By Martin Cleary
One of the great achievements of any city, town or community is its ability and dedication to providing sports opportunities. And that comes in many ways.
Civic leaders construct a vast variety of venues to meet the interests of children and adults. Volunteer coaches step forward to give instruction and guidance to build a sports community.
Athletes emerge and some will graduate to provincial and national teams to experience international competitions. The best athletes will win medals, set records and bring glory to themselves, their country and their city.
When it’s all over and the medals and trophies are safely tucked in a drawer or under a layer of dust, the community forgets about that golden period, but it’s not intentional.
But then someone flips a switch. The spotlight comes on as one or more of those athletes, coaches, builders or teams from the past were nominated and accepted into the community’s sports hall of fame.
Hall of fame inductions are a regular tribute to the best in their field and it’s coming soon – twice – to a community near you.
On May 27, the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame will honour curlers Rachel Homan and Emma Miskew, football’s Val St. Germain, hockey’s Jason York, builder Keith Brown and the 1976 Rockland Nationals Junior A hockey team at Lansdowne Park’s Horticulture Building.
But on May 24, the Perth and District Sports Hall of Fame has invited everyone to its eighth Coldwell Banker Settlement Realty induction ceremony at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 244 at 1 p.m. The Legion, which is located at 26 Beckwith St. East in Perth, is the home for the community’s sports hall of fame.
Admission is free for the induction ceremony, but donations are appreciated.
The lineup for the Perth and District Sports Hall of Fame features two athletes, two builders and one team.
Two-time Olympian Nick Tritton and university and junior hockey forward Gary Mahon will enter the hall as athletes. The builders are figure skating coach and award sponsor David Thompson and lacrosse administrator Albert Lyon.
The Perth Blue Wings girls’ midget A hockey team from 2001-02 also will be inducted into the hall.
NICK TRITTON, Athlete, judo
A two-time Olympian, Tritton placed 21st at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games and 17th during the 2012 London Games in the men’s lightweight 73-kilogram class.
He lost his first match at both Games, being eliminated by two-time European champion Joao Pina of Portugal in 2008 and 2011 world championship bronze medallist Navruz Juraobilov of Uzbekistan in 2012.
Between both Olympics, Tritton was the bronze medallist at the 2009 and 2010 International Judo Federation Grand Slam, the 2010 gold and silver medallist at the respective 2010 and 2009 Pan American judo championships and a Pan Am bronze medallist in 2008 and 2011 as well as 2007.
At the Pan American Games, he recorded bronze-medal performances in 2007 and 2011.
A member of the Canadian national judo team for a decade, Tritton was a three-time champion (2007, 2008, 2010), the 2004 silver-medal winner and a two-time bronze recipient (2002, 2003).
During his teenage years, Tritton would travel in from Perth several nights a week to train at the Ottawa Judo Club or the Takahashi Dojo.
GARY MAHON, Athlete, hockey
Born in Ottawa, Mahon had notable hockey careers at the junior and university levels.
After playing for the Perth Blue Wings during the 1967-68 season and the OHA’s Oshawa Crushmen in 1968-69, Mahon was promoted to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals and played with them from 1968-1972. He skated in 117 regular-season games for the Generals, notching 16 goals, 36 assists, 52 points and 121 penalty minutes.
The right-winger played three seasons for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees from 1973-77. He had five goals and five assists for 10 points in his first two seasons. There were no stats available for his third season.
He finished his university career with the Queen’s Gaels in 1977-78, registering two goals and 11 assists for 13 points.
Mahon went on to play for the Richmond Dukes intermediate team and the Smiths Falls Rideaus senior club. He also was inducted into the Perth Blue Wings Hall of Fame in 1999.
In the summer of 1966, Mahon was a member of the Perth bantam all-star team, which won an Ontario baseball championship.
DAVID THOMPSON, Builder, figure skating
For 38 years, Thompson was a regional figure skating coach, teaching at the March-Kanata Figure Skating Club and Nepean Figure Skating Club from 1982-1986 before moving to the Lanark Figure Skating Club (defunct) and the Perth Figure Skating Club from 1986-2020.
He was the first Lanark coach to have one of the club’s skaters pass the gold-level dance test. He often volunteered as a dance partner so skaters at Ottawa Valley clubs could take their dance tests.
Thompson also initiated the Spirit of Skating Award in 1991 to honour a Perth Figure Skating Club athlete for dedication, strong work ethic, personal character and love of the sport, regardless of skill.
For the past 35 years, Thompson has presented the award to more than 105 skaters.
ALBERT LYON, Builder, lacrosse
Recognized for his lifelong advocacy and promotion of sport, Lyon made his impact on lacrosse, hockey, boxing and track and field.
A former field lacrosse player with the Perth Crescents during their championship seasons in the early 1900s, Lyon made the transition to the administration side of sport.
He was the Ontario Amateur Lacrosse Association vice-president in 1928 and became president the following year. In 1930, he was elected president of the Canadian Amateur Lacrosse Association and selected the national team for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, when lacrosse was an exhibition sport.
Lyon also was involved with the creation of arena or box lacrosse, including drafting rules for the indoor game.
A former secretary for the Perth Crescents Hockey team and delegate to the Ontario Hockey Association, Lyon later became the honorary president of the Perth Minor Hockey Association.
Lyon also was appointed to the Ontario Athletic Commission in 1934 and served as vice-chair from 1939-1946 and was acting chair from 1946-1947. During the 1930s and 1940s, he supported and encouraged track and field at Perth Collegiate Institute and was the honorary president of the Perth Collegiate Boys’ Athletic Committee.
PERTH BLUE WINGS GIRLS’ MIDGET A 2001-2002, Team, hockey
The 2001-2002 Perth Blue Wings girls’ midget A hockey team won its Ontario Women’s Hockey Association provincial gold medal during the 1999-2000 season.
Martin Cleary has written about amateur sports for over 52 years. A past Canadian sportswriter of the year and Ottawa Sports Awards Lifetime Achievement in Sport Media honouree, Martin retired from full-time work at the Ottawa Citizen in 2012, but continued to write a bi-weekly “High Achievers” column for the Citizen/Sun.
When the pandemic struck, Martin created the High Achievers “Stay-Safe Edition” to provide some positive news during tough times, via his Twitter account at first and now here at OttawaSportsPages.ca.
Martin can be reached by e-mail at martincleary51@gmail.com and on Twitter @martincleary.