2010 Can. Soccer Hall of Fame Inductees/Banquet

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Soccer Hall of Fame Announces 2010 Inductees

The 2010 Soccer Hall of Fame Inductee Banquest will be hosted at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex in Toronto, on June 5th.

VAUGHAN, December 8, 2009 -- Former Ontario Soccer Association Executive Director Brian Avey is one of seven new inductees in the Soccer Hall of Fame’s 2010 class. Avey, was appointed Executive Director of the Ontario Soccer Association in 1978 and throughout his 25 years term in office built an infrastructure that became the envy of sport with District Branch Offices, Club Head Coaches and the latest technology. Along the way he spearheaded the building of the Ontario Soccer Centre, Canada’s first full sized indoor soccer facility, and served on numerous government task forces ranging from funding to technology. In addition his passion for the history of the sport led to the founding of The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum in 2000.

The Soccer Hall of Fame 2010 inductees:

Players

Silvana Burtini – 38 goals for Canada

Gordie Ion – Member of Canada’s first Men’s World Cup Team

Dr. Walter Thompson – Member of Canadian Team that toured Britain in 1888

Builders

Stuart Brown – Coached Edmonton Angels to nine Women’s National Championships

Brian Avey – Long time Executive Director of the Ontario Soccer Association

Pioneer Award

John Russell – President of the Dominion of Canada Football Association -1925-1931

Team of Distinction

Toronto Metros-Croatia – NASL Champions in 1976

The Vancouver Firefighters, national champions on four occasions between 1965 and 1990 will also be honoured in a new category that recognizes organizations that have excelled over a long period of time.

Silvana Burtini made her international debut for Canada against Sweden in 1987, and in 1998, while playing for Canada in a CONCACAF competition against Puerto Rico, scored eight goals in one half, a FIFA record. She was the Canadian Soccer Association’s Player of the Year in 1998, played for the Carolina Courage of the U.S. women’s professional league in 2001, was nominated for Sport B.C. Athlete of the Year in 1999 and in 2004, as a Police Officer in B.C., was presented with the British Columbia Police Award of Valour for saving a life.

Gordie Ion assisted on three of the five goals Canada scored in its first World Cup game in 1957 against the United States, and as a member of the B.C. All-Stars played against Glasgow Rangers, Huddersfield Town, Aberdeen, Tottenham Hotspur and in 1953 the Irish Football Association team that toured Canada. In 1962 he was a member of the Vancouver Firefighters team that won the John F. Kennedy Cup by beating a Mexican select team in the final.

In the days when soccer in Canada was called football, Dr. Walter Thomson, might well have been one of the most outstanding players of his generation, and his play received rave reviews in the British press during the tours Canada made to Britain in 1888 and 1891. He also played Canadian football and hockey while attending the University of Toronto and when he retired became President of the Ontario Football (Soccer) Association from 1902 to 1904. In “The Blue and White” the history of sport at the University of Toronto, T.A. Reed wrote. “Among all there is none so worthy of mention as Watty Thomson. As a player, he was nothing less than a miracle of speed, accuracy and artfulness; as a centre forward he was a model of unselfishness and a phenomenal shot on goal.”

Stuart Brown led the Edmonton Angels to the first ever national championship, for women, the Jubilee Trophy, in 1982 and then went on to win it again for the next four years. He began his coaching career at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1977 and since then has won a string of awards including the Sports Alberta Coach of the Year Award.

Pioneer Award winner John Russell devoted a lifetime to the administration of soccer in Canada and in British Columbia in particular. He became president of the B.C. Football Association in 1920 and from 1921 to 1925 was first vice-president of the Dominion of Canada Football Association, then served as president from 1925 to 1931. He was a member of the B.C. Soccer Commission that ran the game in B.C. from 1933 to 1939 and again from 1953 to 1957. In all he devoted at least 44 years to the administration of soccer in Canada and was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 1966.

The 2010 Team of Distinction Award goes to Toronto Metros-Croatia, who won the championship of the North American Soccer League in 1976. Croatia, led by Portuguese super-star Eusebio, defeated Minnesota Kicks 3-0 in the final played in Seattle.

Toronto Metros-Croatia

A new category has been introduced this year that recognizes organizations that have excelled over many years. The first winners of this award are Vancouver Firefighters, winners of the national championship in 1965, 1973, 1983 and 1990 and were beaten finalists in 1961. In addition the Firemen won the B.C. provincial championship nine times and the J.F. Kennedy Cup, the west coast championship, in 1962 by defeating a Mexican all-star team.

The Soccer Hall of Fame & Museum was established at The Soccer Centre in Vaughan, Ontario, in 1999 and is dedicated to preserving and researching Canada's soccer history. The first Induction Banquet took place in 2000. To learn more about The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum, visit www.thesoccerhalloffame.ca.

The 2010 Soccer Hall of Fame Inductee Banquest will be hosted at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex in Toronto, on June 5th.

Soccer Hall of Fame Contacts:

Les Jones – Soccer Hall of Fame Chairman

(416)691-1555 lesjones@ca.inter.net

Colin Jose – Soccer Hall of Fame Historian

(519) 204-2942 colinjose@rogers.com