CORNER BROOK, N.L. — When Jim Hughes played for the Regina Knights in the early ’80s, the on-court rivalry between his school and Herdman Collegiate was at its peak.
And there was one Herdman Husky in particular that Hughes considers his nemesis — Craig Butt.
“I hated that guy,” said Hughes.
“He was an awesome shooter, a great player. And now he’s my best friend.”
When the two ended up in university together they realized they had a lot more in common than just basketball.
“He was just as crazy as me and liked all the same foolish shows I liked.”
"We always overcame, always knew the right plays.” Jim Hughes
But back when they played against each other, the rivalry between the two schools was a big deal.
“We were always city champs, they had never won. We were always dominant,” said Hughes, who played for Regina from 1980-1982.
It's not that the Herdman team wasn't strong, said Hughes.
“It’s just that we had such a history of basketball at Regina. We always overcame, always knew the right plays.”
He attributes that to the influence of the American Christian Brothers who taught at the school and brought basketball to their students.
Regina and Brother Rice in St. John’s were the two strongest schools in the province in basketball from the ’60s right on through the ’80s, said Hughes.
Hughes continued to play after university, mostly in the local men’s league, and coached the game right up to last year.
On Saturday, he’ll be back on the court as the player/coach for a team of former Regina players from the ’70s into the 2000s as the two teams meet again in a “Reviving the Rivalry” game.
The game will be played in the gymnasium at Corner Brook Regional High. Hughes is now a math teacher at the school, which ironically used to be Herdman.
“It was a lot of fun then. Hopefully it’ll be a lot of fun now.”
It’s not likely his old rival will be there, but there will be a new one of sorts in fellow teacher Glenn Gillard.
Gillard teaches social studies at the school and he and Hughes have been teasing each other over which was the better team.
“The conversation is still there 30 years later, said Gillard, who played for Herdman from ’87-’89.
“It was a fierce rivalry on the court, but good friendships afterwards.” Glenn Gillard
Back then Gillard’s on-court rival was Mark Hayes.
“Mark Hayes, yup,” he said as he stepped back in time while standing on the court at the school.
“He was a fantastic defender. He was in your face, it was hard to get away from him.”
He also remembers going up against other good players like Yewan King and Greg Reid.
“It was a fierce rivalry on the court, but good friendships afterwards.”
Sometimes the rivalry spilled over off the court
“It was just one of those things in the community that festered,” said Gillard.
And while both say nobody ever did anything, Gillard said “it was part of the culture. It was like a turf war.”
The rivalry ended when the two schools merged in the 2006-2007 school year. Students were housed at Regina until renovations at Herdman were completed and the new Corner Brook Regional High opened in February 2009.
“It was crushing,” said Gillard of the loss of competition between the schools in the city.
“I felt bad for the kids who weren’t going to enjoy that rivalry. The gym was always packed for any game you played between schools,” said Hughes.
School spirit, they say, was tremendous
“I remember the year after we graduated, 1990, it (the city championships) went to Game 5 and they had to play at the university, because there was so much controversy on who gets home court. And that was a huge deal then,” said Gillard.
“There was almost 1,200 people in the gym that year.”
Now it’s a bit tougher for teams to compete.
“Our 4A teams, in order to get a competitive game of ball, we have to go to St. John’s,” said Hughes.
Travel is expensive, and it’s hoped some of the money raised through the “Reviving the Rivalry” game will help.
Shannon Sweetland, a physical education teacher at the school, is the one who got the game ball rolling.
This is the 50th anniversary of School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador and during last year’s annual general meeting there was some discussion to mark that milestone by holding events across the province.
Sweetland is not from Corner Brook but has a lot of friends here who still talk about the rivalry between the schools. So, as he sat at the meeting, he thought it would be a huge event to revive that rivalry.
“It’s all going to be in the name of fun, but you’re going to see some people with the competitive nature come back out,” said Sweetland.
He said it’s a great opportunity to let the kids see what used to be here.
“It’s to celebrate what used to be in the sport,” said Sweetland, who is looking forward to watching the action.
Besides travel, Sweetland said some of the money raised could go to equipment, scholarships and the school’s annual athletics banquet. Depending on how things go, this could be more than a one-off event.
Game time is 3 p.m. and spectators are asked to wear their old school colours.
There will be a banner presentation at the end and, of course, bragging rights for the winning team.
Twitter: WS_DianeCrocker
Some of the players
Herdman Huskies
1980s
Mark Lamswood
Glenn Gillard
Doug Piercey
Peter Brake
Brian Clarke
Doug Miller
1990s
Mark Smallwood
Doug Sheppard
Mike House
Roger Targett
Todd Doman
2000s
Robbie Hickey
Aaron Sheppard
Dave Vatcher
Glen Seaborn
Dave Joyce
Regina Knights
1970s
Eddie Joyce
1980s
Jim Hughes
Gerry Byrne
Pat Hepditch
1990s
Dean Barker
Craig Veitch
Mike Hicks
Brian Kendrick
Mike Broadbent
Richard Basha
Steve Cave
2000s
Steve Barker
Steve Hynes
Adam Taaffe
