2010 Inductees

Sam Dempster - Builder ~ Baseball

Samuel Dempster was born in Belfast Northern Ireland in 1947 and immigrated to Canada (Melita, Manitoba) with his family in 1948.
Sam and his wife Jacqueline first settled in Bowmanville where he started his baseball coaching career at the Peewee level. He was recruited into the Ontario Baseball Association’s Coaching program in which he spent many weekends traveling throughout the Province conducting clinics.  Sam and family moved to Whitby where he coached many teams in both Whitby and Oshawa.

Sam was a teacher by profession spending some 30 years as an auto shop teacher at Eastdale CVI in Oshawa before moving on to McLaughlin CVI for 3 years before retiring.  While at Eastdale, Sam was instrumental in the creation of the highly successful LOSSA (Durham Region) High School Baseball League which grew to close to 30 teams. Sam’s teams were either LOSSA Champions (5 times) or runners-up (5 times) and advanced to the Blue Jays’ Prentice Cup play-offs at the SkyDome four times with his Eastdale Eagles winning the Championship on one occasion.

When Durham College started a new baseball program, Sam was selected as its first Head Coach, a position he has held to the present day. His Durham Lords have been a story of success either winning the League Championship or being a close second thereby earning the right to advance to the Canadian Intercollegiate Championship Tournament. Five times the Durham team has been the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association East Division Champions and they have made five straight National Championship Appearances.  Sam Dempster has been the only coach that the Durham College men’s baseball program has ever known.  Over the last 17 seasons as Head Coach of the Lords Baseball program he has been instrumental in guiding the program to the level of excellence we see today and he has compiled an impressive overall record of 246-164 and a conference record of 160-97.

Sam applied for and was accepted as a Major League Baseball coaching envoy and has been posted to England, Netherlands, Sweden, Lithuania, Belgium, Kenya, Turkey, and Germany to assist and conduct baseball coaching clinics in these countries as they attempt to advance their baseball knowledge and skills. In January of 2007, the veteran coach was awarded the Julio Puente Envoy International Coach Award by Major League Baseball at the American Baseball Coaches Association Conference in Orlando, Florida. The prestigious award is presented by MLB for unselfish, dedicated and passionate work in growing the game of baseball.  Sam returned to Great Britain, Holland and Ireland in 2009 but as a “Regional Lead Envoy” where he was in charge of setting up and arranging clinics and programs in these countries as well as coaching the Great Britain National Cadet (under 16 years) and Junior teams (under 19 years).

In addition to his lead role at Durham College, Coach Dempster is also an Associate Canadian Scout for Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers and previously a scout for the 26-time World Series Champion, New York Yankees and the Oakland A’s. Coach Dempster has also co-organized the Ontario Best Ever Clinic from 1985-2000 and has assisted the Team Ontario program both north and south of the border.

A retired teacher, Sam lives with Jacqueline, his wife of 40 years in Whitby.  They have three children (Colin, Jennifer, Rachael) and six grandchildren.  Sam is a private pilot and is involved in weight training and running.

Joe Jones - Athlete ~ Cycling

Joe Jones was born in Wales in 1944. He came to Canada, on the Empress of Scotland, in the mid 50’s to begin a new life in the “Land of Opportunity”.   Prior to coming to Canada, Joe had never experienced train travel. He had been a passenger in an automobile on not more than 5 occasions. His only exposure to television, in his Welsh village of Llangollen, was watching the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 on a very fuzzy black and white TV.

Joe, who resided with his adoptive mother and uncle, describes himself as shy and withdrawn with a heavy Welsh accent in his youth. With few friends at the time, he decided that he was going to focus himself on being as fit as possible through sports.  He attended Don Mills Collegiate Institute in Toronto where a teacher, Mr. Bell, inspired Joe to be the best athlete he could be.

While working in a sports store, Joe met Ken Smith, the President of the Ontario Wheelmen’s Association. Ken recommended that Joe compete in a cycling race. From that point forward, Joe was committed to the sport and went on to achieve many successes.  He competed on many well known international cycling teams including Britannia, Pedale Adriatico, Abruzzi and Caber-Vittor Ski. 

Canadian Cyclist magazine cites Joe’s 10th place finish in the prestigious British Milk Race as a significant achievement. The gruelling race of approximately 1500 miles with a very strong field of international competitors was quite a challenge and Joe was the first Canadian ever to be invited to compete in the event.

After winning the Canadian road racing championship, Joe was selected and participated as a member of Canada’s cycling team that competed in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.  He competed in both the Individual Road Race and Team Road Trial competitions.  He also enjoyed successes in competing in stage events through the mountainous regions of Quebec in the Tour Du Lac St. Jean, L’Alpin Du Quebec and the Tour du St. Laurent races. He is a past winner of the Omnium Cornelli and Montreal’s Madonna Di Pompeii races.

Joe has many other distance and trial race successes.  Some of his favourite memories are of circuit track races in Delhi and Norfolk, Ontario where he captured championships on multiple occasions.

In 2000, Canadian Cyclist magazine recognized Joe Jones, with honourable mention, in its’ list of the top 25 Canadian Cyclists of the century. The selection were based an individuals dominance in their discipline, level of competition and international results. Joe Jones was described by the magazine as a “dominant Canadian road racer of the 1960’s”.

Joe is a retired teacher but has continued on as a Home Instructor in Whitby. He is also a support worker for an agency that assists individuals with exceptional needs.  He has five children, Erin, Rachel, Michael, Shelby and Marlon progressing in their secondary and post secondary education. Joe enjoys boating, fishing and woodworking. He has a passion still for cycling and spends time refurbishing and fixing bicycles.

Andrea Lawes - Athlete ~ Curling

Andrea was born in Toronto in 1962. She attended Oak Park Public School in London Ontario and Collingwood Senior Public School in Collingwood, Ontario before moving to Whitby with her family in 1976. Andrea attended Whitby’s Henry Street High School (1976-1981) and furthered her education at Seneca College (1982-84), in Toronto.

Andrea is an Honorary Life Member of the Whitby Curling Club (2002). She is recognized for a long and distinguished curling career where she played second on her women’s teams and lead on her mixed teams.  She has played in 25 various provincial championships over the years, winning 10 of them.

Internationally, Andrea represented Canada (with skip Alison Goring) at the 1990 World Curling Championships in Vasteras, Sweden where her team captured the Bronze Medal. In 2005, her team (with skip Sherry Middaugh) was the Gold Medal winner at the Oslo Cup in Oslo, Norway. Also in 2005 while, representing Canada, they won bronze at the Karuizawa International in Japan. At the Continental Cup, in 2003, she was a member of Team North America who took on a team of all stars representing Team World.

Nationally, Andrea was a five time participant in the Canadian Women’s Curling Championships (now known as the Scotties Tournament of Hearts), representing Ontario.  Her 1990 Ontario team captured the championship and at the same event, Andrea was named to the All Star team as the All Star second.  The closest her teams got to winning again were 3 bronze medal performances in 2001, 2002 and 2004. It was at the 2004 Scott Tournament of Hearts that Andrea won a Ford Escape as the Ford Hot Shot Champion (a pre-event skills competition).  

Andrea was also a three time participant in the Canadian Mixed Curling Championships representing Ontario and came close to winning in 2007 where she and her team lost the final.  

Andrea played in two Canadian Olympic Curling Trials in 2001 and 2005 and was a member of the woman’s team that won the inaugural Canada Cup of Curling in 2003. 

As a member of Team Middaugh (2000-2005), Andrea travelled nationally and internationally on the World Curling Tour circuit.  The team was consistently ranked in the top 10 during that period. 

More recently, while representing the Whitby Curling Club, Andrea competed in the 2007 and 2008 Intermediate Provincials (Runner-up both years).  Andrea has since retired from all competitive play and now enjoys a weekly game at the Whitby Curling Club.

Andrea is a long time employee at Ontario Power Generation – Pickering. She loves the outdoors, travelling, being with her family and, of course, is an avid curling spectator. 

Gary Roberts - Athlete ~ Hockey

Gary Roberts was a Stanley Cup champion with the Calgary Flames in 1989 and a Memorial Cup champion with the Guelph Platers in 1986.

Born in North York, Ontario in 1966, his family moved to Whitby where he attended Palmerston Public School, Whitby Senior Public School, and Henry Street High School before going to Canterbury High School in Ottawa.  Gary played all of his minor hockey in Whitby; many years under the coaching of Benny LaHaye who had a huge influence on Gary and others both as players and as people. 

Gary played his junior hockey with the Ottawa 67’s and Guelph Platers before embarking on his National Hockey League career. He represented Canada at the World Junior Championships during the 1985-86 season.

As a first round pick of the Calgary Flames in 1984 (12th overall), Gary had a stellar career in the National Hockey League spanning 21 seasons. Gary was able to overcome a serious neck injury at the midpoint of his career. He endured two operations and months of nerve regeneration and extensive rehab training. His determination and desire to return to the NHL was rewarded and he was able to extend his NHL career another 12 seasons. In 1997-98 Gary moved to Carolina to play for the Hurricanes for 3 seasons, followed by productive campaigns with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers. His NHL career closed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2008-2009 season.

In 1224 NHL games Gary collected 438 goals and 471 assists for 910 points while amassing 2560 penalty minutes.

Selected to play in the NHL All-Star game on three occasions Gary was also honoured by NHL voters in 1996 with the Bill Masterton Trophy given to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Gary is married to Michelle and has three children: daughter Jordan, and sons Noah and Sam.  He currently resides in Uxbridge and enjoys spending time with his family, working out and golfing.

2009 Inductees

The Board of Directors is pleased to annouce the inductees for 2009:

Kay Helleur - Athelete/Builder - Golf

Katherine (Kay) Helleur who moved to Whitby in 1980 and is well known in the golfing community in Ontario with a long list of accomplishments both on the golf courses, in designing and managing a course, and in her work in support of wheelchair athletes. Kay has been recognized by the Provincial Government for Distinguished Performance in the Field of Amateur Sport a total of six times and was inducted into the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2007 the Ontario Wheelchair Sports Association made Kay the recipient of the Dr. Robert Jackson Award as founder of the Ada MacKenzie Memorial Foundation charity and Foundation's support of wheelchair athletes.

Dunc Wilson - Athlete - Hockey

Dunc Wilson grew up in Whitby where he excelled as both a lacrosse and hockey player. Dunc played Junior hockey for the Oshawa Generals in 1964-65, the Niagara Falls flyers from 1965 to 1966, the Peterborough Petes in the 1966-67 season and the Oshawa Generals again in 1967-68. Originally part of the Boston Bruins system, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1968. In the 1970 expansion draft he was claimed by the Vancouver Canucks where he played from the 1970-71 to 72-73 seasons. He spent the next two years with the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the New York Rangers for another two years. Traded again, he played 2 more seasons for the Pittsburgh Penguins where he was the starting goaltender and named team MVP for the 1967-68 season. Dunc retired from hockey at the end of the 1978-79 season after appearing in 287 games.

Henry Street High School - Team - Baseball

The 1995 Henry Street Hawks were the first team from Whitby to win the Prentice Cup awarded to the winner of the Provincial High School Baseball Championship. The team won the championship final game in extra innings at the Sky Dome (now the Rogers Centre). Coaches for the team were Tom Buchanan, Marshall Thompson, Gord Brady and the players on the roster were: Tim Imeson, Blair Hardy, Josh Miller, Jeremy Schott, Jeff Bremner, Jerzy Aronowicz, Ken Calway, Brad Newport, Adam Thompson, Sean Culleton, Chris Goring, Craig Lanegger, Jason Peddle, Scott Thompson, Ryan Tocher, Chris Allison, Sean Tremaine, Darryl Woodley.