Page 19 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 26

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St. Vincent De Paul benefits from Colts charity game

Submitted article
The Cornwall Colts along with
the Benson Group and several
local personalities raised $720 and
collected more than 350 pounds
of food for the St. Vincent De Paul
Society.
The money and non-perishable
food was donated at the second
annual charity hockey game held at
the Benson Centre.

“The Colts organization is more
than happy to assist St. Vincent de
Paul especially heading into the
Christmas season,” said Colts owner
Sports Energy
and head coach Ian MacInnis. “It’s an
opportunity for us to give back to the
community.” Greater Cornwall & Areas Community Sports Newspaper
For the second year in a row, the
Sports Energy
game ended tied (10-10) with good There were smiles around before the game, and they were still there afterwards, though probably with a few
times and laughs had by players and aches and pains on the celebrity side as Colts players and local personalities took time for a photo prior to
the Charity Hockey Game.
fans alike. Greater Cornwall & Areas Community Sports Newspaper Photo submitted by David Murphy.

Sports Energy presents Sports Panel

Greater Cornwall & Areas Community Sports Newspaper

Sport is often referred to as a pleasant diversion, a sort-of make-believe world that we let intrude into our day-to-day lives every so often. There are,
however many people who, through their actions both in their respective games and away from them made a real impact on a great many lives. We lost
quite a few of these people this year.
This month, we’d like to know which of the sports celebrities who left us in 2014 meant the most to you and what is your richest memory of them?

Robert Walker To lose our childhood heroes is always difficult, and when it happens we usually think of their sporting achievements but there are

some that use their influence far beyond their sport.

For me, the loss of Jean Beliveau means the most. I was fortunate as a young child to be able to watch him play and even then I could
see not only his talent but also his commitment to his teammates and the game.
After retirement, I would hear of his various charitable activities and his continued relationship with the people of Quebec, none of
which ever seemed like an obligation to him. Class and respect, he embodied these words and his teammates and competitors said the
same. We should all try to live by those words. The gentleman shall be missed but remembered.

Jim Riddell Of the sport celebrities who left us in 2014, the one that I found the most interesting was Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. A highly skilled
middleweight contender from Patterson, New Jersey, Carter was wrongly convicted of triple homicide at the top of his boxing career
and spent nineteen years in prison before being exonerated.
During this time Carter had the support of many athletes, entertainers and politicians. Several books were written, a song by Bob
Dylan, which he played at every concert became popular, and a movie starring Denzel Washington was an award winner.

After his release Carter moved to Toronto and was often in the news working in a high profile position for an association defending the
Seaway Karate Club wrongly accused. Carter was also in demand as a motivational speaker.

My memory of Rubin Carter is not of a particular happening, but rather the longevity and diversity of his story. For a period spanning more than fifty
years, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was in the news on a fairly regular basis.
Terry Tinkess Baseball lost one of its greatest ambassadors on February 6, 2014 when Ralph Kiner passed away at the age of 91. A home run hitter for
the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians, Kiner made his greatest impression on people from the broadcast booth.
As a kid, baseball was my sport. I lived in northern New York for a while, and it only made sense to cheer for either the Mets or the
Yankees, and since the Mets were the underdog, they became my team. I, like so many others, had no idea that they would go on to
win the 1969 World Series, defeating the powerhouse Baltimore Orioles.
I knew all their names and collected all their cards: Agee, Seaver, Harrelson, Koosman, McGraw and all the rest. I watched them on
Canadian Press Correspondent TV as players, but it was Ralph Kiner who introduced them to me as people. He was a gentleman who had been around the Mets from
their first spring training in 1962 and he had stories he could tell about every player who ever wore the blue and orange. In a world that didn’t have 24/7

sports programming, he made them real.
I had no idea back then that I would end up following a career path in journalism, but a lot of what I learned about dealing with average people with
above average skills I learned from listening to Ralph Kiner. He earned respect by giving respect. He made any group he joined better, and I have tried
to follow that example.