Davis: Being honoured by the Regina Sports Hall of Fame

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I have attended every one of the Regina Sports Hall of Fame’s 20 induction ceremonies. Had to. I was on the board.

I think I cried each time, listening to the heartfelt tributes from inductees or their families. I cried when Doug Wickenheiser’s young twins spoke about the hockey player and father they barely knew before cancer claimed him, listening last year to Warren Poncsak’s daughter remind us what a wonderful person our sports community had lost, watching former Saskatchewan Roughriders president Jim Hopson add speaking notes on a napkin, or hearing university basketball star Glen Nelson tell us how lucky he had been in life. Their memories bring tears.

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I can also laugh about Rhonda Holt, a racquetball player who didn’t like public speaking, being coaxed to the microphone to say a two-word “Thank you” that sped up the evening and delighted the crowd. The joy of reuniting for the University of Regina women’s basketball champions and the Govins softball team. I also remember Rich Preston telling long, unscripted hockey stories until his buddies finally convinced him he had been speaking for too long.

Now it’s my turn. My former volunteers on the RSHOF board have deemed me worthy of joining so many people I admire in the hall. The announcement came Monday. The ceremony is Thursday, Oct. 10 at the Conexus Arts Centre. I can tell you, it will be a memorable evening. And I guess I’m going for the 21st time.

First off, thank you. And I’m especially proud to be a part of this year’s class, which makes this year’s induction even more prestigious.

Congratulations to my long-time friend Bernadette McIntyre. Every city needs a Bernadette, who has bolstered Regina’s image via the events she has organized, particularly the Brier and Scotties.

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On my first go-round as a Regina Leader-Post sports writer, I wrote about LaDonna Watkins qualifying for the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, Commonwealth Games, world championships and Pan-Am Games, winning bronze medals with her Canadian 4×400-metre relay teams.

From afar in semi-retirement, I’ve admired the accomplishments of Jessica Frotten. A 2020 Paralympian in four athletics events, she also won medals at the Parapan American Games, competed in three world championships and won 17 medals (including six gold) at Canadian championships.

Aaron Higgins is relatively new to Special Olympics. A powerlifter, Aaron won four medals at the 2023 World Summer Game and four at the 2018 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games. Aaron holds 12 provincial powerlifting records and was the Saskatchewan Special Olympics athlete-of-the-year in 2021.

Our other inductee is Dirk Graham, who played hockey for the Regina Pats before advancing to the NHL’s Minnesota North Stars and Chicago Blackhawks, where he became their captain and coach. As a WHL linesman, I actually extracted Dirk from a few fights, plus my dad coached him with the Pats.

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For his life in hockey, my dad, Lorne Davis, was an inaugural Hall inductee in 2003. Yes, I cried at that ceremony, too. Dad was inducted as an athlete, but he could have been a builder. I’m going in as a builder. I realize many of us get involved with sports as an athlete, hoping to have an illustrious career, before we realize that if it weren’t for builders, great athletes might have nowhere to play. So the Regina Sports Hall of Fame honours athletes, builders, teams and patrons.

I can’t simply list all the people I admire in the Hall, otherwise this column would simply become a list of inductees similar to the RSHOF’s new website. I am joining a list of L-P sports writers, including Laurie Artiss, Bob Hughes and Rob Vanstone, so there’s precedent.

Growing up in Regina you learn about these amazing people and the city’s proud sports history. Through my job as a Leader-Post sports writer and my involvement with the Hall, racquetball, hockey and baseball, I got to meet many of them. Some are gone, but the Hall preserves their legacy. I simply can’t believe I’m allowed to be a part of that. Cue the tears.

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