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The Launch of our “Helping Kids Play Sports” program

By admin on September 21, 2015 in Press

PRESS: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Sept 21, 2015) The Maritime Sport Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the launch of its “Helping Kids Play Sports” program. The program, a cornerstone of the hall’s constitution and its commitment to helping the less fortunate youngsters who wish to participate in sports, will provide financial assistance to deserving […]

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Formal Opening

By Frank Mitchell on January 23, 2015 in Press

Formal Opening The formal opening of the Maritime Sport Hall of Fame was announced today at a press conference held at its home, the BMO Centre, in Bedford, N.S. The formation of the Maritime hall began approximately five years ago when a small group of sport-minded Haligonians pondered why a centre recognizing the best in […]

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Our Latest Inductees:

Burton Russell

Kentville, N.S.

Burton Russell (1934 -)

As a young boy growing up in Kentville, N.S. Burton Russell watched and loved sports of all types, especially baseball, having watched the Kentville Wildcats and Middleton teams of the Central League which later joined with the Halifax Defense League to form the celebrated H&D League. That caught Burton’s interest, a man who has published eleven (11) books on various sports and athletes over some forty (40) years. His writings and collection of articles and memorabilia have been a source of information for many over the years and he is often sought out as a credible expert on sport, not only in the province, but throughout the Maritimes.

The retired teacher is a former coach in various sports, having received a NSSAF citation for his contributions, and is a regular attendee at sporting events within the Valley region. Last December 11th, in the midst of receiving an unbelievable number of e-mails, cards, calls and visits from former Kings County Academy students and provincial athletes scattered across the province, he celebrated his 80th birthday. He is currently penning his 12^th book.

He is a member of the Sport Hall of Fame at Acadia University, his alma mater, served on the selection committees of the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame and Acadia University for many years, and has been the statistician for the N.S. Senior Baseball League (NSBBL) for over twenty-seven (27) years in 2015.

According to Burton, among his most memorable moments was twice being named Coach of the Year in the Annapolis Valley High School Hockey League and being the recipient of the prestigious Johnny MacAskill Award. Especially memorable was being named Honorary Chairman of the National Junior Baseball Championship in 2013.

In many ways, Burton has become the premiere sports historian for Nova Scotia.

Danny Gallivan

Sydney, N.S.

Danny Gallivan (1917-1993)

Born in the Whitney Pier district of Sydney, N.S., Danny Gallivan would be become associated as much with the Montreal Canadiens as any of its players. From 1952 until his retirement in 1984 he was the “voice of the Montreal Canadiens”. He would broadcast over 1,900 regular season and playoff games and call games in sixteen of the Habs’ Stanley Cup championships.

After an arm injury cut short a baseball career with the New York Giants, he graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 1942. He joined CJFX radio soon after and began broadcasting games in the APC League. He moved to Halifax in 1946 as sports director of CHNS and broadcast the Halifax St. Mary’s junior hockey games. In 1950 he replaced the ailing Doug Smith to call his first Canadiens’ game and became the team’s permanent announcer in 1952.

It was his unique and colourful style for which he became famous: Plante would make “a scintillating save” but often faced “a paucity of shots”; Harvey would “feather a pass to the streaking Rocket”; Ferguson’s ”pugilistic endeavours” would take him to the “box of punition”; Captain Beliveau will “take up the oratorical cudgel of his confreres”; Geoffrion’s “cannonading drive” would sometimes be “nowhere near the net”; Lemaire would “feather a pass” to Lefleur who would “successfully negotiate contact”; Robinson would “tip-toe out of his own zone”; Dryden would make “a save in rapier-like fashion”: Awrey would have the puck caught up in his “paraphernalia”; Savard would beat his man with his “patented spinerama”.

He was selected to the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in 1980, the Canadian Sport Hall of Fame in 1989, and received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater in 1985.

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