2004 BELLEVILLE SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

  • Cliff Belch

    BUILDER, SOFTBALL

  • Bill Conley

    ATHLETE, HOCKEY

  • Barry Pyear

    BUILDER, FOOTBALL

CLIFF BELCH

BUILDER, SOFTBALL

A bad leg kept Cliff Belch off the ball diamond but not out of the boardroom. For more than 30 years Belch was a faithful servant to minor softball in Ontario, acting in several capacities on the Ontario Amateur Softball Association board of executives – provincially and locally. Belch began attending OASA meetings in 1963 and was appointed to the executive committee in 1964. He was elected in 1966. Two years later, Belch was named secretary of the OASA. In 1973 he was elected treasurer, a position he held until 1975. The following year Belch was elected president. In 1988 he received an OASSA life Membership for his meritorious service to the provincial association. In 1977 Belch carried the historic 75th annual meeting of the OASA in Kingston. The highlight of Belch’s OASA career occurred two years later when he received the prestigious F.A. Feaver “Mr. Softball Award” and the Ontario Volunteer Service Award for his 30-plus years in minor ball. Locally, Belch was at various times an umpire, convenor and coach in several area leagues from the 1960’s to the 80’s. He was secretary Treasurer and commissioner of the Belleville Ladies Softball League. Belch’s desire to serve minor sports was a natural. He was assistant director of recreation for the City of Belleville from 1969 to 1972, then deputy until 1974 when he took over the director of recreation. Belch held the position until 1987 when he rose to Chief Administration Officer. He retired in 1966 and later served six years on city council. Nick named “Sonny,” Belch was born in Belleville on October 7, 1933 and educated at Prince of Wales Elementary School and the former Belleville Collegiate Institute. He prepared for his life in sport and recreation by later studying recreation leadership at Centennial College in Toronto.

BILL CONLEY

ATHLETE / HOCKEY

Born in Belleville on May 4, 1944, Bill Conley first strapped on skates at the age of two. By the time he was four -one year after losing his hearing due to red measles – Conley was already playing shinny with neighbourhood boys twice his age. Conley attended the Ontario School for the Deaf (now knows as the Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf) from 1950 – 1964, where he played hockey as well as football, volleyball, basketball and badminton, He excelled at all of them. Conley was a member of the first-ever OSD team to win a Bay of Quinte basketball championship, defeating Madoc for the “B” title in 1961. He also played for the OSD senior volleyball team that won a Bay of Quinte banner two years later, earning MVP honours.

Upon graduation from OSD, Conley travelled to Washington, D.C. to attend Gallaudet University where his love for hockey inspired him to found the first-ever varsity men’s hockey team at the school. With Conley as captain, doing double duty at left wing and defence, the Bisons captured the championship of the highly competitive Chesapeake Hockey League in 1969, competing against other university and Sr. A teams. Bisons were finalists again in 1970. Leaving Gallaudet, Conley turned his talents to coaching. He was named head coach of the Eastern Canadian deaf basketball team in 1972 and a year later guided the Canadian volleyball team at the 1973 World Deaf Games in Sweden.

Conley continued to play volleyball and basketball in the Ontario Deaf Sports Association for the Kingston Athletic Association of the Deaf, collecting three championships between 1970 and ’73. He won provincial MVP honours in 1970-71, leading KAAD to consecutive ODSA basketball titles. Conley’s excellence as a player and coach were officially recognized by the ODSA in 1998 when he was named among the inaugural inductees into the association’s Hall of Fame..

BARRY PYEAR

BUILDER, FOOTBALL

Barry Pyear chose helping others over personal glory. Hundreds of his former Bay of Quinte high school football players are glad he did. In 1971, after four superb seasons as standout defensive back and kick returner at the University of Guelph, Pyear was offered a professional tryout by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Instead of turning pro, Pyear opted instead to begin his teaching and coaching career in the Bay of Quinte region.

Thirty years later, after stints at Centre Hastings, Centennial, Moira and Bayside, Pyear had guided his football teams to more than 200 victories, six COSSA championships and the first-ever appearance by a Bay of Quinte team at the National Capital Bowl in the Sky Dome in Toronto. Several of Pyear’s players have gone on to attend university in Ontario. At the time of his induction into the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame, at least 10 of his former players were starting for Ontario university football teams and two were playing professionally.

While building championship teams became Pyear’s forte, he was also instrumental in reviving the dormant football program at Bayside after an 18-year hiatus. H was also among the founders of the wildly successful Belleville Minor Football League, providing local children with the opportunity to learn and play football before high school.

Born in Stirling on June 29, 1949, Pyear excelled on the football field and on the ice. He was a starter on both offence and defence for the Stirling Rawdon District High School team that won a COSSA football title in 1966. The next year he was a key member of the Tweed Jr. C hockey team that captured an all-Ontario championship. Pyear chose football over hockey after being offered a full hockey scholarship to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. He elected to go to Guelph where he studied physical and health education while playing football for the Gryphons. The Gryphons coaching staff, in fact, was so intent on getting Pyear to Guelph that they assigned former CFL great Garney Henley to personally recruit him. Not surprisingly, Pyear’s three sons – Kyle, Ryan and Tobin – followed his footsteps into football, carving successful university careers of their own.