Telegram veteran sports reporter John Browne is among seven new inductees to be enshrined into the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Hall of Fame, announced Thursday by provincial soccer president Doug Redmond.
Browne joins Harry Hickman, Cecil Noseworthy, Bob Perks, Gus Richards Jr., Glenn Stanford and Louis Quedinet in the Class of 2013.
With the exception of Quedinet, who will be inducted during a special ceremony on St-Pierre, all will be added to the Hall during a Nov. 23 banquet at the Comfort Inn in St. John’s.
JOHN BROWNE
For more than 40 years, Browne has reported on soccer for The Daily News and The Telegram. He continues to be The Telegram’s lead soccer writer, providing readers with fair and unbiased analysis and thoughtful — some would argue caustic — commentary.
Browne has covered countless provincial and national championships, and the 1985 World Cup qualifying game between Canada and Honduras in St. John’s.
His columns, game reports and player features keep soccer a year-round sport in the eye of the public, helping the sport experience a huge growth in its registration numbers.
Browne is a former St. Pat’s soccer player — his idol was Bernie Bennett, another provincial soccer Hall of Famer who worked as a Telegram reporter — who also coached the game after graduating from high school.
HARRY HICKMAN
Hickman has been a fixture within women’s soccer in Newfoundland and Labrador, coaching an array of teams for 30-plus years.
From the early years of the women’s game, he was a driving force in motivating the players and administrators to believe that women’s soccer has a prominent place in this province.
For 12 years, his Memorial University teams were perennial playoff threats. His senior women’s teams have won an Eastern Canadian championship, six provincial senior women’s/Jubilee Trophy championships and four St. John’s senior championships.
He has won an Atlantic University coach of the year award and the Eleanor Bennett and Charlie Quick Awards from St. John’s for contribution to women’s soccer and soccer in general. He is also a member of the St. John’s Soccer Hall of Fame.
CECIL NOSEWORTHY
Noseworthy has served the soccer community for more than 20 years. In the early 1970s, when the call went out for more officials, he decided to give it a try. By the mid-70s, he earned his provincial instructor designation and in 1978, he was one of two who became Newfoundand’s first CSA National Badge referees.
By the early 80s, he qualified as a national instructor and national assessor. These qualifications saw him travel across Canada assessing officials and instructing on courses.
Two of his highlights were the preparation of officials for the 1977 Canada Summer Games, which saw 28 of the 35 officials needed for the Games come from this province. The second was the opportunity to instruct at the FIFA CONCACAF referee’s seminar in 1978.
As a referee, Noseworthy officiated at all levels. He worked national Challenge Cup and university championships, as well as having refereed in nine games involving Canada’s national team. In 1992, he was inducted into the St. John’s Soccer Hall of Fame.
BOB PERKS
For almost 30 years, Perks has been part of some aspect of soccer. He has played, coached, officiated and served on game’s organizational side.
As a player, he won two Atlantic university championships, as well as St. John’s first- and second-division championships along with five masters division titles.
At the organizational level, he was part of the host committee for every major international event hosted by the NLSA, including two World Cup qualifiers, the FIFA U-16 World Cup and a number of international friendlys.
In 1985, Perks was elected NLSA’s youth chairman.
LOUIS QUEDINET (LOU LOU)
Quedinet, or Lou Lou, as he was known, was the primary architect behind the organizing of club soccer in St-Pierre-Miquelon. His efforts to grow soccer on the islands resulted in him serving as president of the St-Pierre-Miquelon league for 18 years and president of ASIA for 30 years, a club he helped found.
Quedinet and others were the driving force behind St-Pierre-Miquelon getting voting members of NLSA. He was a regular voting delegate at NLSA meetings and set the stage for many exhibition matches between St-Pierre clubs and visiting senior and youth teams.
Through his efforts, he was able to convince the NLSA that island clubs were capable of hosting provincial tournaments, which became a reality.
GUS RICHARDS JR.
Richards could be considered as an athlete who had three separate careers. As a junior with the Feildians, he established himself as a feared striker with exceptional speed and the ability to put the ball in the back of the net.
Soon after entering the senior ranks with Feildians, he switched to play with Holy Cross, where his scoring and pace helped that team to the national Challenge Cup championship and a second-place finish the following year. In addition, he also shared in a number of provincial Challenge Cup and St. John’s league championships while playing for the Red and Gold.
For the final stage of his career, Gus moved back to the Feildians, helping them reach the Challenge Cup final a number of times. Unfortunately, his scoring magic was not enough for another Challenge Cup title.
Over his career, Richards was an All-Star, an MVP and a most gentlemanly and effective player award-winner and scoring title winner.
GLENN STANFORD
Stanford’s grit and determination together with exceptional quickness made him a force for other teams to contend with during his days with Holy Cross and Memorial University.
A two-sport star — he shined on the basketball court during the winter months — Stanford’s talents first caught the eye of Alan Ross in 1974 when he was added to the provincial under-18 team which went on to win the national championship.
From the late 1970s to the mid 1980s, Stanford played a big role in Holy Cross teams won a national Challenge Cup bronze medal, two Atlantic Challenge Cup championships, four provincial Challenge Cup titles and seven St. John’s Senior Soccer League Championships.
Members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Hall of Fame:
1980 — Gus Etchegary, Fred Tessier
1981 — Edwin Knight, Charlie Quick, Mike Reddy
1983 — Ben Lake, Walter LeMessurier
1985 — George B. Ayre, Heber Bartlett, Charlie Bhnisch, John Canning, George Collier Sr., Herb Coultas, Harry Ennis, Bob Kelly, Joe Gulliver, James D. Higgins, William Higgins, Jack V. Rabbits, Tom Rose, Frank Tibbo, James Vinicombe, N.J. Vinicombe, Tom Turpin, George Welsh
1987 — Jeff Babstock, Stanislaw Sackowski, Andy Joy, Sam Pretty, Doug Sweetapple
1989 — Alfred Breen, Donald Huxter, Norm Kelly, Wils Molloy, Alan Ross
1992 — Bobby Breen, Bill Matthews, Bruce Power, Ern Foote
1994 — Ed Moyst, Bernard Reddy, Joe Keating, Edward Roache, Pat Hollett, Aubrey Pike
1996 — Vince Pickett, Brian Murphy, Cyril Quirke, Newman Bartlett, George Innes
1997 — Reg Farrell, Monsignor John Murray, Bob Slaney, Bill Grant, Frank Moore, Doug Redmond, Herb Jenkins
1998 — Bernie Bennett, Hobie Pike, Jim McNamara, Terry Mallay, Herb Slaney, Max Hollett, Frank “Red” Fizzard
1999 — Ross Arlett, Bren Curtis, Greg Hillier, Edgar House, Bob LeMessurier, Joe Lundrigan, Boyd Pennell, Harold “Hal” Walsh, Larry “Bucky” Warren
2000 — Ed Arnott, Frank Brenton, Doug Brown, George “Bow” Collier, Eddie Joyce, Leonard Slaney, Charlie Snook
2001 — Tom Bartlett, Joy Burt, Clem “Junior” Edwards, Dick Ivany, Tom Riley, Gerry Smith, Howard Walsh.
2002 — Keith Farrell, Ken Hunt, Eli Lee, Adrian Miller, John Russell, Jean (Lake) Thompson, Don Turpin.
2003 — Bill Breen, John Breen, Doug House, Louis LeGentile, Jack Lundrigan, Bill Miller, Tony Mullett, Gerry “Farmer” Reddy, Andy Samuelson
2004 — James Loder, Jack Simms
2005 — Aubrey Anstey, Angus Barrett, Al Felix, Norbert “Dick” Power, John Saunders, Al Slaney, Brian Walsh
2007 — Leeland Anderson, Guy Clouter, George Cooper, Frank Haskell, Len Hillier, Trevor Payne, Paul Reddy, Noel “Jake” Stanford
2009 — Len Aucoin, Fred Brien, Charlie Chaytor, Jim Hamlyn, Don Hodder, Jim Royle, Daryl Smith.
2011 — Sandy (Faulkner) Ash, Raeleen (Dunne) Baggs, Roland Doyle Jr., Ben Dunne, Jerry Gallant, Judi Kelloway, John P. Humby, Sherry Morrissey, Dee Murphy, Keith Storey, Winse Strang, Joe Turpin
2012 — Bob Antle, Chris Facey, Pat Fleming, John Hearn, Dave LeGrow, Kevin Pittman, Ron Price, Tom Tarrant, Clayton Welsh
2013 — John Browne, Harry Hickman, Cec Noseworthy, Bob Perks, Louis Quedinet (Lou Lou), Gus Richards Jr., Glenn Stanford
