BOW VALLEY – From the man who brought us the hat trick to Olympians, ice climbers and NHLers, this year's list of Bow Valley Sports Hall of Fame inductees shows off the diversity and strength the Bow Valley produces in sports and mountaineering.
Following two years of inactivity due to the pandemic, the local sports hall of fame returns with eight inductees in 2022: Chic Scott, Barry Blanchard, Glen Sather, Graham MacDonald, Rosanna Crawford, Brendan Green, Paul Stutz, and Alex Kaleta.
“They’ve all contributed to their sport and a life in the Bow Valley,” said Bob Ellard, Bow Valley Sports Hall of Fame’s Committee chairman.
“Not having done this for two years, we wanted to make sure we made up for the time lost, so making it a really good celebration and there’s no question we have eight really solid inductees.”
Legendary mountaineers, Scott and Blanchard, are being honoured as sports pioneers for their role in mountain pursuits.
For sports builders, Sather and MacDonald are being recognized for their mission to grow hockey in the Bow Valley, including MacDonald fighting to create the first female team.
Getting the nod as athletes in the hall of fame include Olympic biathletes Crawford and Green, world cup alpine skier Stutz, and hockey player Kaleta, who is famously known for his involvement in creating the "hat trick" phrase, for whenever one player scores three goals.
The eight will formally be inducted during a ceremony at the Banff Park Lodge on Sept. 15, which includes a dinner and silent auction, as the committee raises funds and a portion goes toward up to eight bursaries and a maximum of $1,000 into the Athlete and Coach Assistance Program, which anyone in Bow Valley can apply to.
Alex Kaleta, who was born in Canmore, had a nearly 20-year professional hockey career from 1938-55, which included stints with the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks. However, he’s best known for his involvement in the “Hat Trick” phrase.
According to NHL and Hockey Hall of Fame, as a member of the Blackhawks in 1946, Kaleta was in Toronto for a game and wanted to buy a new hat while in town.
But without sufficient funds to purchase the fancy one that caught his eye, the shop owner and Kaleta made a deal that if he scored three goals against the Maple Leafs that evening, he could return and have the hat for free. Kaleta scored four times in the 6-5 loss to Toronto.
Sammy Taft, the owner of the hat shop, said the press ran with the story and he recalled hearing on the radio about “Alex Kaleta’s hat trick”.
“[The hat trick is] not unique to hockey anymore,” said Ellard. “Very few people would know that started with him, so it’s kind of a unique thing. People go to the Alex Kaleta Arena (inside the Canmore Recreation Centre) and I’m sure there are thousands of people who have no idea who he was or what he contributed and he did it almost 100 years ago.”
Alpine skier Paul Stutz started at age five with the Banff Quikkies and Banff Alpine Racers. From 2004-14, he had 76 world cup starts, specializing in slalom racing. In 2021, he was named to the Canadian Rockies Ski Hall of Fame.
Biathlete Rosanna Crawford is a three-time Olympian and had 200 world cup races in her career. She is only the third Canadian biathlete to have ever won a solo world cup medal, winning bronze in the 15-kilometre race in Ruhpolding, Germany in 2018. Crawford also won a silver medal in the single mixed relay with Nathan Smith in 2015.
Biathlete Brendan Green competed in the world cup circuit for 11 years while training and living out of Canmore. Over his career, Green represented Canada at three Olympic Games, and won a World Championships bronze medal in men’s relay in 2016. It was Canada’s first relay medal at a biathlon world championship. In 2015, Green finished a career-best fifth place in the World Cup in sprint.
Green and Crawford married in 2019 following each of their retirements from the sport.
“So much of mine and Brendan’s career has been intertwined, so to have this one last little piece to connect us even more just feels super special,” said Crawford. “It’s such an honour. The Bow Valley has done so much for Brendan and I, we’re hoping to call it home again.”
“It was a little bit unexpected for Rosanna and I,” Green said. “We’ve been retired for a couple years now, so that was a nice surprise to be notified to be inducted into the hall of fame.”
As one of 2022’s pioneer inductees, Chic Scott has left a big mark on mountain culture. The internationally-recognized author has published more than a dozen books on mountaineering, climbing and skiing.
He said it’s fantastic that the people involved in outdoor pursuits such as ski mountaineering and rock climbing are recognized.
“It’s interesting, when you’re young and doing these things you don’t see yourself in a historical context – I never did. I just did my climbing and ski adventures just 'cause it was fun,” said Scott. “I think everybody who gets some sort of an award, you don’t do it for the awards and you don’t see the awards down the road, I think everyone who does these sort of things just does it because they love it.”
For 45 years, Barry Blanchard has been ice climbing, mountaineering and pursuing backcountry adventures recreationally and professionally. He has over 70 first ascents to his name, which include ice, rock and mountaineering routes.
As a sport builder in the Bow Valley, Glen Sather formed the Glen Sather Holiday Hockey School in Banff which ran in the mid-60s to mid-70s. Sather played in the NHL for 16 years, which included stints with the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Minnesota North Stars.
Graham MacDonald is a pioneer of female hockey in Alberta. Despite resistance that hockey was considered a male game, he formed the first girls' hockey team in Banff called the Banff Bobcats in 1994, securing ice time, and dressing rooms for young female athletes interested in the game.
For more information on the inductees, visit www.bowvalleysport.ca.
.png;w=120;h=108;mode=crop)
