May 12, 2009 - 04:38 PM

By Brian McNair

OSHAWA -- Considering he didn't start playing the sport until he was 19, it's incredible what Jim Hinkson has been able to achieve in lacrosse.

And for that, primarily, he will take his place in the Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday, May 27, along with golfer Ryan Hughes, hockey player Gordon Myles, baseball's Andy Stewart and multi-sport builder Fred Whalley.

Hinkson's accomplishments have run so deep that he will be inducted both as a player and a builder, the only one among the current crop.

When he first learned of the induction into his hometown hall of fame, he said he experienced something quite rare in his life.

"I'm speechless and I usually have a lot of words," he said. "It's a great honour, coming from Oshawa and having gone to these (induction ceremonies) all the time, it's something really special for me."

Hinkson became the answer to a trivia question not long after picking up a stick for the first time, as he scored the first goal in the storied history of the Oshawa Green Gaels.

That, too, wasn't a typical occurrence for him.

"That was big because I was never a goal scorer," he said, remembering fondly. "I used to run and play defence, my stick was terrible back then."

Hinkson went on to win two Minto Cup Junior A national championship with the Green Gaels, in 1963 and 1964, the beginning of a remarkable seven straight for the team under the guidance of legendary coach Jim Bishop.

It was from Bishop, now deceased but an original Oshawa Sports of Famer himself, where Hinkson learned so much about the game, he said.

He retold a story about that first season, when nobody was quite sure how good the team could be, in which Bishop sent a stern message right off the bat by benching four of his top players for indiscretions off the floor.

"He showed us that discipline was really important to him, having certain principals was really important to him, and hard work," Hinkson recalled. "Those were the ingredients that he coached by."

And, soon enough, Hinkson too.

"I respected him more than anything," Hinkson said of Bishop. "I've coached high school basketball now for 35 years and I still work on those principles."

In 11 years of playing and 15 years of coaching lacrosse, Hinkson racked up 11 Canadian championships, three professional titles and an international field championship in Australia with the Canadian national team.

He is also an author of five books about box lacrosse.