Hard to believe it's been more than a decade since the Senior 'A' Adanacs pulled off, arguably, the most remarkable and thrilling victory in Coquitlam sports history.
Harder to believe is the manner in which they did it.
Down 8-4 entering the third period, the A's roared back to triumph 10-9 over Ontario's Brampton Excelsiors on Colin Doyle's top-shelf tally with 34.7 seconds left to win the deciding seventh game in the 2001 Mann Cup national box lacrosse championship before 5,000-plus crazed fans at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum.
The Sept. 13 victory - the first and only Mann Cup crown in the A's then-37-year history - was doubly emotional, having come two days after terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City, creating havoc and grief across North America.
It's most fitting that now, nearly 11 years later, that A's unit is being inducted into the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame in the Team category. Official date of entry is June 21 at a ceremony at Poirier Sports Complex.
"Thinking back about it, it was a pretty incredible series," A's then-GM Les Wingrove told The Tri-City News in a phone interview Wednesday. "It was an amazing comeback all-around. It was absolutely amazing... we literally snatched victory out of their hands."
Other 2012 inductees into the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame include:
ATHLETES
Gail Harvey Moore had established an impressive golfing resume by the age of 15, when she won the first of three straight Canadian junior championship titles. In 1961, Harvey Moore placed second at both the Canadian Ladies Amateur and Canadian Closed championship. She also represented Canada in a number of international competitions.A near-fatal car crash in 1969 slowed Harvey Moore down, but didn't stop her. She recovered to win both the B.C. and Canadian Amateur women's titles in 1970. She passed away in 1993.
As a student at then Como Lake High School, Neil Godin brought home a handful of medals from successive Canadian Senior Gymnastics championships in gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling. His feats on the trampoline began to attract attention in Maillardville when Our Lady of Lourdes gym team was established in 1950. Starting as a 12-year-old at the 1954 nationals, he won a number of national titles, while recorded a couple of Canadian firsts - including the first Canadian to perform the triple-twisting back somersault. He qualified for the Pan Am Games. Godin would later coach the national team.
Norm McLeod was a member of Canada's first-ever World Cup soccer team, scoring the nation's first goal in the tournament.As an 18-year-old, he was a member of the national team that toured the Soviet Union in 1960. McLeod, who played four times for Canada, was also a dominating force on the provincial soccer scene. As a member of the B.C. All-Star team, McLeod put the provincial squad on the map - including a vaunted win over touring Tottenham Hotspur. He was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005, as well as the B.C. Softball Hall of Fame.
BUILDERS
William Azzi's name has become synonymous with soccer in B.C. Involved as a coach and volunteer with the old Cape Horn association, Azzi was a founding member of the Metro-Ford Soccer Club in 1984. The club, under Azzi's guidance, became a dominating force on both the youth and senior soccer levels, resulting in 26 provincial champions and four national champions.
"It's a wonderful honour. I'm a little astonished... what else can I say?" Azzi told The News. "It's not something I'd agonize over if I didn't get inducted, I'm not that kind of a guy. There's been a lot of good memories, the victories and the losses. I really hope that I taught the kids something along the way, about getting wiser from your mistakes."
Don Cunnings' involvement in sports in Coquitlam started as a coach at Our Lady of Lourdes, when he formed a gymnastics team that produced numerous medals at national and international competitions. In 1964 he was elected vice president of the Canadian Association of Physical Education, Health Education and Recreation. As the city's director of parks and recreation, Cunnings was a key promoter of Coquitlam's bid to host the 1991 BC Summer Games, resulting in a number of legacy facilities.
Lois McNary heard an advertisement in 1983 for a job position with the Special Olympics in BC and made it her cause. The Coquitlam native started as a volunteer and helped establish a Special Olympics Coquitlam branch. She's filled numerous roles and postings with Special Olympics BC, currently servicing as vice president, sports. McNary is also a founding member of the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame.
