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Create AccountThomas Gayford, equestrian (born 21 November 1928 in Toronto, ON). An outstanding international competitor, Tom Gayford was a member of the Canadian jumping team from the late 1940s until the early 1970s; he then became team coach. With James Day and James Elder he formed the gold-medal show-jumping team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on June 26, 1995. Partner content is not updated.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on March 11, 2002. Partner content is not updated.
Darren Zack (nicknamed Z-Man), pitcher in fastpitch softball (born 9 August 1960 in Garden River First Nation, ON). Compared in his skill to Babe Ruth, Zack dominated fastpitch softball in the 1990s. In addition to many other athletic accomplishments, Zack helped Team Canada win the Pan American Games fastpitch medal in 1991, 1995 and 1999. Though a fearsome competitor, Zack is known for his modest and humble demeanor off the field. He is actively involved in his Garden River First Nation community and in encouraging youth involvement in sports. (See also Baseball.)
George Chuvalo, CM, boxer (born 12 September 1937 in Toronto, ON). George Chuvalo is a three-time Canadian heavyweight champion boxer. He is perhaps best known for his full 15-round bout with world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali at Maple Leaf Gardens on 29 March 1966. Ali famously called Chuvalo “the toughest guy I ever fought.” Chuvalo posted a career record of 73-18-2, with 64 wins by knockout. He has also served as a prominent anti-drug advocate after losing two sons to drug overdoses and his wife and another son to suicide. A Member of the Order of Canada, Chuvalo has been inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, the World Boxing Hall of Fame, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on August 3, 1998. Partner content is not updated.
It's Friday night at the Javelina Cantina, a Tex-Mex saloon in Tucson, Ariz., and the standing-room-only crowd is ringing in the weekend with pitchers of beer and all-you-can-eat fajitas. Fresh off the golf course, Nancy Lopez and Lorie Kane fit right in.This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on April 26, 1999. Partner content is not updated.
Hollywood will no doubt make a movie about Wayne Gretzky some day, and it will have to include the scene where he plays his last game in Canada, in Ottawa against the Senators.This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on July 14, 2003. Partner content is not updated.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on January 13, 1997. Partner content is not updated.
For the victims, there was no joy last week when junior hockey coach Graham James was sentenced to 3 ½ years in a federal penitentiary for sexually assaulting two former players.This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on January 12, 1998. Partner content is not updated.
Ducking out of the freezing rain on a bitter Chicago night, the woman once dubbed Canada's Sweetheart arrives at Hugo's Frog Bar to a movie star's welcome.This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on March 8, 1999. Partner content is not updated.
He is 61 years old, but beneath the short, steel-grey hair reminiscent of barbed wire he could pass for 51. The bloated face and body of times past have yielded to diet and exercise. George Chuvalo, at an inch over six feet, has lost 40 lb.Terry Fox was the boy who never gave up. His short life was devoted to achieving his goals. Obstacles just made him try harder. When he learned he had cancer and would lose his leg, he resolved to do something to help other cancer victims. When the disease claimed him on 28 June 1981, he left a legacy of hope that inspired millions to continue his cause.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on February 1, 1999. Partner content is not updated.
Hockey fans have long since become accustomed to the mercenary nature of modern professional sports: players whose seven-figure salaries are not enough to anchor them to a team or a town, and even teams themselves that abandon those towns for newer arenas and sweet tax concessions elsewhere.Sonja Gaudet (née Melis), Paralympic wheelchair curler (born 22 July 1966 in North Vancouver, British Columbia). A three-time Paralympian, Gaudet won gold for Canada at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Turin, at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver and at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi. She is the first wheelchair curlerever to win multiple Paralympic gold medals. She is also a three-time world champion, having helped Canada win gold at the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in 2009, 2011 and 2013. Gaudet has been inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and the BC Sports Hall of Fame. She was named to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame on 27 May 2020 and will be formally inducted in 2021.
Angela Frances Chalmers, world-class distance runner from Birdtail Sioux First Nation (born 6 September 1963 in Brandon, MB). Chalmers is one of the most accomplished Indigenous athletes in Canada. She won three gold medals in total at the Commonwealth Games in 1990 and 1994. An advocate for Indigenous issues, Chalmers has made efforts to connect with and inspire Indigenous youth from across Canada. Among many honours and awards, Chalmers was inducted into Athletics Canada Hall of Fame in 2019.
Clara Hughes, OC, cyclist, speed skater, humanitarian (born 27 September 1972 in Winnipeg, MB). Clara Hughes is the only Canadian athlete to have won medals at both the Olympic Summer and Olympic Winter Games, winning two medals in cycling and four medals in speed skating.
Eddie Steven Phillip Shack, hockey player, TV personality (born 11 February 1937 in Sudbury, ON; died 25 July 2020 in Toronto, ON). Eddie Shack played left wing with six NHL teams over a 17-year career, and was a popular member of the Toronto Maple Leafs when they won four Stanley Cups in 1962–64 and 1967. A three-time All Star, he played more than 1,000 career games and was widely known for his entertaining style of play. His antics earned him the nickname “The Entertainer,” a persona he drew on in a second career as a TV pitchman. He is an iconic figure in Canadian hockey and the inspiration for the hit song “Clear the Track, Here Comes Shack.”
In a country that frowns upon self-promotion, Canadians prefer modest heroes. This is true even when a hero’s fame lives on long after him, touches millions of people beyond the country’s borders and when his accomplishment has resulted in almost $700 million being raised for an important cause.
Leslie Scrivener describes meeting Terry for the first time and being struck by his optimism and focus in an April 2015 interview with Historica Canada.
Darrell Fox discusses his brother’s determination in a 2015 interview with Historica Canada
