Recipients
| † | Indicates posthumous award |
|---|
| Sport | Hockey |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | "To recognize distinguished members of the newspaper profession whose words have brought honor to journalism and to hockey." |
| Location | Hockey Hall of Fame |
| Presented by | Professional Hockey Writers' Association |
| History | |
| First award | 1984 |
| Most recent | Al Morganti (2022) |
| Website | Official website |
The Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award is an accolade presented annually to a print newspaper columnist or reporter in recognition of their achievements covering the game of ice hockey. [1] [2] [3] The award is "to recognize distinguished members of the newspaper profession whose words have brought honor to journalism and to hockey." [1]
The Hockey Hall of Fame established the accolade in 1984 and named it after the Montreal-based Canadian newspaper sports journalist Elmer Ferguson. [2] [3] Early in the year, [4] the recipient is chosen by a committee of members from the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. [5] The winner receives the award from the Hockey Hall of Fame at a ceremony held at BCE Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [1] [2] Each recipient receives a 12 by 12 feet (3.7 by 3.7 m) glass plaque that is put on display on two glass columns in the media section of the Hockey Hall of Fame. [6] [7] The ceremony associated with the accolade takes place separately to the induction of players into the Hockey Hall of Fame as -- despite widespread confusion on the issue -- media honorees are not considered full inductees. [6] [8]
During the 37 years the award has been active, there have been a total of 62 winners. The first 17 recipients -- Jacques Beauchamp, Jim Burchard, Red Burnett, Dink Carroll, Jim Coleman, Ted Damata, Marcel Desjardins, Jack Dulmage, Milt Dunnell, Ferguson, Tom Fitzgerald, Trent Frayne, Al Laney, Joe Nichols, Basil O'Meara, Jim Vipond and Lewis Walter -- were honored in 1984. At least two journalists were named winners each year until 1990. There was no winner in each of 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2021. [9] [4]
Helene Elliott, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, became the first female recipient in 2005. [10] [11] She was also the first woman to be honored in the media section of one of the Big Four team Sports Halls of Fame. [11] The award has been presented posthumously on eight occasions, seven of the initial 23 honourees over the first two classes (1984, 1985), and Dave Fay in 2007 (award ceremony held four months after his death). Journalists who have worked for the Toronto Star have been recognised seven times, followed by The Globe and Mail reporters with six and Le Journal de Montréal on five occasions. [9] [4] Each of the 62 winners have been journalists from either Canada or the United States. [3]
| † | Indicates posthumous award |
|---|
| Name | Awards |
|---|---|
| Toronto Star | 7 |
| The Globe and Mail | 6 |
| Le Journal de Montréal | 5 |
| Montreal Gazette | 3 |
| Montréal Star | 3 |
| The Boston Globe | 3 |
| Toronto Sun | 3 |
| Toronto Telegram | 3 |
| Associated Press | 2 |
| Chicago Tribune | 2 |
| Edmonton Journal | 2 |
| La Presse | 2 |
| National Post | 2 |
| New York Post | 2 |
| The Hockey News | 2 |
The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) is a hall of fame run by the Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation as a not-for-profit charitable institution that "honours and recognizes the achievements of individuals and institutions that have made outstanding contributions to Canadian motorsport as drivers, owners, team members, motorsport builders, sponsors and significant contributors, as well as those who have distinguished themselves in the new Media category." It was established in 1992 by Gary Magwood and Lee Abrahamson, with assistance by Automobile Journalists Association of Canada founding president and motorsport reporter Len Coates, to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of the various Canadian motorsports communities. The CMHF has moved location six times over the course of its history due to difficulties garnering sponsorship and community support creating financial trouble, and has been housed at The Canadian Motorsport Heritage Museum, in Toronto's Downsview Park since 2010.
The Foster Hewitt Memorial Award is an annual accolade honoring a member of the ice hockey broadcasting world. It was named for the Canadian hockey radio broadcaster and newspaper journalist Foster Hewitt, and it has been presented every year at a media luncheon ceremony that occurs late in the year at the Hockey Hall of Fame in BCE Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada since 1984. The winner is chosen by a committee of members composed of radio and television figures that make up the NHL Broadcasters' Association. It is given "to recognize distinguished members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting." Each recipient receives a glass plaque, which is put on display in the Hall of Fame's media section. The ceremony associated with the award is staged separately to the induction of players into the Hockey Hall of Fame because media honorees are not considered full inductees.
Eric Duhatschek is a Canadian sports journalist. Duhatschek won the 2001 Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for distinguished ice hockey journalism and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Duhatschek is also on the selection committee for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Based in Calgary, Alberta, he was the lead hockey columnist for The Globe and Mail and is a writer for The Athletic. Duhatschek rose to prominence for his coverage of the Calgary Flames as a sportswriter for the Calgary Herald.
Saul "Red" Fisher, was a Canadian sports journalist who wrote about the National Hockey League and the Montreal Canadiens in his newspaper column. Fisher received the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 1985. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, and became a Member of the Order of Canada (CM) in 2017.
Trent Gardiner Frayne was a Canadian sportswriter whose career stretched over 60 years. Pierre Berton described Frayne as “likely Canada's greatest sportswriter ever."
Robert Malcomson McKenzie is a Canadian hockey commentator who has covered hockey since joining TSN in 1986. As a TSN Hockey Insider and TSN's Draft Expert, McKenzie provides analysis for NHL on TSN telecasts, as well as for the IIHF World Junior Championships, NHL Draft, NHL Trade Deadline, Free Agency, and for six Olympic Winter Games.
Ken McKenzie was a Canadian newspaper publisher and sports journalist. He served as publicity director of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1946 to 1963. In 1947, he published the first NHL press and radio guide, and co-founded The Hockey News with Will Cote and C$383.81. McKenzie bought out his partner and later sold an 80 per cent share of The Hockey News for a reported $4-million in 1973. He stayed on as its publisher and a columnist until 1981. He also published Canadian Football News, Ontario Golf News, and the magazines Hockey Pictorial and Hockey World.
Yvon Pedneault was a Canadian sports journalist and television and radio broadcaster from Chicoutimi, Quebec, who is known for his coverage of ice hockey. Pedneault is the only person to have worked full-time for all three French-language Montreal daily papers, as well as every French-language television station that has carried Montreal Canadiens games. In 1998, he was awarded the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, an award given annually by the Hockey Hall of Fame to distinguished members of the newspaper profession.
Elmer Ferguson was a Canadian sports journalist. Born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Ferguson moved to Montreal in 1910 and became the sports editor of the Montreal Herald in 1913. Ferguson was one of the most respected and prominent columnists of his time. He became a Hockey Hall of Fame media honouree in 1982 and was the namesake of the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award.
John Matheson was a Canadian sports journalist known for his wide coverage of sports for the Winnipeg Tribune from 1946 to 1980.
Neil Stevens was a Canadian sportswriter who covered numerous sports, including ice hockey, indoor lacrosse, the Olympic Games, and figure skating. He received his first newspaper job in 1970, having previously played lacrosse, and in 1974 began working for the Canadian Press. Stevens has been honoured by the Hockey Hall of Fame, National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame, and St. Catharines Sports Hall of Fame.
Robert James "Red" Burnett was a Canadian sports journalist. A columnist for the Toronto Star, he won the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 1984 and is a member of the media section of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Burnett joined the Star in 1927 originally as a copy boy, and retired in 1975. He died of a heart attack in 1979 at the age of 68. At the time of his death, he had returned to the Star to work as a copy editor as part-time job.
Basil Edmund "Baz" O'Meara, was a Canadian sports journalist. A columnist for the Montreal Star, he won the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 1984 and is a member of the media section of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1979, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
James Alexander Coleman was a Canadian sports journalist, writer and press secretary. His journalism career began with The Winnipeg Tribune in 1931, and included tenures with The Province and The Globe and Mail. He became Canada's first national print syndication sports columnist in 1950, writing for The Canadian Press and Southam Newspapers. He also appeared as a radio sports commentator and hosted The Jim Coleman Show on CBC Television, and served as press secretary for the Ontario Jockey Club and Stampede Park in Calgary. His father was D'Alton Corry Coleman, a former journalist and later president of the Canadian Pacific Railway. While travelling about North America to sporting events as a youth with his father, Coleman developed a lifelong love of horse racing, Canadian football and ice hockey.
Andrew William O'Brien was a Canadian sports journalist. O'Brien spent 42 years covering sports for the Montreal Standard, the Montreal Star, and Weekend Magazine, during which he covered 12 Olympic Games, six Commonwealth Games, 45 Stanley Cups, and 31 Grey Cups.
James Alan Proudfoot was a Canadian sports journalist. He spent his entire 49-year career with the Toronto Star, and served as the newspaper's sports editor. His columns regularly covered ice hockey, horse racing, figure skating and Canadian football. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the Skate Canada Hall of Fame, and received the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Charles Mayer was a Canadian journalist, sportsperson and politician. He made a name in journalism as a sportswriter and municipal reporter with the newspaper La Patrie, and the magazine Le Petit Journal. He was the French-language publicist for the National Hockey League, and a radio sports commentator for the Montreal Royals and the Montreal Canadiens. He later became a press secretary for horse racing in Montreal, then was president of the Canadian Boxing Federation and vice-president of the National Boxing Association. He served six years on the Montreal City Council and campaigned for the city to host a Major League Baseball team and the Summer Olympic Games. He was one of the inaugural appointees to the National Fitness Council of Canada, was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, and was posthumously recognized with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 1985 for his career as a hockey journalist.
Claire Backhouse-Sharpe is a Canadian badminton player and coach. Between 1978 and 1994, she competed in five editions of the Commonwealth Games for Canada, winning a single gold medal and five silver medals. Backhouse-Sharpe also participated in the World Badminton Championships and Uber Cup on five occasions each as part of the Canada national badminton team. She won multiple national and regional titles and was assistant coach and manager of the British Columbia Badminton team at the 1994 Canada Winter Games and the 1995 Western Canada Games. Backhouse-Sharpe was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Badminton Canada Hall of Fame.
Thomas Joseph Fitzgerald was an American sports journalist. He worked for The Boston Globe, reported regularly on the Boston Bruins for more than 30 years, and wrote as a golf correspondent for the Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open. He was the first president of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and the first sportswriter to receive the Lester Patrick Trophy for service to ice hockey in the United States. He was a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee for ten years and was the first journalist to be chairman of the committee. His hockey journalism career was posthumously recognized with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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