4 to be added to Leaside Sports Hall of Fame

Four people will have their names etched into Leaside sporting history Friday when they will officially be inducted into the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame.

They will join 10 who were inducted last year as part of the hall of fame’s founding ceremony.

Joe “King” Krol, Christine Pellerin, Jack Caffery and Dr. Sidney Soales will be inducted in a 7 p.m. ceremony in the William Lea Room at Leaside Arena. Caffery and Krol will be honoured posthumously.

A dual athlete, Caffery played hockey and baseball professionally. He played one full season (1956-57) in the NHL with Boston Bruins, going to the Stanley Cup finals where the team lost to Montreal Canadiens. He played seven seasons in the AHL, with Pittsburgh Hornets and Springfield Indians. Caffery also played minor pro baseball, spending nine years playing AA and AAA baseball with eight teams.

Krol played in the CFL with Toronto Argonauts between 1945 and 1952 and again in 1955, winning five Grey Cups playing five different positions. He was named Canada’s male athlete of the year twice, and has already been inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Pellerin, a Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association board member, is being inducted for her roles as a female hockey official and decorated female ball hockey coach. She has previously been inducted into the Ontario Colleges Athletics Association’s Hall of Fame.

Leaside Skating Club founding member Soanes has been involved in figure skating as a judge, referee, committee member and author for more than 50 years, and is a respected ice dancing judge. His previous honours include receiving the Centennial Medal in 1967 and being inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 1992.

The ceremony will also feature honouring of 18-year-old speed skater Ayanna Badali as Athlete of the Year. The former Leaside High School student has won the Ontario championship for short track two years in a row.