LSHOF announces 2024 inductees

By Lethbridge Herald on March 22, 2024.

Herald Photo by Justin Seward Randy Bardock spoke to reporters about what it meant to be named to the Class of 2024 for the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame on Friday.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

The Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame announced their 2024 inductees at their permanent location in the Cavendish Farms Centre on Friday morning.

One of the inductees in the Builders category, former U of L men’s soccer coach Randy Bardock ,was on hand for the announcement.

Bardock continues to be a  leader and mentor for many generations of players in the city, he  coached the Horns for 30 years and was known for being involved in keeping the program alive after being a threat of budget cuts in the 1990s.

Bardock had stints with the provincial U-16 team, Canada’s World Student Games, Whitecaps Academy and Lethbridge FC.

“It’s a great honour,” said Bardock.

“It was very unexpected. So I’ve always tried to give credit to the players and the community because in the role as a coach it’s really been all those aspects that are the key components. So they deserve as much recognition as I do I feel.”

Bardock thought it was impossible to pick out one particular moment in his career that he would carry with him.

“I think just the experiences with the players and seeing them go from young, naive 17 year olds to now where they’re champions in their communities,” he said.

“ It’s just great to see that evolution and it’s just so amazing  to see how community really did all they could to keep a program going when it was not financially viable. Those things really stick out for me.”

Other Builder’s category inductees include the Cooney family for speed skating and Michael Tamura for judo.

The lone special category inductee was Judge John A. Jackson for multisport.

Jackson held the title of a district court judge in Lethbridge from 1913 to 1945 and had a love of sports and helped athletes get to the highest level through his own influence.

He held president positions with the Alberta Football Association, whom he was a founding member of, and the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada that oversaw amateur sports including the Olympics.

Jackson had the opportunity to oversee the Canadian team at the 1936 Olympics.

His presidential experience carried him into that  position at the Lethbridge Rugby Club and gave the opening address to the Lethbridge Country Club in 1932.

“I actually have to credit one of our past board chairs, Rob Kossuth, who went back in the archives and did some of his own work in this area (as) sort of an amateur historian ,” said Paul Kingsmith, LSHOF chair, on the Jackson nomination.

“He was very interested in finding out the roots of sports in Lethbridge and he uncovered the career of John Jackson. And it was a candidate unlike any that I’ve seen during my time with the Sports Hall of Fame. But he played such a key role in the development of sports in the city.”

Jackson passed away in 1951.

The LSHOF committee is seeking family members of Jackson and if you are somebody related to him, you are asked to contact the LSHOF through their website.

The athletes going in the LSHOF include  boxer Carmen Rinke for boxing and  kickboxer Brad Wall.

The Kinsmen Sports Persons of the Year go to Kacie Bosch and Paige Crozon in 3×3 basketball for female and the male recipient is lacrosse player Conner Cook.

“It was a long night, a tough debate, and we went back and forth on a bunch of names and that’s always a sign that you are picking among the cream of the crop,” said Kingsmith.

“When you end up with a crew this deserving and the debate that went into it, it’s a very exciting time.”

The LSHOF induction ceremony is on May 3 at the Enmax Centre’s Western Bank Lounge and tickets will be on sale soon through the box office.