2017 BELLEVILLE SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

  • Joel Carr-Braint

    ATHLETE / WEIGHTLIFTING

  • Paula (Stephanson) Duggan

    ATHLETE, SWIMMING

  • C. W. "Shorty" Jenkins

    ATHLETE / CURLING

  • 1962 Belleville Kenmors

    TEAM, BASEBALL

  • Rob Ray

    ATHLETE, HOCKEY

  • Chris Valentine

    ATHLETE, HOCKEY

JOEL CARR-BRAINT

ATHLETE, WEIGHTLIFTING

The Apollo Bar Bell Club has an outstanding record of turning out weight lifters who have succeeded at the highest levels and previously been inducted into the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame. The latest is Joel Carr – Braint.

Born in Belleville in 1955, Joel carried on a family tradition in the sport of Olympic Style Weightlifting. His achievements and awards are numerous.

He has been a member of the Apollo Barbell Club for over 25 years.

Joel is an 18 time Canadian Masters Olympic Weightlifting Champion, has represented Canada at the Pan American Masters for 13 years – winning the Gold Medal in 2010, Silver Medals 7 times and the Bronze Medal 3 times. He has also represented his country at the World Weightlifting Championships twice, achieving a pair of 4th place finishes.

In recognition of his accomplishments, Joel was inducted into the Canadian Masters Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2007. He has been recognized numerous times by the City of Belleville for “Outstanding Athletic Achievement” and for winning the Silver Medal in the 2008 Pan American Games Masters Weight Lifting Championships.

When not in competition, Joel has given back to his sport by serving as the Vice President and President of the Canadian Masters Weightlifting Association, Secretary of the Pan American Masters Weightlifting Association, representing Canada on the Pan American Masters Management Board, and assisting with the coaching and development of Athletes at the Apollo Club.

Joel resides in Madoc, with his wife Marjorie. They have 3 children – Brad, Katrina and Adam – along with 8 grandchildren..

PAULA (STEPHANSON) DUGGAN

ATHLETE, SWIMMING

Paula (Stephanson) Duggan is on a very short list. In fact, there are only 2 people in the world who can claim the same accomplishment as Paula, with the other being the highly-decorated Vicki Keith, who in her swimming career successfully crossed all 5 of the Great Lakes and is a member of the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.

Paula was born on June 16, 1979 in Belleville, Ontario, and got her feet wet as a member of the Belleville Youth Swim Team, where she was a participant and a coach.

Her monumental achievement of swimming across all 5 of the Great Lakes started in August of 1996, when Lake Ontario was conquered. A 2 year wait occurred before Lake Erie fell in July of 1998, followed by another 2-year span prior to taking on Lake Huron in August of 2000. Amazingly enough, Paula then waited 7 years before Lake Superior was added to the list in 2007. The 5th of the Great Lakes – Michigan – was added to her accomplishments in August of 2009, allowing Paula to join Vicki Keith as one of only two swimmers in the world to swim all 5 of the Great Lakes.

Throughout her swimming career, Paula also had time to be on the Brock University Badgers Swim Team, coach swimming programs in Ottawa and win the prestigious Lemmet River Race in Switzerland.

Recognition of Paula’s achievements as a swimmer include twice being Belleville’s Athlete of the Year (Robinson Kelleher Memorial Award), being honored by a parade in her home town and receiving the Keys to the City on 2 occasions. She is recognized in Peter Gzowski’s book – Morningside Years – and in the 2010 edition of Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

Paula was the 2010 winner of the Cliff Lumsden Award of Solo Swims and is a member of the Solo Swim Association.

She now lives in Ottawa, with her husband Andrew and children Oliver and Leah.

C. W. “Shorty” JENKINS

ATHLETE, CURLING

C. W. “Shorty” Jenkins was born in Hanna, Alberta in 1935. At age 17 he joined the Canadian Armed Forces, eventually ending up at CFB Trenton.

After retiring from the forces, he became groundskeeper at Trenton Golf Club and, in 1966, became ice-maker at their curling facility. Thus began the career of arguably the best – and best known – ice technician and rock expert the world has ever known.

Self-taught, Shorty developed innovative ice-scraping and pebbling techniques that became adopted universally. Experimenting with rocks, he pioneered blue-printing running surfaces to match rocks and determine optimum size surfaces and rock weights for the best performance. Wearing his trademark pink Stetson, Shorty contributed his knowledge and talents to competitions and clinics world-wide. His suggested standards are now followed everywhere. He also introduced the use of stopwatches to curling.

During all this he was greens superintendent at Trenton Golf Club, then Bay of Quinte C.C. and finally Kingston’s Cataraqui C.C.

When Shorty passed away in Trenton in April 2013, champion curlers called him “the most influential ice-maker ever,” a “legend” who was “years ahead of his time.”

Shorty was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in the Builder Category in 2001.

1962 BELLEVILLE KENMORS

TEAM, BASEBALL

 In the late 1950s and early 60s, the Belleville Kenmors were a force in Ontario baseball. The team won league and Ontario Championships, and established themselves as one of the finest collection of baseball players in Ontario.

Most of the players got their start in the Belleville Minor Baseball Association, moving on as age required to higher levels of competition, culminating in playing in the Senior “A” ranks – the highest level of baseball in Ontario at that time. And throughout that time the majority of the players on the various teams were the same group that had started in minor baseball.

The Kenmors won 2 Provincial Championships, the Junior in 1960, and the Senior in 1962. Added to this were 2 Provincial Runner-up’s in Junior and one Provincial Runner-up in Senior. No Belleville Team has ever repeated what the Kenmors accomplished.

The Kenmors Team – then known as the Joyces – disbanded in 1969, after again coming close to an Ontario Championship in the Inter County Baseball League.

The Kenmors Baseball Team was a group of “home-grown talent,” with many of the players still residing in the Belleville area. Their careers after Baseball included significant business accomplishments, contributions to the local sporting scene and accomplishments in a range of sports. Four of the team members have previously been inducted into the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame – Larry Mavety, Rick Locke, Ken Soden and Pete Weston.

The Kenmors were truly a great group of athletes who made Belleville proud.

Back Row – Sid Forster, Larry Mavety, Stan Reid, Moe Hunter, Larry Soden, Gary Goyer, Jack Elliott.

Middle Row – Ken Soden, Rick Locke, Gord Vaughan, Bill Latchford, Larry Soule, Pat Asselstine, Vic Morris

Front Row – Bob Follwell, Gary Duggan, David Long, Bill Moxam, Claude Carr

ROB RAY

ATHLETE, HOCKEY

Rob Ray has put Stirling, and surrounding area on the map. Born in Belleville on June 8, 1968, Ray grew up in Stirling, hitting the ice in the Stirling Minor Hockey system at age 3 and joining a travelling team at age 5. Moving on to the Trenton Bob Cats, Whitby Lawmen, and OHL’s Cornwall Royals, he turned pro with the Rochester Americans. After 2 seasons with the Americans, Ray joined the Buffalo Sabres, staying for 14 years, before ending his career with the Ottawa Senators in 2003-04. He played 900 regular season games and 55 playoff games in the NHL. Regular season totals included 41 goals, 50 assists and 3207 minutes in penalties. As his broadcasting partner – Brian Duff – said, “Rob took the hard way to the NHL, taking on all comers…as evidenced by his position as #6 all time in NHL penalty minutes.”

Ray has a major presence in Buffalo. He received the 1999 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player best exemplifying leadership qualities on and off the ice, while making a significant humanitarian contribution to his community. He received the NHL Foundation Player Award the same year.

Rob continues to give back in Western New York through involvement with police and volunteers who work to make Christmas a special time for needy families. Support for the Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo has resulted in “The Rob Ray Room”. Roswell Cancer Institute, March of Dimes, Make a Wish Foundation, the Rob Ray Scholarship Program and the Sabres Alumni Program exemplify his community involvement.

Locally, he continues to be a strong supporter of the “Friends of Stirling Golf Tournament” which raises funds for Stirling Minor Hockey and various charities.

CHRIS VALENTINE

ATHLETE, HOCKEY

His skill at hockey opened the door for Chris Valentine to travel across North America and into Europe. Born in Belleville on December 6, 1961, Chris quickly displayed his talents in the Belleville Minor Hockey system, where he consistently put big numbers on the scoreboard.

In 1978, he joined St. Louis University of the CCHA and in 34 games scored an impressive 27 goals. He was selected to the All CCHA 2nd Team.

Relocating to Verdun’s Sorel Blackhawks in 1979, he had 48 goals in 72 games, and followed that up with 65 goals in 1980. His scoring prowess earned him a spot the following year with the NHL’s Washington Capitals where he scored 30 goals in 60 games, and established a Capital’s Rookie point scoring record that withstood the test of time until Alex Ovechkin came along. Over a 3-year span, where Valentine split his time between the Capital’s and the AHL’s Hershey Bears, Chris had 43 goals and 52 assists in 105 NHL games. And then Europe came calling.

In 1984, Valentine joined Dusseldorf EG of the German Bundesliga and over a 12-year period set the league on fire. He led the league in scoring 7 times, led Dusseldorf to 5 league championships and had his #10 retired by the team after ending his playing career.

Following his retirement as a player, Valentine coached for 5 years in Germany, after which he returned to Canada, where he is in the financial services business. He is active with the Ottawa Senators Alumni Association.

Chris lives in Stittsville, Ontario, with his wife Laurie. He has 2 children – Mandy and Curtis.