The PEI Sports Hall of Fame will welcome five new members when it holds its annual induction ceremonies on Friday, August 6th at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside.
Sponsored by the PEI Mutual Insurance Company, the induction will honour three outstanding individuals from the hockey world in Doug MacLean, Gordie Whitlock and William “Bud” MacEachern; a field hockey international and renowned coach, Donna Phillips Hornibrook, and a tennis player considered by many to be the finest ever seen in this province, the late Dr. Bill Moreside.
Tickets for the dinner will be available from July 12 at Sport PEI, the PEI Sports Hall of Fame in the Wyatt Centre in Summerside, and the Silver Fox. Tickets will be $25. Further details are available from Nick Murray at 368-4547 or publicrelations@sportpei.pe.ca
Following are short bios on each of the inductees.
William “Bud” MacEachern of Charlottetown may not be a familiar name to many who follow Island sport, but his credentials both as a hockey player and builder make him a worthy Hall of Famer.
A big, strapping right-winger, MacEachern’s playing career saw him win a Maritime title and reach an Allan Cup final with the Sydney Millionaires, before his career was interrupted by service in World War II. Following a short spell with Truro after the war, MacEachern went to England in 1948 where he became a pioneer in developing hockey, as well as becoming a stand-out for Streatham in the English league, on one occasion scoring seven goals in one game.
MacEachern’s travels took him across Europe, first to Norway, where he coached their team at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, and then Sweden, with whom he won a silver medal at the 1954 World Hockey Championships. His final destination was Australia, where he coached the national team at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, USA, and where he settled for the remainder of his life.
Dr. Bill Moreside of Charlottetown will be the first tennis player to be inducted into the Hall, and he is regarded as the best to ever grace Island courts.
Learning the game on the rough clay courts near the ball diamond at Victoria Park, Moreside was an accomplished player by the age of 14. His obvious talent earned him an invitation to the exclusive Charlottetown Tennis Club, and in his first year as a member, at the age of 16, he won the Club/Island tennis championship, a title he would hold for the next seven years. During that period he also won men’s and mixed doubles titles, and in 1940 and 1941 he advanced to the Maritime finals in Truro.
In 1941 Moreside earned an invitation to attend the Davis Cup team trials in Montreal, but the trials were cancelled due to the pressures of war. Davis Cup play would not resume until 1946, by which time Moreside was at Dalhousie on the first steps to an outstanding medical career. He led Dal to the finals of the Canadian College Championships, before winning the last of his Island titles in 1947.
Doug MacLean of Summerside needs little introduction to Island sports fans, who have followed his career closely since his playing days with the Montreal Junior Canadiens and UPEI Panthers.
A great thinker and teacher of the game, MacLean began his coaching career as an assistant with the London Knights in the OHL, and after stints with the Summerside Junior A and UNB teams, Jacques Martin took him to the National Hockey League as an assistant with the St Louis Blues in 1986.
After spells with the Washington Capitals, Baltimore Skipjacks and the Detroit Red Wings, MacLean joined the Florida Panthers in 1994, and became their head coach in 1995. In his first season he led the team to an Eastern Conference Championship and a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals against Colorado.
A winner of the Hockey News Coach of the Year, MacLean was named the first General Manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 1998, and he is currently one of the game’s top analysts, regularly appearing on Sportsnet and the Fan 590 where his opinions and thoughts on the game always make interesting listening.
Donna Phillips Hornibrook of Charlottetown has an enjoyed an excellent field hockey career, not only as an outstanding player, but as a very successful coach.
Hornibrook dominated Island field hockey both at the high school and provincial level, but it was when she went to UNB that her career took off. A natural goalscorer, she scored an AUS record 73 goals and was all-Conference five times, as well as a CIAU tournament all-star on four occasions.
In 1979 she received her national card and enjoyed a successful period with the national team, highlights of which included a bronze medal at the European Indoor Championships in 1981, and 5th place at the World Cup in Argentina. In recognition of her achievements she was twice the Sport PEI Senior Female Athlete of the Year, and the 1981 Lieutenant Governor’s Award winner for most outstanding Island athlete.
Hornibrooks’s coaching career has been equally successful. She coached New Brunswick to a Canada Games gold medal in 1989, and in five years at UNB the team never lost a conference game, winning two silvers at the national championships. She has since enjoyed great success at Houghton College, and presently at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
New Haven’s Gordie Whitlock has made an incredible contribution to hockey in this province, whether it is as a coach, administrator, player, instructor or mentor.
The Whitlock name is well represented in the Hall, with his uncle Roy “Buck,” and cousin Bobby, established members, but Gordie’s contribution is equally impressive.
As a player he was an all-star at every level, playing on provincial and Atlantic championship teams from interscholastic to Senior A. These included the 1959 Maritime Midget champion Charlottetown Abbies, the SDU Saints in 1965, and Sandy’s Royals, Maritime Senior A champions in 1968.
His greatest influence though has been behind the bench, coaching at every level for five decades, winning numerous championships, coaching honours, and more importantly, the utmost respect from his players. He has an unparalleled six consecutive Island junior titles to his credit, and in 1988 he received and assignment from Hockey Canada to assist with the national under-18 team. One of his greatest moments came in 1991 when he led the Armour Fence Islanders to the Allan Cup.
A hockey man through and through, Whitlock’s resume as an administrator is also impressive, logging many hours in committee work both provincially and nationally, and he has just recently completed a very successful term as President of Hockey PEI.
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