Sport Hall of Fame Honours
The Sport Orillia Hall of Fame will have 3 new inductees on April 27. Stuart Burnie, William (Bill) McGill and Donald Stoutt will join previous inductees such as Jiggs McDonald, Toben Sutherland, Jerry Udell, Terry Bullen, Brian Orser, Rick Ley, Cam Devine, Walter Henry and 7 others in the prestigious Hall of Fame, celebrated with a gala at Casino Rama.
“This will be our fifth class of inductions into our Hall of Fame and I am always impressed with the calibre of athletes and builders that have done amazing things in Orillia over generations,” said Martino DiSabatino, the president of Sport Orillia and chair of the selection committee.
Burnie is one of the top hockey players ever to come out of Orillia. In fact, he was a charter member of the Orillia Hockey Wall of Fame and, last year, was named one of Orillia’s Top 10 Players of All-Time as part of the city’s sesquicentennial celebration.
Burnie grew up in Orillia playing lacrosse and hockey and went on to become a second-team all-star during an impressive four years at Western Michigan University. The skilled forward had two stints playing for Team Canada and shone in the American Hockey League after signing a two-year deal with the New York Islanders.
Bill McGill, who died in 2001, co-founded the Orillia Terriers Sr. A hockey club and was the general manager of the team when it won an Allan Cup, emblematic of Canadian senior hockey supremacy, in 1974.
“Bill was always working behind the scenes trying to improve sports and sports facilities in Orillia,” said John Falcon, who nominated McGill. “Bill was a true ambassador for the City of Orillia his entire life.”
Don Stoutt was also a key to the success of the Terriers in the mid 1970s. He was president of the team for three seasons – including the Allan Cup title-winning year. He was also founder and chairman of the annual Kinsmen Summer Hockey School, which brought many NHLers to the city to teach kids about hockey.
Tickets for the gala are on sale now.
(Photo Submitted) Tom McGill (representing his late father, Bill), Don Stoutt and Stu Burnie
