BOUND FOR SPORTS HALL
ALBERTA SPORTS HALL OF FAME NAMES INDUCTEES
Olympic boxer Rick Duff, baseball builder Doug Jones to be inducted
The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and two men who have made the Lethbridge sports community richer are two of the newest inductees.
Events took place across the province on Monday to announce the team and 11 individuals who will be inducted this year. In Lethbridge, Gary Bowie announced that Olympic boxer Rick Duff and baseball builder Doug Jones will be inducted.
When Duff was young, he walked into a boxing gym due to some schoolyard bullying.
“It wasn’t long until I actually fell in love with the sport, jumped in the ring and actually competed,” said Duff, who competed at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. “The first couple of times I kind of got beat up a little bit, I was just too stubborn to quit. I learned to improve and learned how to win.”
Duff was an active boxer from 1979-1989 under Lethbridge Boxing Club coach Kai Yip.
“I put a lot of work into it, my goal was to get into the Olympics,” said Duff.
Six years ago, Duff took over as coach of the Lethbridge Boxing Club.
Duff said he hopes his induction helps inspire young athletes to follow their dreams.
“It’s really important to show young people, especially young boxers, that there is success and there’s things you get acknowledged for your hard work,” said Duff.
Jones was the president of Baseball Alberta and helped establish the Prairie Baseball Academy, the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball and the Badlands Baseball Academy, and was a key player in the creation of the Western Major Baseball League.
Jones said he was shocked to hear the Hall of Fame news but appreciated being recognized by some of his peers.
“Really, what it is to me is I’ve helped people in rural Alberta, because sometimes I don’t think we have the same opportunities there,” said Jones.
It’s his passion for kids that has motivated him all these years.
“I like working with kids and sports. You can’t go wrong working with kids, that’s just the way it is.”
The Hall of Fame celebrates Alberta’s sporting history whether it be through athletes, builders, pioneers, media or personal achievement.
The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet will take place in Red Deer on May 26 at the Sheraton. Tickets are $125 per person or $1,000 for a table of eight and can be purchased by phoning 403-341-8614.
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