Page 16 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 119

16 Issue #119 December 2022
Dave Murphy to be inducted into Cornwall Sports HOF
By Jim Riddell
t was recently announced that
IDave Murphy will be inducted into
the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame
in the Builders category in August
2023. Murphy is one of Cornwall’s
best known and most recognizable
citizens from his many years in
sports, broadcasting, and politics.
Dave has had a twenty-four-year
career broadcasting Cornwall Colts
and Kingston Frontenac games,
and motorsports from the Cornwall
Speedway. Dave began in 1995 doing
the color commentary alongside Scott
Rogers, who was calling the play by
play. When Scott moved on in 1998,
Dave took over the play-by-play,
calling Colts games for the next eight
years. The Colts away games were
broadcast on the radio and the home
games were on Rogers and Cogeco.
In 2005 Dave began doing the play-
by-play for the Kingston Frontenacs
home games, with Scott Rogers
joining him three years later. Dave
called Frontenac home games for
the next thirteen years. In total Dave
Murphy has called more than 800 Jr
hockey games over a twenty-four-
year period.
In the summer of 1997 Dave
began broadcasting at the Cornwall
Motor Speedway, working with
Brian Mulligan and Fred Pletsch.
“We had Joel Doiron as our color
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commentator,” Dave said, “Joel’s dad each. Scott, I, Joan Lawson, and Bob President’s Award by the Cornwall
was a legendary racer and Joel won Johnson split on a ticket. I’m calling Chamber of Commerce which stated
a few track championships himself. the game; it’s the 3rd period and that, “There is no greater ambassador
It was a real privilege to work with Joan comes up and hands me a note to Cornwall and area than Dave,
Brian, Fred, and Joel, those guys were saying, “ We won the Harley”. I’m whose long-term involvement in
awesome, and we always had a lot of on the air saying, “The pucks frozen, our community has ranged from
fun. I had listened to Fred call hockey we just won a Harley, we’re going to charitable fundraising to organizing
games for a decade when I was a commercial break and will be events and being deeply involved in
growing up and it was great right back.” Dave recalls the local sporting community.”
to work with him. The one memorable
very first time that I incident at the The Children’s Treatment Center
did a play-by-play track, saying, recently announced that moving
on TV a fight “At the last forward one person will receive the
broke out, - race of the Dave Murphy volunteer award at each
of their Bike-a-thon plus events.
calling a fight season there
In 2017, Dave, now in his second
is different would be
term as a city councilor, and his
than doing a bonfire
the play- in the friend and fellow broadcaster Dan
by-pl a y, pit area. Allaire, the morning show host at
and when I There Chorus Entertainment, agreed to
watched it would fight each other in a celebrity boxing
the next day, be a lot match at the “Boxing for Change”
I realized of wood, fundraising event for the Children’s
that I had stacked Treatment Center. Both combatants
teepee style, had to register with Boxing Ontario,
the fight was sanctioned and each
unintentionally and then set
of them trained for a full year at
patterned my on fire. One
broadcasting style year they were Champ’s Eastside Boxing gym under
after Fred.” having trouble the direction of Jorge Luis. The fight,
getting the fire going, which headlined an amateur boxing
Dave has many so someone decided to try card, sold out in no time. The fight was
memories and great stories using some racing fuel. We could televised by Cogeco, Tony Luis was
from his time in the broadcast see, feel, and hear that explosion! the referee and former Heavyweight
booth, saying that even though you There was wood and debris flying contender Gerry Cooney was the guest
are always careful, the saying “think everywhere, but fortunately no one speaker. Dave won a close decision in
before you speak” doesn’t always was injured. After that we always a very good and entertaining fight and
apply, as calling the game becomes
automatic and things sometimes referred to that one as the bomb fire.” a lot of money was raised. In 2019
happen very quickly. Dave recalls one Dave has recently been honored Dave was back in the ring again in
such incident saying, “The league had by two other organizations as well support of the Children’s Treatment
a promotion where they were selling as by the Cornwall Sports HOF. He Center, putting his unbeaten record
tickets on a Harley Davidson for $100 was named the 2022 recipient of the Continued on page 23