THUNDER BAY – Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Dave Gatherum heads this year’s Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame induction class.
Gatherum, now 86, saw action in three regular season games with the 1953-54 Detroit Red Wings, serving as a back-up to future hall-of-famer Terry Sawchuk during the post-season, which saw the Wings edge the Montreal Canadiens in a thrilling seven-game Stanley Cup final.
The Fort William-born Gatherum spent most of his playing days in the old Western Hockey League, also spending time in the American Hockey League and Quebec Hockey League before retiring with the Kelowna Packers in 1959.
Gatherum was one of four nominees inducted in the athlete category in 2018.
Golfer Lynda Devine, who won 18 Thunder Bay District Golf Association championships between the 1960s and 1990s, will also be inducted on Sept. 29 at the annual induction dinner at the Valhalla Inn.
Devine won multiple Manitoba Open titles and the 1968 Canadian junior women’s championship.
Long-distance runner Janet Sillman will also get a plaque. The winner of the 1987 Montreal World Triathalon, whe also took third place at the 2015 World Amateur Cycling championship.
Hockey player Dennis Olson of Kenora, a five-time 20-goal scorer in the American Hockey League, is the fourth and final athlete going into the hall this year. Olson won three Calder Cup titles between 1959 and 1962 and then retired to his hometown, where he coached the Muskies junior team.
A pair of builders will also get the call. Dick Hill, who spent four decades umpiring Little League games and more than 30 years officiating hockey games in Thunder Bay, will be joined by football coach Scott Fawcett, whose resume includes both Grey Cup and Vanier Cup championships.
Tickets for the inductions 37th annual ceremony are available by calling 622-2852 or emailing nwosport@tbaytel.net. They can also be picked up at the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame on May Street.
