Published Jul 16, 202514 minute readThe 1965-66 Mount Carmel Mounties boys basketball team was inducted into the New Waterford and District Sports Heritage Hall of Fame. Members of the team, not in order, Freddie Connors, Collins MacLellan, Lawrence Currie, Phillip Legere, Lowell Cormier, David Petrie, Danny MacDonald, Gary McDonald, Archie MacLellan, David Desveaux and John Blair Hutchison. Coach John Gillis. CONTRIBUTRED. CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentThe New Waterford and District Sports Heritage Hall of Fame welcomed new inductees during a ceremony at the Knights of Columbus hall in New Waterford on Monday.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentBelinda Campbell (soccer and basketball) and Tim Mason (boxing) will be inducted as athletes, while Jerry Walker and the late Tommy Hogan will go into the hall of fame as builders for baseball.Article contentArticle contentLowell Cormier will be inducted as both an athlete and builder for basketball, soccer and baseball.Article contentArticle contentThe 1965-66 and 1967-68 Mount Carmel basketball teams also found their place in the hall of fame.Article contentTIM MASON – ATHLETEArticle contentMason was born in New Waterford in 1963 and was the only boy in a family of seven children.Article contentHe began his career in his early teens with the New Waterford Boxing Club, and it didn’t take him long to make a name for himself in the sport at the local, national and international levels.Article contentIn 1978, Mason captured his first major award in the sport, claiming the bantam division title at the Canadian Amateur Boxing Championships in the Northwest Territories. He won a silver medal at the competition.Article contentArticle contentThe next year, in 1979, he received the gold medal at the Canadian Amateur Boxing Championships in Regina. He scored a unanimous decision win to claim the light flyweight championship. He won two previous fights before that.Article contentArticle contentIn 1980, Mason won a bronze medal in the lightweight division in Belleville, Ont. The same year, he was given the Lieutenant Governor’s Award.Article contentMason was later named to the Canadian Elite Boxing team and went on two tours with the club in 1981. In Quebec, he had two wins and a loss, before travelling to Wembley Stadium in England where he also recorded two wins and a loss as part of the Canadian team.Article contentThe same year, Mason was awarded with the gold medal at the Canadian Amateur Boxing Championships in Vancouver after moving up to the welterweight division.Article content Tim Mason was inducted into the New Waterford and District Sports Heritage Hall of Fame as an athlete. CONTRIBUTED. CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentMason finished his amateur career with 75 wins in 90 fights.Article contentHe turned to the professional ranks in 1982 and remained in the sport until 1987. During his pro career, Mason had an 8-2 record and became known as Irish Tim Mason. His pro career was cut short due to two work related injuries as well as concussions caused by boxing.Article contentToday, Mason lives in Brantford, Ont., with his wife Brenda, as well as his son Christopher, and twin daughters Mary and Amy.Article contentLOWELL CORMIER – ATHLETE AND BUILDERArticle contentA talented multi-sport athlete, Cormier excelled in baseball, basketball, and soccer.Article contentIn 1969, he was one of only four players selected from Nova Scotia to try out for the National Junior Basketball Team. That same spring, he turned down a full athletic scholarship for both baseball and basketball at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. Instead, he chose to attend St. Francis Xavier University, where he played two seasons under the legendary coach Packy MacFarland.Article content Lowell Cormier was inducted into the New Waterford and District Sports Heritage Hall of Fame as an athlete and builder. CONTRIBUTED. CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentCormier went on to star with the New Waterford Strands, helping them win the Maritime Senior Basketball Championship in a thrilling series against a strong Petitcodiac team led by future NBA draft pick Dave Nutbrown. In a five-minute overtime that decided the series, Lowell sank three consecutive long-range jump shots and finished with 25 points in a nail-biting finale. A few seasons later, he scored a whopping 52 points in a Cape Breton Senior League game—most of them from long range, during an era with no three-point line.Article contentArticle contentIn baseball, Cormier was an original member of the first Sydney Sooners team in 1977. Prior to that, he played both junior and senior baseball in New Waterford and Sydney. In 1974, he patrolled center field for the Sydney Steelers Kings, who won the silver medal at the National Senior Championships in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.Article contentIn fastball, Cormier played two seasons with the New Waterford High Fi Hawks, winners of the Nova Scotia Intermediate Fastball Championship in 1976. That year, Cormier was selected as the top defensive player in Sydney’s Action Week tournament.Article contentCormier also had a distinguished soccer career. He was the leading goal scorer for Mount Carmel High School when they captured the Nova Scotia high school championship in 1966. A few years later, he led Xavier College in scoring and later played summer soccer with the Sydney Kelts. Cormier was named co-athlete of the year at Xavier College in 1969.Article contentArticle contentAs a builder, Cormier was a pioneering coach at UCCB (now Cape Breton University), where he served as the institution’s first coach from 1974 to 1979. In 2001, he returned as associate coach alongside Jim Charters. He also coached the Breton Education Centre Bears for two decades and led numerous baseball and basketball teams to provincial, Maritime, and Eastern Canadian championships.Article contentOver the course of his playing and coaching career, Cormier was part of 21 Nova Scotia or Maritime championship teams. He also served for many years as president of both the New Waterford Minor Baseball and Basketball Associations.Article contentA founding member of the New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic, Cormier has been inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame, Cape Breton Sports Hall of Fame, and the St. Francis Xavier Hall of Honour.Article contentMore recently, as chair of the New Waterford Wellness Society, Cormier played a key role in securing top-tier recreational facilities for New Waterford — carrying on the legacy of his close friend Gary McDonald.Article contentBELINDA CAMPBELL – ATHLETEArticle contentFrom Scotchtown Elementary School to the bright lights of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union and everywhere in between, local sports fans knew the name Belinda Campbell.Article contentCampbell was a well-rounded athlete who dabbled in many different sports including baseball, tennis, basketball and soccer over the course of her athletic career.Article contentWhile there was no organized sports program at Scotchtown Elementary School, Campbell would get a taste of soccer and baseball during lunch and recess.Article contentEager to play sports, Campbell learned of a basketball program that had been taking place every Saturday morning at Sydney Academy. She attended when she could and fell in love with the sport.Article content Belinda Campbell was inducted into the New Waterford and District Sports Heritage Hall of Fame as an athlete. CONTRIBUTED. CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentWhen she moved to Breton Education Centre, Campbell didn’t immediately try out for the soccer team. Instead, she focused her attention on basketball. However, as fate would have it, she would eventually commit to soccer.Article contentArticle contentCampbell spent the rest of her years at BEC playing soccer, basketball and tennis with soccer programs during the summer months.Article contentCampbell’s talent for basketball and soccer wouldn’t go unnoticed by university teams. She was recruited for both basketball and soccer but chose to play soccer at Acadia University in Wolfville after graduation in 1986.Article contentIn the summer of 1986, Soccer Nova Scotia formed its first women’s provincial team to compete in the national tournament. The event had the intent of forming the first women’s national team. Campbell was the second youngest on the team and the only Cape Bretoner.Article contentAt Acadia, female soccer was still a club sport at the time. Her second year is when the program shifted to what’s now known as the Atlantic University Sport and U Sports.Article contentCampbell and the Axewomen would win the AUS championship in 1987 but lost in the national semifinals. Campbell was one of three members of her team to be named All-Canadians that year.Article contentArticle contentThe following year, in 1988, Campbell and Acadia once again won the AUS title and claimed a silver medal at the nationals in British Columbia. She was named to the first All-Canadian team – it was her last time playing for the Axewomen.Article contentCampbell left Acadia to finish her studies for her biology and math degrees at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Because of the transfer, she had it sit out for a year.Article contentShe began her diploma in engineering at Dalhousie and played two years with the Tigers women’s soccer program, which saw a combination of leading goal scorer, conference most valuable player and two more first team All-Canadian honours during that time.Article contentCampbell was in the national team program during that time as well. It was suggested that she move to Edmonton to be closer to the program, but she loved the ocean too much. Instead, she spent the summer working in Germany and played with a female team in that country.Article contentIn 1992, Campbell went to Technical University of Nova Scotia. She played soccer there and was successful in winning an Atlantic championship. She also suited up for the school’s basketball program and won all-star honours.Article contentThroughout the years, Campbell played in a summer league in Halifax on various teams like City Mazda, who won the national gold medal in 2003, the first team ever from Nova Scotia to accomplish the feat.Article contentToday, Campbell lives in Sydney. She moved back to the island to raise her daughter near family. She’s a contaminated sites engineer for the federal government. Her most significant programs have been guiding DEVCO on its closure and remediation of the former mine sites as well as the Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens sites.Article contentCampbell has also dabbled in the coaching side of soccer, leading a provincial under-14 boys’ team to a title around 1999. Since being back in Sydney, she’s coached soccer and hockey, mostly for her daughter’s teams.Article contentArticle contentTOMMY HOGAN – BUILDERArticle contentBaseball was a big part of Tommy Hogan’s life.Article contentBorn on Sept. 3, 1948, to Mike and Veglia Hogan, Tommy grew up on Sharpes Lane, playing baseball and watching the New Waterford Giants in his youth.Article contentIn his younger years, Hogan played baseball, mainly in the co-op field between Sharpes Lane and St. Joseph Street.Article contentIn his professional career, he worked as a coal miner with DEVCO, which was the foundation for his hard work and pit boot work ethic.Article content Tommy Hogan was inducted into the New Waterford and District Sports Heritage Hall of Fame as a builder for baseball. CONTRIBUTED CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentHogan didn’t officially start coaching baseball until his son Jason began playing Little League. However, he started coaching well before that with small life lessons and always taking Jason to the field when he was playing softball.Article contentHe never refused to take Jason to the field, even after backshift.Article contentAfter coaching for a few years in the New Waterford Minor Baseball Association, he was part of the coaching staff for the 1995-96 New Waterford Cavaliers midget team that won the Nova Scotia provincial championship.Article contentArticle contentOne memory that some players will never forget of Tommy coaching was prior to the provincial championship tournament.Article contentFrustrated with the team’s results at batting practice, Hogan stepped to the plate himself and on the first pitch he launched a fastball off Michael MacLead into Emerson Rose’s front yard.Article contentHogan would follow that group of players through midget and junior and then teamed up with Jerry Walker in peewee and bantam.Article contentOver the years, Hogan and Walker coached various teams to provincial titles.Article contentBeing inducted into the New Waterford and District Sports Heritage Hall of Fame is not something Hogan ever thought about. He only ever coached to allow as many kids as possible to play the sport that he loved more than anything.Article contentOne of his proudest moments in baseball for Hogan was watching his son Jason win the Big League national championship in 1998 and a U Sports national title with the Cape Breton Capers in 2005.Article contentJERRY WALKER – BUILDERArticle contentBeing a coach in any sport comes with dedication and commitment, but sometimes coaches go above and beyond to ensure what’s best for their players and teams.Article contentWhen you think of someone deserving of being inducted into the hall of fame, the name Jerry Walker comes to mind as a builder of baseball in the New Waterford and surrounding community.Article contentWhile Walker dedicated his summer months to coaching local kids, he also used it as an opportunity to watch his own children, Jason and Adam, grow both on and off the field.Article contentOver the course of his coaching career, he guided many teams from the area to Cape Breton championships and helped them reach provincial championship tournaments.Article content Jerry Walker was inducted into the New Waterford and District Sports Heritage Hall of Fame as a builder for baseball. From left, Jerry Walker and son Adam Walker. CONTRIBUTED CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentKnown to coach with the late Tommy Hogan, Jerry and Tommy helped a young core of New Waterford baseball players win the Nova Scotia midget ‘A’ championship in 2003.Article contentArticle contentHow dedicated was Jerry to supporting baseball in the community?Article contentWalker always put the players at the heart of every decision he made in baseball. There were times when he would coach two to three teams, putting his own life to the side, just so kids would have an opportunity to play the sport he loved.Article contentHe planned exhibition games with teams from out of town, found umpires, sometimes on short notice, and booked the field for his teams to play, all while focusing on development and helping them become role models in the community.Article contentIt didn’t matter to Walker what league he was coaching – mosquito, peewee, bantam or midget. He had a unique approach to his coaching, he never cut anyone who finished tryouts.Article contentAn important thing to remember, there was no computers or emails at the time, which meant Jerry spent hours sitting at the kitchen table, calling every player to tell them about practice and games – there wasn’t a set schedule at the time for rep teams.Article contentArticle contentIt wasn’t unusual to see him at the ball field every day of the week. He would practice in the morning with one team and be back on the field in the afternoon with another club. He considered all of his players to be his own.Article contentHe would even offer to drive players to road games if their parents couldn’t make it. It was normal to see four or five players with him heading to a game in Sydney Mines for a doubleheader.Article contentWhen the games were over, Walker’s job didn’t end. One of his favourite things to do was to make sure his players got their names in the paper, whether it was the New Waterford Community Press or the Cape Breton Post. He would always submit his teams’ statistics for publication.Article contentJerry had an impact on every player he coached, and to this day many of his former players still talk about those days and what he did for them as children.Article content1965-66 MOUNT CARMEL MOUNTIESArticle contentThe team captured the Nova Scotia Headmasters ‘B’ Championship with a hard-fought win over Wolfville High School at Mount Carmel Gym. It marked a remarkable achievement for a squad that had faced immense adversity during the latter part of the season. Tragically, the team lost its best player, John Blair Hutchison, in a car accident on Feb. 5, 1966.Article contentTheir first game after John Blair’s passing came one week later in a playoff game against Central High School, played in the cramped confines of the Central Gymnasium. The upstart Central squad was ready; the Mounties were not. They lost by 13 points, digging a significant hole as they returned to Mount Carmel for the second game of the two-game total-point series. As Cape Breton Post reporter Joe MacDonnell wrote, “The Mounties ran roughshod over the Central aggregation with a sustained burst of power to beat Central by 40 points,” winning the contest 73 to 33 to cap off an extraordinary comeback.Article content The 1965-66 Mount Carmel Mounties boys basketball team was inducted into the New Waterford and District Sports Heritage Hall of Fame. Members of the team, not in order, Freddie Connors, Collins MacLellan, Lawrence Currie, Phillip Legere, Lowell Cormier, David Petrie, Danny MacDonald, Gary McDonald, Archie MacLellan, David Desveaux and John Blair Hutchison. Coach John Gillis. CONTRIBUTRED. CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentThe team then advanced to face Antigonish in another two-game total-point series, winning decisively by scores of 73-45 and 83-55. These victories earned Mount Carmel the right to host the provincial championship.Article contentIn the semifinals, Mount Carmel defeated Pugwash 52-37 to advance to the championship game against Wolfville High School.Article contentArticle contentIn the final, Wolfville, led by standout players Lee Kelley and Peter Bromley, started strong and had the hometown Mounties on their heels carrying a two-point lead into the dressing room at halftime. The turning point came late in the third quarter when substitute coach Marshal Desveaux, filling in for John Gillis (who was in Shelburne with the girls’ team), switched to a 2-3 zone defense. The tactical move effectively shut down Bromley’s penetration and allowed the Mounties to rally. From there, it became the Collins MacLellan show, as Collins caught fire and carried the team to victory, finishing with 21 points and leading the Mounties to a 47-40 victory.Article contentAfter the game, in a bittersweet moment, the Mount Carmel squad presented John Blair Hutchison’s crest to his family — celebrating their championship triumph while honoring the memory of their deceased teammate.Article contentArticle contentMembers of the team included Freddie Connors, Collins MacLellan, Lawrence Currie, Phillip Legere, Lowell Cormier, David Petrie, Danny MacDonald, Gary McDonald, Archie MacLellan, David Desveaux and John Blair Hutchison. Coach John Gillis.Article content1967-68 MOUNT CARMEL MOUNTIESArticle contentAfter a provincial Division 2 championship in 1966, making it to the finals in Division 1 the following year, the 1967-68 Mount Carmel Mounties boys basketball team were back in Division 2 because of student numbers – the limit being 300 to decide whether a team would be Division 1 or Division 2.Article contentWith 298 students in 1965-66, the program was classified as a Division 2 team. Meanwhile, in 1966-67, the school had 304 students and was considered to be a Division 1 team.Article contentIn 1967-68, the program went back to Division 2 and the team received a major boost with the return of Colonel MacLellan, who was considered at the time by many to be the best high school player in the province.Article content The 1967-68 Mount Carmel Mounties boys basketball team was inducted into the New Waterford and District Sports Heritage Hall of Fame. Members of the team, not in order, Fred Connors, Greg Cormier, Ken Cormier, Gaye Desveaux, Frank MacKay, Greg MacKay, Archie MacLellan, Colonel MacLellan, David MacNeil and Pat Roach. The coaching staff included John Gillis and Tommy Hines. CONTRIBUTED CONTRIBUTEDArticle contentMacLellan left New Waterford in 1963 to live with his father and new coach Joe in Grand Prairie, Alta. He promptly led them to berths in the provincial championship the two years he was there.Article contentWith his return, the Mounties were full of confidence and their captain didn’t let them down.Article contentThe team qualified for the provincials by defeating both local teams St. Agnes and Central. They then defeated Port Hawkesbury to win the Cape Breton championship. They claimed the Eastern Zone title by beating Antigonish, securing a berth in the provincial tournament in Dartmouth.Article contentIn the first game, the Mounties defeated St. Peter’s High of Dartmouth by 22 points. Later in the day, they destroyed Pugwash High by 40 points.Article contentThe club’s final opponent in the championship game was Shelburne High, who again was no match for the New Waterford team, beating them by 22 points to claim the provincial title.Article contentThe 1967-68 Mount Carmel Mounties were the last boys’ team from New Waterford to win a provincial championship until the Breton Education Centre Bears won it all in later years.Article contentMembers of the team were Fred Connors, Greg Cormier, Ken Cormier, Gaye Desveaux, Frank MacKay, Greg MacKay, Archie MacLellan, Colonel MacLellan, David MacNeil and Pat Roach. The coaching staff included John Gillis and Tommy Hines.Article content
New Waterford and District Sports Heritage Hall of Fame officially inducts class of 2025 during ceremony
