Page 23 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 5

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Senior Sports Memories

It’s Nice That They Remember:

Leo Brisson, Optimist Minor Football

he moved to a home on Angela

Crescent.
“I was moving in and my neighbor
came over to me and he said,
‘You’re Mr. Brisson aren’t you,

from the Optimist Club? I played
minor football with you people.’
You don’t often see a lot of that, but
of course, I’m 86 years old…”
“There were so many people,”

he continues, “There were the
McLeod boys, I think even the
Lumley boys. Dr. Norm Roy, as
soon as he graduated he became
involved with us as a coach, and

he supplied mouthguards to all the
players and he gave free accidental

dental for them for the first year.
He was quite involved. And of
course Dr. McLeod would come to
the games and he would look after

any injuries”
Leo Brisson still enjoys looking back at documents and clippings from his time with Optimist Minor Football.
Brisson remembers another
Photo by Vincent Cama
time when one of the teams went
By Terry Tinkess involved in it. It was just a great, looking forward to the return of to a Thanksgiving tournament

Football is enjoying a renaissance great, great experience.” the CFL to Ottawa, and remembers in Kitchener when Cornwall’s
of sorts in the City of Cornwall, but Minor football was sort of a how a former Ottawa Rough Rider bilingual nature saved the day.
there was a time, not all that long feeder for the high school football contributed to the minor football “They were losing,” says Brisson,
ago when another group made it system and when it collapsed, program. “and somebody by the name of
possible for local youth to enjoy minor football suffered as well. “Moe Racine helped us out,” Disotell was our quarterback. He

that “other” Canadian game. The As he talks, the names start says Brisson. “He sponsored our said, “We’ll fi x them,” and started
Optimist Club was the group, but fl ooding back for Brisson. “There goalposts and was quite instrumental calling the signals in French. We
Leo Brisson was the man who made were a lot of people,” he says, “Jack in getting the building that is still ended up winning the game.”
it work. Entwistle, Huey McAlear, Hurley in use at the southwest corner of Brisson was awarded the

Brisson was involved in Optimist McDougall, all kinds of names. It the Bob Turner Centre. That was “Pigskin” award, as a builder.
minor football for 15 years. “ I was is quite a list.” a maintenance building. We got “Charlie Nicholson, he was one
the president, the secretary, a little As sad as it was to see football together with Si Miller (former too,” says Brisson. “Charlie
bit of everything. It was the first job disappear, Brisson says it was head of parks and recreation) and Nicholson and Farran Miller were

I had when I joined the Optimist equally great to see it make city council and they handed it over the two who got me involved.”
Club. As soon as I joined they said reappearance. “It was nice to see to us and we renovated it and it Brisson has long since retired

“Have we got a job for you.” it come back. We used to have became our clubhouse.” from active duty with the Optimist
Brisson says he has so many 120-130 kids in three divisions: Perhaps one of the best things of Club (“There comes a point when

pleasant memories of his time with intermediate, midget and junior. being involved in minor sports is you’re not physically able to
Optimist minor football. “There There were four teams in each learning years later that people still contribute,”) but looks back on his
are so many,” says Brisson. “There division, it was quite competitive. remember the people who took the years of volunteerism as time well
was all the activity with the youths Brisson says he still enjoys time so that the kids would have a spent. He may never realize just
and the Optimists and the coaches football, but fi nds that it has chance to play. That happened to how important his efforts were and
and referees and everyone that was become too commercial. He is Brisson about ten years ago when how much they were appreciated.