on to their play at the Brier as they placed in the medals all five years. They captured the Brier trophy in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005, and a silver medal in 2004. At the 2003 Brier, the team went through the competition undefeated and all four members were named to the First-team All-Stars. For the third time, David Nedohin received the Hec Gervais Award as the playoff’s most valuable player.
They finished fourth at their first Men’s World Curling Championship in 2001, and went on to capture gold at their next three appearances in 2002, 2003 and 2005. The 2005 victory wasn’t easy as the team finished the round-robin tied for first place with five other teams. The Ferbey four had an opening record of four wins and three losses and battled back with eight straight wins – including an 11-4 victory in the Championship game against David Murdoch’s team from Scotland.
Each team member contributed their own unique and integral skills to form a strong and supportive team structure. Earlier in his career, Randy Ferbey had been the third on Pat Ryan’s team. As the skip with the Ferbey Four, Randy continued to throw third stones and had his third, David Nedohin throw the final two stones. The format worked incredibly well for the team and Nedohin became known as one of the best shot makers in the game during their championship run.
Dennis Nowicki, past president of the Northern Alberta Curling Association, wrote:
“The Ferbey Four strategy; Third David Nedohin had near perfect shot-making ability (often in the high 90th percentile); Second Scott Pfeifer and Lead Marcel Rocque were tremendous throwers repeatedly out-performing their opposition and perhaps best known as ‘Huff and Puff’, one of the strongest sweeping front ends this sport has seen. The foursome was truly a team with every member an important and integral component. And they drew strength from their friendship on and off the ice.”
The team always took time for the curling community as they made themselves available for public engagements and interview sessions in the Brier Patch, at bonspiels, and tournaments. They were true ambassadors of the game and continued to promote the growth and development of the sport after they retired from competitive curling.
For their accomplishments, the Ferbey Four were inducted into the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Strathcona County Sports Wall of Distinction at Millennium Place in 2011. They were named the Canadian Sports Award Male Team of the Year in 2005.
Herman Dorin Pioneer Award, Wrestling
Herman took up wrestling at the University of Alberta in 1949. “It was love at first fight.” From 1951 to 1966 he went undefeated in fifteen provincial competitions; first in the 177lb., then 191lb., and heavyweight classes. He competed at three national championships (1952, 1954 and 1967). Herman coached the U of A wrestling club from 1952 to 1954, and founded the Edmonton Amateur Wrestling Federation in 1954. He later formed the first school wrestling teams outside of Calgary and Edmonton – in Winfield, Bentley, Airdrie and Didsbury. From 1980 to 1984, he coached Zone 2 wrestlers for the Alberta Winter Games.
Herman grew up on a farm near Bruce, Alberta, where there were few opportunities to excel in sport. While at the U of A, Herman competed in his first wrestling provincial championship in 1950 and finished second. After his second season of wrestling at the U of A, Herman learned of the death of his coach. He found a book by a US coach and spent many hours puzzling out new holds as he strived to learn more about the sport. Herman graduated from the U of A in 1952 and received a major athlete award, the Block A Sweater, for his wrestling accomplishments.
He became a school teacher and first taught at Concordia College. Herman continued to wrestle and his provincial undefeated record during a fifteen-year period set the standard for other wrestlers in the province. He missed only one provincial championship during that time, when he lived and trained in Germany in 1954/55.
With his success at provincials, he earned his pass to the Canadian Championships. Herman’s first trip to the Canadian Championships in 1952 was also a qualifier for the Helsinki Olympic Games. In 1954, he hitch-hiked his way to Montreal to compete at the Trials for the British Empire Games (now known as the Commonwealth Games). He wrestled to a personal best with a third-place finish – and just missed qualifying for the two available spots on the Canadian team. In 1967, Herman suffered his first defeat in fifteen years at the provincial championships. With his second place finish, he qualified for the Canadian Championships in Montreal and competed in the 191lb class.
Herman also developed the sport in many communities throughout the province. In Edmonton, he created a city-wide system for wrestling and founded the Edmonton Amateur Wrestling Federation. When he left Edmonton, he taught in small rural communities much like the one that he grew up in. He formed wrestling clubs in each of the schools he taught at. He finally settled in the Didsbury area and during the 1970s taught wrestling in Didsbury and coached the Olds College team in ACAC competition.
After Herman heard that wrestling was to be included in the 1980 Alberta Winter Games in Grande Prairie, he quickly recruited some young wrestlers and took them to the Games. He returned home and developed the first wrestling club in the Zone Two region. He coached the boys for the next several years and they went on to win two gold medals and a silver medal at the 1982 Alberta Games, and a silver medal at the 1984 Alberta Games. Herman’s work in the Zone 2 area laid the foundation for what became a tremendously successful program that produced World Champions and Olympians.
Herman Dorin was a true pioneer of the sport. As an athlete, his long-time success at Provincials set the benchmark for other athletes. His development of wrestling clubs and athletes across the province left a remarkable foundation for the wrestling community.
George Stothart Achievement Award, Multisport
George Stothart, a multi-sport athlete, coach, and official, was born deaf. He became Alberta’s longest serving basketball official (1954 to 2017), and helped lead the growth of deaf sports. George played football at the high school, university, and junior levels, basketball at SAIT, and fastball with the deaf team ‘The Flying Fingers’. He competed at three World Deaf Games – on Canada’s Basketball Team in 1965 and 1973, and in the 400m race in 1969. George helped found the Edmonton Tasmanian Devils deaf slo-pitch team, the Edmonton Deaf Basketball Team, and served on the board of the Federation of Silent Sports of Alberta.
Basketball was a life-long passion for George. His father was an official and George started officiating basketball in 1954 at the age of fifteen. For more than sixty-two years he refereed games at the community, high school, and university levels, as well as at tournaments and championships. At the peak of his career, he officiated 287 basketball games per year.
George’s journey began in 1939 when he was born in Ottawa, Ontario. From the time he was three to thirteen years of age, he attended Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, Missouri. While there, he was trained in speech reading, and throughout the years, he became exceptional at it. As a result, George was able to pursue his interest in sports and education. When he was thirteen, his family moved to Lacombe, Alberta where George took up basketball, track and field, and was a tackle on the High School football team. After he graduated, he attended the University of Alberta and was a halfback on the Bears football team from 1958 to 1960. He also was an end on the Edmonton Huskies team during his first season in 1958/59. After his time at the U of A, George went to the University of British Columbia where he received his diploma in Deaf Education. He returned to Alberta and taught math at the Alberta School for the Deaf.
George continued to play sports and was on the basketball team at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). In 1965 he was selected to play on Canada’s deaf basketball team, and competed at the 11th International Games for the Deaf in Washington D.C.. George wanted to compete at the next games in 1969; however, Canada was not fielding a basketball team that year. George made the decision to compete in the 200m and 400m events at the Deaf National Tournament in order to make Canada’s Athletics team. He won both events at Nationals, and then competed at the International Games for the Deaf in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, where he finished fifth in the 400m event. In 1973, Canada once again fielded a deaf basketball team and George played at the (renamed) Deaflympics in Malmo, Sweden. He attended the Deaflympics Games one more time, in 1981, in Koln, West Germany as a team official/chaperone for Canada.
Throughout the years, George also played fastball (baseball) as a catcher and an outfielder, and coached slo-pitch. In 1969, he was a key player on the ‘The Flying Fingers’ deaf fastball team in Edmonton. In 1980, he was one of the founders of the Edmonton Tasmanian Devils deaf slo-pitch team. In 1987, he coached the renamed Edmonton Devils team and took them to the 6th Annual Canadian Deaf Slo-Pitch Tournament in London Ontario. The team won the national championship and George received the Coach of the Tournament Award. From 1988 to 1991, George coached the Edmonton Angels Slo-Pitch Club and took the team to compete at the Annual Canadian Deaf Women’s Slo-Pitch Tournaments.
George was one of the first officers to serve on the board of the Federation of Silent Sports of Alberta after it was founded on December 3, 1974. From 1976 to 1982 he held numerous executive positions. In 1984, the FSSA became the Alberta Deaf Sports Association, and in 2011 George was named an honorary member of the Association in recognition of his lifetime of work with the deaf community in Alberta.
For his contributions to basketball, George received the Herb McLaughlin Special Achievement Award in 1991, and was awarded a Life Membership Award from the Edmonton Basketball Officials Association in 1998.
Rob Kerr Bell Memorial Award
Rob Kerr broadcasted with Sportsnet from May 2003 to August 2018 and was the radio host on Sportsnet 960 The Fan in Calgary for twelve years. He developed a loyal following of listeners and became well known for his long-form, one-on-one interviews with the newsmakers in sport. Rob brought passion, knowledge, and enthusiasm to the airwaves and knew how to ask the tough questions while still being respectful to his guest(s). He didn’t shy away from controversy, and more often than not, shed light on topics that deserved it. From 2011 to 2014 he was the play-by-play voice of the Calgary Flames.
Rob began his career in broadcasting as a volunteer with ABC TV 10 in Fort McMurray. From 1992 until 1995 he was the television play-by-play voice of the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. He moved to Saskatchewan and for three seasons, from 1997 to 2000, was the radio play-by-play voice of the Estevan Bruins. Between 2000 and 2003, Rob worked in Edmonton as a co-host and producer on John Short’s radio show. Rob and John, along with their partners, created anysportanytime.com which broadcasted various high school, junior, college and minor pro sports on the web. In 2002, Rob hosted his own show for the first time, on AM 930.
After his move to Calgary and Sportsnet in 2003, Rob also took on duties as a reporter, blogger and producer. He filled in on radio broadcasts for games of the Calgary Hitman, Calgary Roughnecks and Calgary Vipers and from 2008 to 2010, was the play-by play voice of the Calgary Flames on PPV.
Away from the microphone, Rob was a positive force in the community. As an advocate, he created and fostered partnerships within the community to cover and discuss topics such as “Arena Shortages”, “Concussion Awareness”, and youth participation.
As an event organizer and event fundraiser, he organized three Henry Burris All Star Weekend Galas and the Centre Ice Challenge for Big Brothers Big Sisters from 2009 to 2012. He also created a Hockey Camp for disadvantaged youth that used volunteers from the local media and hockey community. He became the co–host of the Craig Conroy’s Let’s Talk Hockey event and raised funds for the PREP program. In 2013, he initiated the Celebrity Shoot to Score for Kids, an annual trapshooting event that benefited KidSport and the Flames Even Strength Program. In 2016, he started ‘Hockey is For Everyone’, an event that introduced new Canadians, new fans, and families to the basics of the game.
In 2018, he created the annual Hockey Inspires Leadership Day for Pee Wee and Bantam aged players and in 2019, he co-created the SuperHeroes program to allow athletes with Down syndrome and Autism play hockey.
Rob received the Marty Knack Award in 2007 “for his outstanding passion and coverage of the Alberta Junior Hockey League by a media member”, and the Hockey Calgary Award of Merit in 2010 “for his support of minor hockey in Calgary”.
These Albertans have contributed to the continuous growth of their sport and are truly deserving of this honour that will be awarded to them.
The Board and Staff at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum are excited to introduce the 2019 Class of Inductees and welcome back many of our Hall of Fame Alumni attending the Induction Banquet, this evening.
We are proud to celebrate the sporting accomplishments of these inductees who have been instrumental in building and representing sport in Alberta and inspiring the youth in our Province.
– Donna Hateley, Executive Director, Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
About the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame
Since 1957, many outstanding sports people have been inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. We honour Albertans who have distinguished themselves in sport and preserve and celebrate Alberta’s rich sports history for all to enjoy.
