A world-class swimmer and two local legends are being inducted into the Orillia Sports Hall of Fame in April.
“This is quite a surprise,” swimmer David Town said at a Wednesday afternoon media conference at the Orillia Waterfront Centre where this year’s class of inductees was unveiled.
Town will be joined in the hall by a pair of builders: Bill Watters and Wayne Dowswell.
Dowswell’s name is synonymous with wrestling and weight-lifting far beyond Orillia’s borders.
While the phys-ed teacher led Park Street Collegiate Institute to 19 consecutive city wrestling championships, his athletes shone on mats provincially, nationally and far beyond.
He also started a weight-lifting club at the school - until the school forced him to shut it down due to liability concerns.
Undaunted, he moved the club to the YMCA and then built the ‘Muscle Barn’ on his farm which is still going strong at another venue.
His nomination to the Sports Hall of Fame was supported by 23 letters from athletes he coached over three decades.
“Those letters were so heart-felt and so touching - they really brought home to me the number of lives he impacted,” said his daughter, Alison, who was joined by her sister, Lynn, at Wednesday’s event on behalf of their father who is vacationing.
Alison explained that Alzheimer’s Disease is starting to take a toll on their father. When he received the call notifying him of his induction, he knew it was an important call, she explained.
“I was in the room when my dad got the call,” she said, fighting back tears. “After he hung up, I explained it to him. I said ‘You won!’ I gave him a high five and said ‘You’re being inducted into the Orillia Sports Hall of Fame,’” she recalled.
“He had tears welling up in his eyes and the emotion on his face was just priceless,” said Alison. “It was a really special moment.”
Lynn Dowswell said her father’s impact continues to be felt.
“Two of his (former) wrestlers now coach with the Mariposa Wrestling Club,” she said. “Looking back, what you do on a daily basis, to see how it touches people’s lives, is amazing.”
Bill Watters has also had an amazing impact on the sports world.
He was a star athlete at ODCVI and the University of Toronto, before becoming an NHL player agent and broadcaster. He also ran the Orr Walton Sports Camp and was instrumental in it being located in Orillia, said Bill Smith, who nominated Watters.
From 1991 to 2003, he was the assistant general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and was also a founder and part-owner of the Toronto Rock National Lacrosse League team. He also went on to help start the Ottawa Renegades CFL team and was instrumental in creating that team’s ownership group.
“This is a tremendous honour for my father,” said Brad Watters, noting his father is in Florida where he resides during the winter months.
“He wanted me to convey how truly proud he was,” said Brad. “He’s always been an Orillia boy and still resides here.”
He said this is the “time in life where it’s important to him to be recognized by his hometown ... he’s just very proud of it and we're proud of it,” said Brad.
“His five brothers and sisters who live in town are very excited about it,” he said, adding it’s a “great honour to be recognized by the city of Orillia.”
He said his father is looking forward to being inducted. “My father will speak for himself on April 18, but take note, it’s truly an honour for him to be recognized and he’s looking forward to the 18th.”
Town said he was surprised to be joining the hall; his brother, Rob, was inducted two years ago.
“I’m a local historian and I’ve done a lot of research on the history of athletics in Orillia and I know there’s a whole lot of athletes better than me still out there,” said Town.
But that’s modesty talking.
Town was an elite swimmer who dominated the sport locally and provincially. He won seven gold medals at the CIAU championships for the University of Toronto (1979-84), struck gold at the Canada Games (1981) and nearly made Canada’s Olympic team in 1984.
“His misfortune was to compete in the era of (world record holders) Alex Baumann, Victor Davis and Graham Smith,” said Rob Town, who nominated his brother for the hall.
Town continues to be a top-ranked swimmer; he has more than 60 Canadian and four world records in masters swimming and is a long-time coach of Orillia’s masters swimmers.
“I thank you for the recognition and I hope I can live up to it,” said Town.
Mike Ladouceur, the chair of Sport Orillia, noted this is the sixth class of inductees. In the first five years, 13 athletes and seven builders were inducted.
“This year there were seven nominees,” said Ladouceur, noting an arms-length committee uses a scoring system to adjudicate the community-driven nomination process.
"This is a great year in terms of nominations and shows the calibre of athletes coming out of Orillia,” said Ladouceur. “We’re really proud of our induction class and excited to celebrate on April 18.”
The three new honourees will be officially inducted on April 18 at the 2020 Orillia Sports Hall of Fame Gala at Hawk Ridge Golf and Country Club. Tickets are $90.
To purchase tickets or for more information, visit sportorillia.com.
