Twelve B.C. Sports Hall of Fame inductees were announced Wednesday, including baseball star Justin Morneau, swimmer Ryan Cochrane, golfer Richard Zokol and longtime sportscaster Don Taylor.
The 2024 class was unveiled at a Wednesday ceremony co-hosted by CBC Vancouver reporter Karin Larsen, who was inducted into the hall of fame in 2021 for her achievements as an Olympic synchronized swimmer.
Also inducted was Cassie Sharpe, who won gold in women’s halfpipe freestyle skiing at the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and silver at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
“It was a very random email and I was kind of surprised because I am so young, but it was pretty cool,” Sharpe, 31, said. “Somebody that I don’t know nominated me. And it was such an honour.”
The skier, who recently had a child, says she looks forward to some family time before gearing up to qualify for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
George Morneau, who attended the ceremony on behalf of his son Justin, said he couldn’t ask for anything better than being honoured in his home province.
“I’ve been his coach most of his life, and he always wore the B.C. crest proudly,” George said of his son, who was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020 after 14 seasons in the major leagues, including 11 with the Minnesota Twins.
Another inductee was Amanda Asay, who was the longest-serving member of the Canadian women’s baseball team when she died in a skiing accident last year.
Administrators and sportscasters also honoured
Don Taylor, a longtime broadcaster who currently co-hosts sports talk show Donnie and Dhali on CHEK, was honoured in the media category for a career that spans more than 40 years.
Taylor said he received multiple offers to broadcast in more lucrative markets, but he always stayed in his home province.
“I always wanted to champion sports around B.C., Vancouver,” he said. “I felt this is where I could do my best and what I knew best.”
Also inducted were sports doctor Bob McCormack, baseball administrator and scout Wayne Norton, ringette pioneer Beverley Felske and sports executive Glen Ringdal.
Pioneering teams memorialized
Team accomplishments were also highlighted at Wednesday’s ceremony.
They included the 1998 Langley Little League All-Stars, a team of young baseball players that tied for third in the Little League World Series, a result that is one of the best ever by a Canadian team.
The Vancouver Amazons, a trailblazing women’s hockey team, were also honoured.
The Amazons represented B.C. at numerous tournaments in Western Canada and the U.S., winning the Alpine Cup at the 1922 Banff Women’s Tournament Championship, which at the time was considered the women’s equivalent of the Stanley Cup, according to the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame.
Historian Jim Bradbury said the Amazons were likely the first B.C. women’s team in any sport to compete outside the province.
“They led the way and now we have the Canadians winning, the girls winning the Olympics,” he said. “It was all because the Amazons got them going.”
A formal gala for the induction will be held in May 2024.
A full list of the 2024 hall of fame inductees can be found at the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame website.
The B.C. Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit charitable organization that recognizes achievements in B.C. sports history.
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