INSTANT REPLAY: A special ‘Hall’ of Fame for all those who helped in 2011

THanks Ralph - Ralph Hall wrote Hallerings, the North Shore’s longest-running sports column.

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It’s that time of year to give a big Merry Christmas and huge Thank You to those who helped significantly or even in a small way with one or more Instant Replay stories during 2011.

Research is one of the hallmarks of this column and – while this entails hours on the Internet and in libraries and archives on the North Shore, in Vancouver, Victoria and sometimes as far away as places like Calgary as I search through old city directories and microfilm of long-ago newspapers – a critical component to the research is the assistance of many individuals.

This ranges from the people featured in the stories (or their relatives, neighbours, classmates and teammates if they are no longer living), to librarians, archivists, teachers, coaches, media relations people and other researchers; actually anyone who has a connection or a memory that can lead to the key pieces of information.

Thanks to research, we find that Ralph Hall (the North Shore’s longest-serving sports columnist) began his weekly Hallerings column in the North Shore Review on April 18, 1947, following earlier columns under the short-lived banners of From the Sidelines (January 1946) and The Lowdown (1946-47).

When the Review was bought by Hal Straight in 1958 and became The North Shore Citizen, Hallerings continued there until Nov. 5, 1969.

In his Hallerings at either Christmas or New Year’s, Ralph would wish the best of the season to his sports connections.

Last year, I took up the idea as a way of saying Thank You to those who helped with my Instant Replay stories and the little Captain’s Corner features that ran for 30 weeks between Oct. 14, 2010, and May 19, 2011. But it’s also a way of giving a tribute to Ralph Hall who gave me my first sportswriting job.

So – pretty much in random order (a neat trick of Ralph’s so you have to read all the names and can’t just look for someone alphabetically) – here are the ‘Hall’ of Fame thank yous to almost 300 people, those who contributed in 2011 along with a few whose help for upcoming stories is also acknowledged.

To begin, here are some who not only helped several times in the past 12 months but also have been great resources for a number of years: Fred Hume, Daien Ide, Janet Turner, Dick Lazenby, Larry Reda, Gerry Karvelis, Ralph Bower, Jason Beck, Jay Prepchuk, Ian McDonald, Larry Donohoe, Neil Salkus, Blair Shier and Julie Clements.

There’s also editor Justin Beddall who does a superb job with the Instant Replay page layout. I’m listing him up front because he’s a busy guy and last year he had to read the whole column to find his name at the very end.

Of course there’s Mayvis Corben. I can’t miss naming my wife, especially since she’s just brought me a cup of hot chocolate as I’m typing this.

I’m not going to mention John Crowley this year because I discovered that last year’s thank-you column listed him twice.

Okay, let’s get to Valerie Jerome, Paul Winn, Konrad Tittler, Phil Maloney, Norm Fitzsimmons, Aaron Van Pykstra, Greg Laviolette, Doug Alysworth, Brad Thornhill, Matt Hilder, Christie Geiss, Geoff Russell, Nikki Downie, Dan Dempsey, Vern Porter, Angela Aydon, Joe Galat, Tom Scott, Cath Dimmock and Ashley Kristen.

Also Tom Larscheid, Jane Kozniuk, Margi Spooner, Casey Guerin, Paul Winstanley, Julie Bauman, Kristyn Harrington, Kristen Shier, Emily Kozniuk, Hash Kanjee, Richard Lam, John Quackenbos, Jo-Ann Harrington, Lisa Evans and Ashleigh Gold.

Plus Carman Overholt, Diane Beck, Willem Thoma, Carolyn Weekes, Lynne Beecroft, Autumn Scraper, Sabrina Trotter, Dustin Semonavick, Jennifer Taylor, Leonie Plunkett, Diana Mattia, Jenny John, Ralf Shaw, Cam Kerr, Pete Ewens, Olive Gilmour, Allison Ross, Deretta Bowles, Noralie Hooper, Ali McGillvray, Catherine Newlands, Bridgitte Anderson, Carey Summerfelt, Jessica Doherty, Andree Janyk, Joe Iacobellis, Milt Williams, Janice Duncan, Mo Williams, Brandon Hesketh, Wade Bartok, Jane Richards, Chloe Brebner, Digby Leigh, Steph Bell, Jim Day and Wes Dekleer.

What about Janet Kemper, Thelma Moebes, Lynn Spencer, Kam and Lalitha Srikameswaran, Bob Anslow, John and Mary Vlahac, Barbara White, Anna Franco, Henny Bohlen, Freda Pahlke, Lil Rodman, Betty Duncan, Raimonda Accili, Dolores Escudero, Rosa Olynyk, Peter Huang, Chris Pedersen, Christina Hartigan and Natasha Heavyside.

Mustn’t miss Al Rose, Matt Herron, Katherine Hume, Leon Denenfeld, Ben Schach, Tony Rossetti, Ken Leavoy, David Eskenazi, Paul Yates, Larry Luongo, Glennis Lee, John Buis, Allison McNeill, Sheila Strike Smith, Glenn Johnston, Nicky Soulsby, Kirsten Odegaard and Chris Fan.

Add  Elaine Wick, Liz Bell, Greg Hockley, Lisa Ottenbreit, Jim Harrison, Nicky Carroll, Len Slade, Gary Bergdal, Bill Bowles, Deretta Bowles, Tom Gutteridge, Phil Langley, Marlene Loader, Steve Martin, Linda Melville, Joe Miller, Dave Pearce, Keith Sandercock, Sam Scorda, Gordie Simpson, Tracy Light, Ernie Oei, Allison Ross, Rebecca Aldous, Greg Hoekstra, Sean Kolenko and Maria Spitale-Leisk.

Oh yes, Ian Dixon, Colin Dixon, Vicki Thomas, Doc Younker, Bob Mason, Paul Chiarenza, Jessica Franz, Damion Dorn, Teagan Casper, Richard Loney, Marion Loney, Pete Ewens, Stephanie Maniago, Jen Rollins, Bruce Hawkshaw, Dave Hawkshaw, Buzz Zuehlke, Randal Ius, Bill Zuehlke, Marie Zuehlke, Steve Roberts and Sean Foley.

Then there’s the Pickell family, Stephen and Shelley Pickell and sons Blake, Nic, Paul and Cooper; Bob Mackin, Nathan Vanstone, Felix Wong,  Joyce Wong, Brandon Kaye, Kelly Kaye, Rob Fai, Denis Crockett, Linda and Ian Graham and their daughters Nicky and Michelle Graham.

How about Briar Ballou, Joe Bell, Shirley Fraser, Sam Scorda, Glen Walters, Dave Rice, Randy Storey, Bill Bowles, Michel Leveille, Bob Vosburgh, Fred McMurray, Steve White, John Buchanan, Leslie Buchanan, Joe Flores, Cathy Pearce, Dave Pearce, Tom Kirk, Lori Zuk, John Rutherford, Tim Bannister, Laura Ellwood, Nick Trenkel, Jenny Madill, Mark Rowan, Cam Hair, Susan Stone, Rob Straight, Chris Atkinson, Brenda Craven, Dave Morin, Grant Harris and Liam Robinson.

Must not forget Norm Fieldgate, Lefty Hendrickson, Nicole Miller, Jacqueline Blackwell, Barrie McWha, Jim Rutledge, Bruce Bourdon, Jon Lee or Lea, Rick Harrison, Sharon Proctor, John Coleman, Janet MacQuarrie-Kent, Marie Allouche, George Smith, George Lea Sr. and Jr., Court Brousson, Ann Brousson, Ernie Kershaw, Audrey Kershaw, Jim Carabetta, Dick Acaster, Anna Tickell, Sean Kelso, Janette Ahrens, Jennifer Tieche and Dariya Bagnall.

In addition there’s Greig Bjarnason, Jack Keast, Joanne Gauthier, Vickie Petronio, Ingrid Torrance, Scott Bennett, John Bennett, Randy Storey, Rusty Corben, Jason Farris, Bob Lenarduzzi, Jim Taylor, Jesse Hills, Greg Douglas, Will Trythall, Jim Hemphill, Josh Evans and Dan Elliott.

There’s more: Martha Perkins, Louise Biggar, Joe Tan, Julie Backer, Jan Keeton, Barry Callaghan, Barry Pegg, Elaine Miller, Maurice Jones, Sandi Huff, Andrew Martin, Lynn Johnston, Jennifer Devine, Daryl Slade and the SOB (Some Old Boys) Club members, not already mentioned, who meet at Cheers for lunch on the last Friday of the month, all of whom have great stories

Now, to those who enjoy reading Instant Replay, have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

This is episode 445 from Len Corben’s treasure chest of stories – the great events and the quirky – that bring to life the North Shore’s rich sports history.