OLA Announces 2019 Hall of Fame Inductees

The Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Class of 2019 inductees have been announced. You will note that we have two Indigenous inductees this year, one from Six Nations and the other from Akwesasne. Both worthy of this distinction.

However, the well has run dry. More candidates need to be nominated for both the Ontario and Akwesasne Lacrosse Halls of Fame. The following categories are available, Player, Builder, Player/Builder.

For Ontario, under the Player category, the athlete needs to have been retired from Lacrosse for a minimum of 5 years, had a distinguished lacrosse career for a minimum of 10 years.

Under the builder category, the individual will need to have 20 years in lacrosse.

Under the Player/Builder category, it's 15 years of contributing to the sport.

The Ontario Hall of Fame web page is https://ontariolacrossehalloffame.com. The nomination form can be submitted directly for the Nominations menu.

For Akwesasne Lacrosse Hall of Fame, we look for the same as above with the minimum age of being 50 years of age. Nominations for Akwesasne Hall of Fame can be issued to any board member or our secretary, Charmaine Caldwell.

Let's get our own recognized and acknowledged in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame. To do so, we need the help of our communities.

Nia:wen

Rusty Doxtdator

ONTARIO LACROSSE HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2019

The Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum is pleased to announce the 2019 inductees.

In the Player Category: Jim (Scoop) Veltman, Evan (Leven) Thomas, Lewis (Louie) Mitchell

In the Builder Category: Dr. Mark Evans, Bob (Slip) McMahon

In the Veteran Category: Ken (Scooter) Lotton

Jim (Scoop) Veltman – Player Category

Jim Veltman played five full season of OLA Junior "A" lacrosse for the Brampton Excelsiors, winning the MVP award in 1987. He followed this with seven full seasons of OLA Major Series lacrosse, winning three Mann Cups with Brampton and a fourth Mann cup with Victoria in 2003 in the Western Lacrosse Association. Jim played four seasons with the Ajax-Pickering Rock winning a Presidents cup in 2007. In addition, Jim played 16 seasons in the National Lacrosse League, winning eight NLL Championships, three with Buffalo and five with Toronto. He played for the gold medal winning Team Canada squad in 2003 at the World Indoor Box Lacrosse Championship. Jim was named Captain of the team. Jim Veltman was always considered one of the top defensive players and was amongst the very best defenders on every team he played for, particularly in regards to loose balls. Jim was considered one of the greatest ambassadors lacrosse has had, he was always a fan favourite who was an unselfish player who played with grace and dignity, and was considered a great leader on and off the floor.

Evan (Leven) Thomas – Player Category

Evan Thomas played 21 years of Senior Men's Box Lacrosse. He started his senior career playing two years with the Fort Erie Hawks in 1968 winning the North American Lacrosse Association Championship both years. Evan then moved to the Six Nations Braves for two years where they won the Can-Am Championships both years. He then moved to the Six Nations Chiefs and played there from 1972-1978, where they won three championships before moving to play with the Six Nations Warriors in the OLA Senior B league from 1979-1983. Evan then played from 1984-1988 with the Caledonian Chiefs winning one Can-Am Championship. Throughout his career Evan was a league and team high scorer seven times, was a team MVP seven times and a team captain eight times. Evan played with or against some notable lacrosse players such as Gaylord Powless, Jim Squire, Bill Squire and Cap Bomberry.

Lewis (Louie) Mitchell – Player Category

Lewis Mitchell was seventeen years old when he first started with the Akwesasne Junior Lacrosse Team, and, as one of the youngest players on the team, was voted as the team captain, a title which he held for all four years of his junior lacrosse career. After a glorious junior career he became a formidable senior player with the Akwesasne Warriors winning the Presidents Cup Championship in his first year. Lewis was also selected to play for the Iroquois Nationals team at the first World Box Lacrosse Championship held in Vancouver in 1980. After his senior box lacrosse playing days were over, Lewis moved on to play Masters Lacrosse, playing for the Akwesasne Masters Lacrosse Team winning a number of national championships. Lewis was a leader on and off the floor, and was a community leader in Akwesasne as the Chief of Police for the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Force for almost 15 years. Lewis also became a wooden (hickory) lacrosse stick maker keeping that craft from becoming extinct.

Dr. Mark Evans – Builder Category

Mark Evans has been nominated in the Builder Category as a dedicated coach, executive member and historian in Brampton. Mark was always very involved in lacrosse with Brampton, coaching field lacrosse at Central Peel Secondary School from 1981-1984, as well as becoming the interim head coach for the Brampton Excelsiors Jr. "A" team in 1982, and the full head coach in 1984-85. In 1994 Mark was a Tyke House League coach, moving to Tyke rep team in 1995, and then on to Novice and PeeWee teams, becoming the first recipient of the Brampton Minor Lacrosse Association's Revis Bennett Coach of the Year Award. In 2001 Mark coached field lacrosse in England at York University while completing his doctoral studies. Upon returning to Canada, Mark continued to coach for Brampton in the Bantam and Midget levels between 2002 and 2004, earning the Minor Field Lacrosse Jim Bishop Coach of the Year award. In 2005 Mark, once again, become the assistant coach for the Brampton Excelsiors Jr. A team and in 2006 winning the OLA Jr. A Coach of the Year Award. Mark has been a faithful board member for Brampton Minor Lacrosse (1997-2003) and Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club (2008-2011). Mark has been responsible for overseeing the history of the Excelsiors Lacrosse in Brampton, writing articles for the Brampton Excelsior Lacrosse Club programs.

Bob (Slip) McMahon – Builder Category

Bob (Slip) McMahon is a man dedicated to the game of lacrosse. Bob's playing career started in 1968 where he played for Erindale Minor Lacrosse. Bob played his Junior Lacrosse in Mississauga, and his Senior Lacrosse in Windsor in 1979 and finally for the Orangeville Northmen from 1980-1988. Bob has been a fixture in the coaching world at both the minor box lacrosse level, as well as at the National Lacrosse League level as a head coach and assistant coach, earning Coach of the Year in 2002. Bob coached for the Brampton Excelsiors Major "A" team 1994-2000, Orangeville Senior Northmen in 1989, and Orangeville Minor Lacrosse 1990-1993/1998/2001-2006/2011. He also coached for Team Canada World Indoor Lacrosse team in 2003, and the Team Canada Heritage Cup team in 2002 and 2004. Bob has coached in the NLL since 1992, winning many Championships. Team Ontario has also had the privilege of having Bob as one of its mainstay coaches since the first Peewee Team Ontario in 2004 and he became its Director of Scouting and Player Development until 2018. Bob has been involved with lacrosse as a player, coach and executive member for over 50 years.

Ken (Scooter) Lotton – Veteran Category

Ken Lotton's Junior playing career in the OLA was with the Oshawa Green Gaels from 1953 to 1957 where they won the League Trophy two years running in 1954-55. He played Senior "A" lacrosse for the Brooklin Redman for eight years, 1961-1968, where they were league Champions in 1963, 1965 & 1967. Playing and coaching for the Brampton Excelsiors 1971-1976 saw a Presidents Cup win for Ken in 1972 and a Mann Cup finalist finish in 1975. Ken was considered a strong, rugged defensive player with good speed. Ken first started his coaching career with the Ontario Lacrosse Association with the Mimico Mountaineers as a coach in 1959 for their Midget team. Ken then coached for the Brampton Excelsiors Senior "A" team 1972-1975, before moving to Alberta where he coached the Calgary Legionnaires Junior team in 1979, and then the Calgary Shamrocks Senior team from 1980 to 1986. Ken also coached an Alberta U14 girl's team from 2003 to 2006. Ken has devoted over 60 years to the game of lacrosse.

Congratulations to all of this year's inductees!

The Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame Museum is at Museum Lock 3, Welland Canal Centre, Welland Canal Parkway, St. Catharines L2R 7C2

The 2019 Induction Dinner will be held on Saturday November 9, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Marriott-on-the- Falls, located at 6755 Fallsview Blvd. Niagara Falls, Ontario L2G 3W7.