Sports: An Important Part of our Heritage
Initiated by the Summerside and Area Historical Society, the Sports Heritage Committee has the endorsement of the Mayor and City Council to recognize and celebrate area athletes, teams, coaches, officials, and builders of sport, past and present, who have brought honour to their sport and to the City of Summerside and Area. The mandate of the Committee is to publicly record the history of sport in various ways at Consolidated Credit Union Place and Queen Elizabeth Ball Park for the benefit of our area citizens and the enjoyment of visitors.
The Sports Heritage Committee has seen many accomplishments, including:
- Preserving the John “the Realm” McNeill Sports Memorabilia Collection at the Lefurgey Culture Centre. McNeill, a legendary local sports reporter and inductee in the PEI Sports Hall of Fame, had written approximately 36 million words, mostly typed one-fingered on his trusty typewriter.
- Renaming the Queen Elizabeth Park Baseball Field to Legends Field to honour those who have made a significant contribution to baseball in the Summerside area. The committee also helped to establish an Honour Roll to recognize individuals, teams, or other organizations that have made outstanding contributions as builders, promoters, organizers, supporters, players, coaches, managers, or volunteers to the sport of baseball in the Summerside area.
- Creating a Sports Wall of Fame on the 3rd floor of Credit Union Place. In addition, they also worked to showcase photos of local professional sports personalities in the entrance hallway of Credit Union Place and the story of Cahill Stadium and Steele Arena on the wall near the stairway.
Resident members of the Sports Heritage Committee include:
- Paul H. Schurman
- Paul Power
- Gerard Smith
- Marcia Whelan
- George Dalton
- Roger Ahern
- Wayne Wright
- Bob Steele
If you are interested in helping preserve our rich sports history, we welcome your participation in our Committee.
For more information, contact:
Paul Power, Chair
City of Summerside Sports Heritage Committee
[email protected]
902.888.2198
Related External Links:
PEI Sports Hall of Fame