Year Inducted: 2006
More about Grant OReilly:
Grant O'Reilly began boxing as a 55 pound 10 year old when he won the Oshawa championship. This was to be a first of many. At age 15, he began taking bouts in various centers around Ontario. Grant's record shows him boxing in over 300 bouts, mostly as an amateur. His weight class (featherweight) did not afford many professional career opportunities at that time. He boxed at the Palace Pier in Toronto 80 times (more than any other fighter). On many occasions Grant had to move up in weight class to get matches. Although asked to represent Toronto Boxing Clubs, he chose to remain with the Oshawa Club.
Among the outstanding accomplishments in Grant O'Reilly's career was when he won 10 consecutive Ontario championships (the last as a lightweight - two divisions up from his weight class). During this period, he held Featherweight, Bantamweight and Lightweight championships even though rated as a Featherweight. In addition, he was the Canadian Featherweight Champion three times and won a New York State Golden Glove Featherweight Championship.
After his outstanding career as a boxer, he operated two boxing clubs in Oshawa, where many local young men learned the pugilist art and discipline from the master.
Year Inducted: 1986
More about Harold Overton Norville:
Born in Barbados, Harold moved to Oshawa in 1964, and two years later began an outstanding lifting career in Canada with a first-place finish at the Ontario Weightlifting Championships. A year later, he was Canadian champion. Norville also won national weightlifting titles in 1968 and 1975, and was Ontario weightlifting champion in 1968, 1969 and 1975. He was Ontario and Canadian champion in the sport of powerlifting three times - in 1969, 1976 and 1977. Three times, he competed in the World Powerlifting Championships, and twice finished fourth and once placed sixth. He coached the Canadian squad at the World Women's Powerlifting Championships at Lowell, Massachusetts in 1980. Harold returned to competition at the World Masters Games in 1985, won the over-40 bantam weight class, and set four North American records in the process.
Year Inducted: 1986
More about Harry James Sinden:
Harry Sinden was behind the bench for one of Canada's most cherished sporting victories. Few accomplishments will match Team Canada's victory over the USSR in the eighth and deciding game of their historic hockey confrontation in 1972. Sinden, who coached the 1972 Canadian squad, was well known to local sporting types after a five-year stint with Whitby Dunlops of the Ontario Hockey Association senior circuit. Meeting the Russians wasn't new to Sinden, who as captain of the Dunlops, earned a gold medal at the 1958 World Hockey Championships by beating the USSR's representatives 4 - 2. Harry graduated to coach the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League from 1967-70 and then again in 1979-80. He coached the Bruins to a Stanley Cup victory in 1969-70, and later became general manager of the Boston club. Harry, who was born in Toronto, played for the Oshawa Generals from 1949-53 and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Year Inducted: 2007
Home Town: Oshawa
More about Henry (Hank) Nowak:.jpg)
Henry (Hank) Nowak was born in Oshawa in 1950. He played minor hockey in Oshawa, notably with the 1966-67 Midget All-Stars winning an All-Ontario Championship. The following year, he played with the Oshawa Crushmen winning the Eastern Ontario Junior B Championship, and then from 1968-1970 played on the Oshawa Generals Junior A hockey team. Hank was selected in the seventh round, eighty-seventh overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970 National Hockey League entry draft. His professional career began with the Quebec Aces, Richmond Robins and the Hershey Bears whom he led in play-off points helping them win the Calder Cup. Hank's aggressive and versatile style of play enabled him to play either left or right wing. His NHL career started in 1973 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and continued through the 1976 season with the Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Bruins. While still playing pro hockey, Hank co-founded the Oshawa and District Hockey School, and for 25 years he contributed to the development of the next generation of NHL and professional players. From 1977 to 1980, Hank played in the American, Eastern and International Hockey Leagues, after which time he retired following a career of 678 professional games.
Year Inducted: 1991
Home Town: Oshawa
More about Henry Adair (Preem) Whitley:.jpg)
Henry Adair (Preem) Whitley was born (1914) and educated in Oshawa and has become a well-known talent in softball (1930-1944), curling (1944-1972), and lawn bowling (1958-1988).
Preem, a towering figure on the diamond, won many pitching awards during his active years, pitching nine no-hit shutouts with an average of around twenty strike-outs per game. After his intermediate stint with the Oshawa Aces in 1930, he went on to play for many championship teams. Mike's Place in the Ontario Junior Championships (1931), the Oshawa Dodgers in the Ontario Intermediate A Championships (1932), the Varcoes in the Eastern Ontario Championships (1934-1938), and the Dunn's Billiards and Pepsi in the Eastern Ontario Championships (1939-1941), all brought accolades to Preem and trophies to Oshawa. After his Oshawa Colts team won the Ontario Championship (1942-43), he concluded his illustrious career with the Toronto Beaches, the 1944 Ontario Senior B Champions.
Add to this list, the General Motors Gold Cup in 1958 in lawn bowling and the Eastern Ontario and Oshawa Champion badminton player between 1948 and 1960, you come to realize his importance as a sports figure in Oshawa.
Year Inducted: 1989
More about Henry Joseph Waszczuk:
A graduate of Eastdale Collegiate in Oshawa, Henry Joseph Waszczuk went on to play football and hockey for Kent State University from 1970 to 1975, while pursuing an M.A. in Sports Administration. In his graduating year, "Big Hank" was honoured as All-Star Centre of the Mid-American Conference and was an All-American nominee.
"The Wasz" began his pro-football career with the Hamilton Tiger Cats as centre, a position he played for ten seasons. A Schenley nominee for most outstanding C.F.L. linesman in 1980 and '81, he was named to the C.F.L. Eastern All-Star team from 1977 to 1984 and received the Tom Pate Memorial Award for his contribution to the team, the community and the C.F.L. Player's Association in 1983.
Henry, these days, is probably Canada's most ardent fisherman, anchoring among other ventures, his own TV series, "Canadian Sports Fisherman", seen throughout Canada, the United States and Europe.
Year Inducted: 1991
Home Town: Oshawa
More about Herman Prakken:
Received an avid sportsman when, as a three-year-old, this Netherlander immigrated to Canada in 1947. Since the early 1960's Herman Prakken brought many Provincial, National and International ten pin bowling championships to Oshawa. The 1962 Provincial Bayview Junior Tournament, the 1969 Provincial Doubles (Scratch), and the 1969 Singles All-Star Provincial were championships which initiated Herman's illustrious career. The winning of the 1970 Canadian National Championship earned him the right to represent Canada in the Tournament of Americas in Miami where he won the doubles championship and placed fifth in the all-event. In 1981 he again represented Canada at the Tournament of Americas winning the team event. Locally Herman has won many special awards but his prowess is demonstrated by his ten high-average awards in the competitive MCL Classic (formerly the Lander-Stark Classic). A true athlete, Herman also excelled as an all-star goaltender in the Oshawa District Soccer League in the early 70's.}
Year Inducted: 2004
More about Howard Edward (Ted) McComb:
Ted McComb has been active in minor sports in Oshawa for seven decades. In 1948, Ted was a founding member of Oshawa Legion Minor Baseball, and coached the first Bantam Championship team. For years, Ted has coached house league and representative teams, served on the Legion Baseball Executive, and been a member of the Oshawa Ball Diamond Council. A dedicated fundraiser for minor sport, he proudly sponsors the "Tedders" T Ball Team.
Ted has also been active in minor hockey as a referee, coach and convener. From 1944 to 1960 he was an O.M.H.A. and O.H.A. referee. A founding member of the Oshawa L.N.H.L., he served as referee-in-chief for both the L.N.H.L. and the N.A.S.C. He was a member of the Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee for nine years.
For his involvement, the Government of Canada has bestowed a Commemorative Medal of Honour and a Certificate of Merit. In 1993, the Legion granted him a Lifetime Membership. The O.L.M.B.A. retired his sweater and number to a display in Kinsmen Memorial Stadium. The City of Oshawa has honoured him with Ted McComb Field at Lakeview Park.
Year Inducted: 2024
Home Town: Oshawa
More about Iain Fraser:
Iain Fraser captained his hometown Oshawa Generals to a Memorial Cup junior national hockey championship in 1990. Although born in Scarborough, Iain grew up in Oshawa and graduated from R.S. McLaughlin Collegiate and Vocational Institute in 1988. Drafted into the Ontario Hockey League in 1986, Iain played parts of four seasons with the Generals and competed at two Memorial Cup tournaments, culminating in the magical 1989-90 season. As captain of the Generals, Iain led the team to the 1990 national championship, winning the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the tournament’s most valuable player. He also led the OHL playoffs in assists with 22 in 17 games and won the Leo Lalonde Trophy as the OHL overage player of the year. Iain went on to have a long and productive professional career. Selected in the 12th round of the 1989 NHL draft by the New York Islanders, he played seven games with the Islanders in the 1992-93 season before signing as a free agent with the Quebec Nordiques, where he scored 17 goals and 37 points in 60 games playing alongside future Hall of Famers Joe Sakic and Mats Sundin. Iain was named to the NHL rookie All Star team in his rookie year with the Nordiques. Additionally, while playing with Edmonton Oilers, he represented Canada as a member of Team Canada, winning a Bronze Medal at the World Championship. Over the course of a 17-year pro career in North America and Europe, Iain piled up more than 700 points in 750-plus games, including 94 career NHL games. For his many achievements on the ice, Iain Fraser is a superb addition to the Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame.
Year Inducted: 1996
Home Town: Glasgow, Scotland
More about Ian Young:
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1946, Ian played his minor hockey in Scarborough. He was a First Team All-Star goaltender with the Whitby Dunlops Junior B Team in 1964 and 1965, and the Oshawa Generals in 1966 and 1967. In 1966 he led the Generals to a Memorial Cup Final and in 1967 was named the Team's Most Valuable Player. In his last junior year, misfortune struck when a slapshot hit him in the eye, ending what would have been an illustrious N.H.L. career.
Ian has coached the Oshawa General's goaltenders since 1983, with five of his students having graduated to the N.H.L. His years with the Generals have included three Memorial Cup visits and one Cup victory. Ian has also consulted several N.H.L. teams. Students from across North American continue to be attracted to Ian's popular goaltending school.
Ian's three published books on goaltending, coupled with his coaching success, have earned him the title The Guru of Goaltending.
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