Whitby adds to the Hall of Fame

WHITBY -- Kay Helleur has always had a passion for the links.

That much was evident Saturday night as she stood on stage and spoke, alongside the Henry Street Hawks baseball team and Dunc Wilson, at the 12th annual Whitby Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony held at the Heydenshore Pavilion.

As a player, Helleur played golf courses all over the world, but the crown jewel was one she owned, operated and designed for some 16 years: the Woodbridge Golf and Country Club. She always kept all that travel in mind when putting her touches on Woodbridge.

"I've played all over the world and when you've played different courses, you get an eye for the beauty of it and how it's set up if you're interested in that sort of thing," she said Saturday night, explaining her eye for design. "I've always been interested in things like that. That's kind of how it started.

"I spent every day I could watching and learning," she said of her younger years leading up to the creation of Woodbridge.

Before Woodbridge, the watching and learning consisted of everything from weeding greens for 10 cents an hour, to rolling them and even working the snack bar and kitchen.

Now 88, Helleur's induction into the Hall of Fame was the second of this kind she has received, following a 2001 welcoming into the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame.

A Whitby resident since 1980, Helleur has a lengthy list of accomplishments aside from her days on the links as a player, including nearly 30 championships to her credit, one of which was the Oshawa Ladies Senior championship in 1994.

All the accolades, and her beloved Woodbridge aside, Saturday night was an experience Helleur will hold close to her heart.

"I thought it was just a small, intimate affair, and as I look around there must be 300 people here. It is not a small affair. It's just great and I am really quite honoured," she said.

Along with Helleur's achievements, the miraculous championship run by the 1995 Henry Street Hawks was highlighted Saturday night.

Coaches Tom Buchanan, Marshall Thompson and Gord Brady accepted the honour on behalf of the club. Many memories were shared, including that of Prentice Cup MVP Ken Calway's 345-foot home run over the right-field wall at SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) in Toronto, the eventual game-winning run scored by Ryan Tocher and the game-ending double play that sealed the victory.

The wiry Wilson wasn't to be forgotten either.

The former Oshawa General, who played goal in parts of 10 seasons in the National Hockey League, recounted several stories of his days at hockey's highest level, including one night in Boston where he and the Vancouver Canucks lost 6-3 to the Bruins. Like so many other nights over his career, Wilson faced a barrage of shots on the night, 81 to be exact.

"I think we only had 15 shots that night, and about 10 of 'em were icings," he said with a laugh.