52nd Induction Gala- 2022

For over 50 years, the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame has played a lead role in preserving and promoting our sports heritage. We celebrate New Brunswick’s most inspiring athletes and sport builders at our annual Induction Gala and grant them permanent recognition in our provincial sports shrine. By honouring our best, we inspire the rest. As a non-government incorporated charity run by volunteers, we operate the only Sports Museum in New Brunswick.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Saint John’s Ed Blanchard has served over 30 years on the board of the Golden Gloves Boxing Club. As a boxing referee he has officiated at more than 75 Canadian championships, 16 international competitions and is a member of the Greater Saint John Sport Wall of Fame and the Boxing Canada Hall of Fame.

Rothesay-born basketball player Cynthia Johnston helped Team NB win bronze at the 1985 Canada Games and went on to become a five-time all-star, a two-time MVP and three-time All-Canadian playing for Bishop’s University. She spent 14 years as a member of the Canadian national women’s team, competing at Pan American Games, World Championships and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Shediac native Guy Pellerin has been whistling while he works for 30 years, first joining the Moncton Hockey Officials Association at age 18 and advancing from the Maritime Hockey League, U Sports, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He was the only Canadian amateur official to work at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The late Jim Riley, born in Bayfield, made his mark as a two-sport athlete in the early 20th century. He was a hockey player with the 1917 Stanley Cup champion Seattle Metropolitans and eventually a Chicago Blackhawk. He played 11 years of minor league baseball, from 1921 through 1932, appearing briefly in the majors with the St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators.

Fredericton-born Jane Thornton spent a decade on the water as a member of Canada’s national rowing team, winning a world championship in 2006 and finishing fourth in the Women’s Eight final at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, missing a medal by just fractions of a second. She won Commonwealth championships in women’s singles and quadruple sculls, and captured gold at the World University Rowing championships in women’s singles and double sculls.

The late Janiva Willis, of Irishtown represented New Brunswick at two Canada Games. She attended Winthrop University in South Carolina on a softball scholarship and broke the university’s all-time single season home run record as well as the career home run record. Playing for the Canadian Women’s National Softball team in 2007, she won a silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games and gold medal at the Universiade Games.