Port Moody Honours Local Sports Heroes
The City of Port Moody announced its newest Sports Display Award inductees at an awards ceremony on Thursday, March 3. The 2015 award recipients are baseball player, coach and manager Wayne Norton; women’s soccer champion Geraldine Donnelly; and Special Olympics medal winner Jay Prentice.
This year marks the second annual Sports Display Award ceremony. The award features local sports talents as positive role models encouraging young people to get involved in sports, lead active and healthy lifestyles, and strive for excellence.
“We’re so proud of these local sports heroes,” says Mayor Mike Clay. “It’s incredible that in a community of this size, we have so many talented and successful athletes, coaches and community sports leaders. I encourage Port Moody residents to come down to the Recreation Complex to see the sports memorabilia on display. It really is inspiring to see what these Port Moody residents have accomplished.”
2015 Inductees:
Wayne Norton
Wayne Norton, also known as “Mr. Port Moody, grew up and attended school in Port Moody Centre. He and his family have lived on Port Moody’s North Shore since 1966.
An athletic scholarship took Norton to Spokane’s Whitworth College where he was scouted by the New York Yankees. He played for AA and AAA teams including the Vancouver Mounties AAA baseball team owned by Nat Bailey.
When his playing days were over, Norton transitioned from player to administrator and manager. He was Technical Director of Baseball BC in the early 1970s into the 80s. During that time, he oversaw the development of training manuals and was national senior team coach, manager and executive. He managed Team Canada at the 1975 Pan American Games. Wayne created the junior national team and in 1986, along with Pat Gillick, founded the National Baseball Institute.
He has worked as a scout with the Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles, and since 2000, with the Seattle Mariners as scouting coordinator for Canada and Europe. Twice he was named Canadian Scout of the Year by the Canadian Baseball Network (1998 and 2013) and was the Mariners’ International Scout of the Year in 2007. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Over his years in the game Norton has either played alongside, scouted or managed a lineup of top-level talents, including Reggie Jackson, Hank Aaron, Pat Gillick, Tony LaRussa, Larry Walker, and Michael Saunders. And it all began in Port Moody.
Geraldine Donnelly
Geraldine Donnelly, better known as Geri, is a pioneer of Canadian women's soccer. Born in London, England she played street soccer with local boys before her family moved to Port Moody, when she was eight years old.
Donnelly played youth soccer for Port Moody at a time when girls’ soccer here was in its infancy, before moving onto the Canadian National Team and the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Geri was an original member of Canada's women's national team back in 1986. She scored the first two goals in program history, a 2:1 victory over USA on 9 July 1986. She participated in two FIFA Women's World Cups (Sweden 1995 and USA 1999) and won one CONCACAF Championship (1998). She also won Canadian Player of the Year honours in 1996 and 1999, an award that was only first introduced in 1993. Geri made a total of 71 appearances for the national team, "retiring" in 1999 as Canada's all-time leader in appearances
It should be noted that although Geri was an incredible soccer player she was a very talented athlete in general and graduated from SFU having completed her studies while on a basketball scholarship.
She ended her playing career in 2009 after guiding Surrey United to six consecutive provincial titles. Donnelly was named to Canada's all- time women's team in 2012 and was selected as a member of the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014, and will be inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame June 2016.
Jay Prentice
Jay Prentice has lived in Port Moody with his family since he was 5 years old and is a graduate of Heritage Woods Secondary School.
From a very early age Jay has enjoyed and excelled in athletics, and has participated as a Special Olympics athlete since 2007. He first competed in the Special Olympics as a baseball player, and now participates in various Winter and Summer Games sports including speed skating, snowshoeing, swimming, basketball, fitness, soccer and track & field!
Jay represented BC and won medals at both the Canadian National, Summer and Winter Games. He also received several medals at the BC Games. In Jay’s very first year of speed skating he qualified for the BC Winter Games and his exceptional results lead him to the 2012 Canadian Winter games in St. Albert, Alberta where he won Bronze, Silver and Gold in 3 Speed Skating events.
Jay is an extraordinary athlete and became the fastest male in BC in the 100m and 200m, qualifying him to go to the 2014 Canadian National Summer games where he won Bronze in the 400m event.
Past recipients include: Ryan Johansen, Jamie Constable, Bob Flavelle, Tracy Wilson, and the Port Moody Secondary 2002 Cheer Team.
Information on the Sport Display Award nomination criteria and process is available on the City’s website.