Browse "Sports & Recreation"

Dave Castilloux, boxer (b at Paspébiac, Qué 4 Jun 1916; d at Montréal 8 Mar 1994). When Dave Castilloux was only three years old, his parents moved to the United States, and in 1936, when the young fighter settled permanently in Montréal, he was already a seasoned BOXER.

David Robert Stuart Cutler, football player (b at Biggar, Sask 17 Oct 1945). He joined the EDMONTON ESKIMOS in 1969 as a placement kicker and stayed there for 16 years until his retirement in 1984. Cutler was one of the last kickers to use the straight on kicking syle.

David Binnie Turner, soccer player (b at Edinburgh, Scot 11 Oct 1903; d at Victoria 6 Apr 1989). Turner came to Canada at age 11 and played junior soccer in Edmonton. A powerful player with an excellent shot and heading ability, he was one of Canada's top players in the 1920s and 1930s.

Although she has never claimed an Olympic medal, Brill won gold medals in the 1970 Commonwealth Games, the 1971 Pan-American Games and the 1979 World Cup, as well as a silver in the 1978 Commonwealth Games. In 1980 she was named BC's "Athlete of the Decade.

Denis Charles Potvin, hockey player (b at Ottawa 29 Oct 1953). After a junior career with the Ottawa 67s, Potvin was the first player chosen in the 1973 NHL draft.

Dennis Lloyd (Denny) Morrison, speed skater (born 8 September 1985 in Chetwynd, BC). A four-time Olympic medalist in speed skating, Morrison won gold for Canada in the men’s team pursuit at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, with Mathieu Giroux and Lucas Makowsky. He also won silver in the men’s team pursuit at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin and two individual medals at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi: silver in the 1000m and bronze in the 1500m. Morrison has also won 11 career medals, including 2 gold medals, at the World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships and 57 career World Cup medals, including 16 gold medals, as of March 2018.

Derek Drouin, high jumper, track and field athlete (born 6 March 1990 in Sarnia, ON). Derek Drouin was the first men’s high jumper in NCAA history to win five national championships. He went on to win a silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London and a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. He was the first Canadian to win Olympic gold in a field event since Duncan McNaughton in 1932. Drouin also won gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the 2015 Pan American Games and the 2015 IAAF World Championships. He is one of only 10 male high jumpers to clear a height of 2.4 m outdoors — the Canadian record. Drouin introduced innovative new techniques to the sport and has been called “the best high jumper of the modern era.”

Diane Elaine Clement (née Matheson), OC, track and field sprinter (born 27 September 1936 in Moncton, New Brunswick). Diane Clement held numerous Canadian sprinting records and won a bronze medal for Canada in the women’s 4x110 yard relay at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. In 1956, she became the first athlete born in New Brunswick to represent Canada at an Olympic Summer Games. In 1959, she became the first female coach of the University of British Columbia women’s track and field team. She was also the first female president of an athletic federation in Canada and the first woman to be the honorary vice-president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation Congress. Clement has been inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame and the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and is a Member of the Order of Canada.

Diane Helen Jones Konihowski, OC, pentathlete, administrator (born 7 March 1951 in Vancouver, BC). Diane Jones Konihowski won gold medals for Canada in women’s pentathlon at the 1975 and 1979 Pan American Games and at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton. She was considered the gold-medal favourite for the 1980 Olympic Summer Games in Moscow, which Canada boycotted. She also served as director of the Canadian Olympic Committee and as Canada’s chef de mission at the 2000 Olympic Summer Games in Sydney. A winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada’s top female athlete and an Officer of the Order of Canada, Jones Konihowski has been inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Dino Ciccarelli, hockey player (b at Sarnia, Ont 8 Feb 1960). At 5'10" and 180 lbs, Dino Ciccarelli was considered too small to be successful in the NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE.

Donald Stewart “Grapes” Cherry, hockey broadcaster, coach, player, team owner (born 5 February 1934 in Kingston, ON). Don Cherry is best known as the former hockey analyst and commentator on the Hockey Night in Canada segment, “Coach’s Corner.” As a hockey player, Cherry won a Memorial Cup with the Barrie Flyers in 1953 and had a long career in the American Hockey League (AHL), winning the Calder Cup four times. He won coach of the year honours in both the AHL and National Hockey League (NHL) and coached the Boston Bruins to two Stanley Cup Finals before retiring from coaching. His 39-year stint on “Coach’s Corner” made him a Canadian icon, albeit a controversial one. Nicknamed “Grapes” (a play on his last name and the term “sour grapes”), Cherry’s blunt opinions made him a lightning rod for controversy. He faced accusations of bigotry and racism throughout his broadcasting career and was fired in 2019 for comments that were widely regarded as being racist toward immigrants. Also in 2019, he was inducted into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame.

Don Forest, mountaineer (b 1920; d 2003). Don Forest did not begin serious mountaineering until his forties even though he had an interest in the outdoors throughout his life. Some of his earliest climbs were done with Gmoser and Grillmair in the early 1960s.

Donald Ross Getty, athlete, businessman, premier of Alberta 1985–92 (born 30 August 1933 in Westmount, QC; died 26 February 2016 in Edmonton, AB).

Donald Graham Smith, swimmer (b at Edmonton, Alta 9 May 1958). A breaststroke specialist, Graham Smith became the youngest Canadian male to win 2 national titles in one meet, winning both the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events in 1974.

Donald Jackson, figure skater (b at Oshawa, Ont 2 Apr 1940).

Donald McPherson, figure skater (b at Windsor, Ont 20 Feb 1945). World figure-skating champion in 1963, McPherson was the first Canadian to win the Canadian, North American and world championships in the same year.

Donald Stockton, (born at Montréal 23 Feb 1904; died there 16 Jun 1978). Donald Stockton was a wrestler who participated in three OLYMPIC GAMES.

​Donato Paduano (born 28 November 1948 in Ripabottoni, Campobasso, Italy). After competing in the 1968 Olympic Summer Games, Donato Paduano pursued a professional boxing career.

Donovan Anthony Bailey, OC, O.Ont., track and field sprinter (born 16 December 1967 in Manchester Parish, Jamaica). Donovan Bailey won the gold medal for Canada in the men’s 100m at the 1996 Olympic Summer Games, setting a world record with a time of 9.84 seconds. He later won a second Olympic gold medal when he led Team Canada to a first-place finish in the men’s 4x100m relay. During his athletic career, he also won four medals (three gold and one silver) at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships. He has been inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

From 1936 to 1940 Dorothy Walton dominated Canadian women's BADMINTON, winning 64 open doubles and singles championships at Canadian, Ontario, and New England competitions, all the while not letting her tennis rank fall below 6th place in Canada.