Leaside to celebrate its sports heroes this month

A new class of sports figures will get their chance to shine in the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 18.

This year’s class includes an Argonaut, a Whaler, a referee who made a difference, and a figure skating tactician.

The Argonaut is none other than Leaside High School football hero, Mike Bradwell. After high school he attended McMaster University in Hamilton, and was drafted 13th overall by the Toronto Argonauts in the 2008 CFL draft. He played 92 games with the Double Blue before retiring in 2014 to pursue a career in engineering.

The Whaler was Terry Caffery who had one of his most impressive professional hockey seasons in 1972-73 with the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers. He netted 100 points (39 goals, 61 assists). Caffery was drafted third overall by Chicago Black Hawks in 1966. He played 14 games in the NHL with both the ‘Hawks and the Minnesota North Stars before joining the rival WHA.

On the officiating side, the late Ian Shaw was credited with training hundreds of young refs for the Leaside Wildcats hockey program. He was also the founding president of the Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association in 1993, and dedicated his time to that position until the 1999-2000 season. Shaw died in March, 2016.

Finally, the showman of the ice, Tom Kalweit, began his professional figure skating career in Leaside back in 1981. For 26 years he skated competitively and was also a touchstone of knowledge for young skaters. He’s also at the ready, should members of the Leaside Skating Club need their skates sharpened.

Distance runner Remy Cattell will be up for the 2016 Athlete of the Year award for going the distance, literally, in cross country. She won a silver last year at OFSAA in cross country, and followed that performance with a silver in the 800-metre track race in the summer.

Author Terry Fallis will be on hand as a guest speaker for the fourth annual gala.