Back in 1953 when he was a 17-year-old left winger freshly cut from the major junior Moose Jaw Canucks, Orv Claffey responded to a newspaper ad which changed his life.
He accepted an offer to move to B.C. to play senior hockey for the Prince George Lumbermen. Little did Claffey know that, 63 years later, it would open the door for him to join the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame.
As a pioneer athlete Claffey is one of five inductees, along with fastball coach and builder Nino Fabbro, fastball/baseball coach and builder Charlie Ghostkeeper, and baseball/hockey administrator Audrey Foster.
They were announced Wednesday as the newest members of the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and will be the focus of a ceremonial banquet set for April 30 at the Hart Community Centre, 4900 Austin Road.
Claffey played hockey as a forward and defenceman for an astounding 68 years from 1940-2008 and was an essential ingredient for the Prince George Mohawks senior team from 1958-1969. He moved on to oldtimers hockey and also served 35 years as a referee, which led to his induction in the Canadian Adult Rec Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.
He continues to contribute to the game, volunteering his time as a penalty timekeeper at home games of the Prince George Cougars and Prince George Spruce Kings.
Fabbro became a key figure with the Spruce City Men's Fastball Association shortly after he was hired as a full-time school teacher in the early 1970's.
He served 10 years as SCMFA president from 1981-1990 and was instrumental in the building a junior men's fastball program to help attract young players to the men's league. His Blazers junior teams competed at the national level and they hosted the Canadian junior fastball championship in 1995. He helped revive the junior team as the Timberwolves in the 2000s.
During his tenure as league president, Fabbro helped spearhead the reconstruction of Spruce City Stadium, adding bleachers on both sides and a full concession behind home plate.
Ghostkeeper, who died in 2012, was the founder of the Prince George Native Fastball Tournament, which has been an annual summer event for close to 50 years. He also started the Hart Baseball League and helped coach local teams. Ghostkeeper devoted his life to helping kids get involved in sports and was the founding organizer of the United Native Nations Aboriginal Youth Hockey Tournament.
He contributed his organizing expertise to the SCMFA and Prince George Special Olympics and also served as a coach at the Western Canadian Aboriginal Hockey Championship. He also managed Prince George teams at the Canadian Aboriginal Fastball championship.
Foster's involvement with baseball started in the late '70s when she became a concession worker watching her kids play in the Nechako Little League. She became league president in 1987 and liked the job so much she held it for 19 years.
Foster helped found the Challenger Baseball League for disabled players of all ages in 1995 and her efforts to promote youth baseball led to the construction of Volunteer Park on Heather Road that same year.
As bid committee chair she helped bring the Canadian Little League championship to Prince George in 1996, which was played at Joe Martin Field. Foster continues to be involved in minor sports as office manager for the Prince George Minor Hockey Association.
