The captain of Canada’s only FIFA World Cup soccer squad, who played with and against some of the game’s greats, will be among a strong class inducted into the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame next month at a banquet at Metrotown’s Firefighters Hall.
Bruce Wilson’s formative soccer years were spent in Burnaby playing for Norburn AC, which won the 1966/67 provincial championship before he moved on to a stellar professional career in the North American Soccer League.
Wilson will join lacrosse legends Eric Cowieson and Alex Carey, Simon Fraser University women’s softball coach Mike Renney, auto racing pioneer Al Ores, minor lacrosse builder George Pittendrigh, Burnaby Lake Rowing Club mainstay Glen Smith and the 2009 Burnaby Lake Rugby Club women’s team for the gala event on Feb. 28.
Wilson made 57 international appearances for Canada, including the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where they reached the quarterfinals. He also captained Canada at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
Carey, an East Burnaby product, won a Minto Cup with the junior Mount Pleasant Legion team in 1956 and was on a pair of Mann Cup championship teams from Vancouver. He accumulated 228 goals and 251 assists for 479 points in 334 regular season games.
Another lacrosse legend, Cowieson cut his lacrosse teeth at the Confederation Park box in North Burnaby. He was a member of the Burnaby Cablevision 1977 Mann Cup champions. Cowieson went on to play 18 seasons – including captain for 14 of those years – with the New Westminster Salmonbellies, winning the Mann Cup four times.
In the builders category, Ores, Pittendrigh and Smith are being honoured for their dedication and contributions in the areas of auto racing, lacrosse and rowing, respectively.
Ores went from a novice hobbyist in 1968 at Coquitlam’s Westwood Race Track to one of the most successful drivers on the Pacific Northwest circuit. He was inducted into the B.C. Motorsports Hall of Fame as a pioneer in 2002.
Pittendrigh was introduced to lacrosse in 1908 and he ended up introducing the sport to many a young boy as a coach, organizer and executive member of South Burnaby minor lacrosse. Smith was a founding member of the Burnaby Lake Rowing Club, and a national umpire for the sport for more than 35 years.
Renney is entering in as a coach, having piloted the Simon Fraser University women’s softball team since 1994. Over a span of 20 years, his squads won four NAIA titles and sent 20 athletes to play for Canada’s senior team. Renney also coached at three Olympics.
The star-studded Burnaby Lake Rugby Club women’s team of 2009 became the first Canadian women’s squad to beat a international opponent, when they defeated the touring Japanese national team.
To attend or for info on the banquet, contact [email protected]. They will also be available for purchase by contacting Rosemary at 604-436-1672. Tickets are $85.
