Port Coquitlam’s favourite son is getting a new honour.
The Vancouver Bandits, of the professional Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), will wear special jerseys commemorating Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope run to raise money for cancer research in a game against the Niagara River Lions on Canada Day, July 1.
The game, which begins at 5 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre, will also be televised nationally on TSN.
Fox played a season for Simon Fraser University’s junior varsity basketball team in 1977 prior to his diagnosis of bone cancer in his right leg that required its eventual amputation and then won three national wheelchair basketball championships with a team headed by Rick Hansen.
The commemorative black, red and white jersey features the no. 4, which Fox wore at SFU and the iconic image of him running on its front.
As well, the jersey is inscribed with the route and all the cities, towns and parks where Fox started and ended his daily marathons from St. John’s, N.L., to Thunder Bay, Ont., when he had to cut short his quest to run across the country because of the recurrence of his cancer, as well as the words Fox spoke to fuel his effort, “Dreams are made possible if you try.”
“Terry loved to compete in sports and his favourite sport to play was basketball,” said Fox’s brother, Fred, in a news release.
“He thought of himself as an average athlete and would often say he had to work harder than others to make the team.”
Bandits’ president Dylan Kular said the special jersey is the team’s way of continuing Fox’s enduring legacy.
“Today, we continue to follow Terry’s lead by working together toward achieving his dream of a world without cancer.”
Proceeds from the sale of replica jerseys online or at the game will go to the Terry Fox Foundation.
The Bandits currently occupy first place in the CEBL’s western conference standings, with five wins in six games.
The CEBL is comprised of 10 teams, from Montreal to Vancouver, with 75 per cent of its rosters including Canadians who’ve played in the NBA G League, pro international leagues, as well as the Canadian national team, NCAA, U SPORTS and CCAA programs.
