Hazel McCallion: 2019 Hockey Hall of Fame Nomination Letter

(NOTE: If inducted in 2019, Hazel McCallion would become the first female builder honoured by Hockey Hall of Fame)

Esteemed members of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee,

I would like to nominate Hazel McCallion for your consideration for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders category in 2019.

I think we can all agree that at 97, Hazel McCallion may not have many more opportunities to attend a ceremony where she is recognized for her contributions to hockey.?

I, therefore, ask that as you make your selections for the 2019 inductions, that you consider this extraordinary woman who has been a pioneer as a player and builder, creating opportunities for female hockey players throughout her life, tenaciously fighting to open doors that were previously padlocked firmly closed.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

TWITTER PETITION

A Twitter petition that was started in April 2018 has received 585 retweets, 1260 likes, and nearly 125,000 impressions. Among those who have signed the petition are:

Lisa Bowes ?(Award-winning author/journalist), Therese Brisson (2002 Olympic gold medalist, 1998 Olympic silver medalist, Canadian Women’s Hockey Team), Shirley Cameron (1990 World Women's Hockey Championship gold medalist, Canadian Women’s Hockey Team), Bonnie Crombie (Mayor of Mississauga), Damien Cox ?(Toronto Star columnist), Hayleigh Cudmore ?(2016 Clarkson Cup champion: Calgary Inferno. Co-founder CWHLPA), Lisa Haley (Jordan) ?(2014 Olympic gold medalist & 2x World Champion: Assistant Coach,?Canadian Women’s Hockey Team), Roy MacGregor ?(Award-winning author/Globe & Mail columnist), Fielding Montgomery ?(2018 Clarkson Cup champion: Markham Thunder), Digit Murphy (2x Clarkson Cup champion & & 2013 CWHL Coach of the Year), Sarah Nurse ?(2018 Olympic silver medalist: Canadian Women’s Hockey Team), Cheryl Pounder (2x Olympic gold medalist, Canadian Women’s Hockey Team), Carolyne Prevost ?(2014 Clarkson Cup champion, Toronto Furies), Chelsea Purcell? (2018 Clarkson Cup champion: General Manager, Markham Thunder), Jill Saulnier (2018 Olympic silver medalist: Canadian Women’s Hockey Team), Tara Slone (Rogers Hometown Hockey), Fiona Smith-Bell ?(2x World Champion & 1998 Olympic silver medalist: Canadian Women’s Hockey Team), Blayre Turnbull ?(2018 Olympic silver medalist: Canadian Women’s Hockey Team), Jessie Vella ?(2014 Clarkson Cup champion, Toronto Furies), Jim Watson (Mayor of Ottawa), Taylor Woods ?(2018 Clarkson Cup champion: Markham Thunder)

HAZEL McCALLION BIOGRAPHY

Hazel Journeaux is born on February 14,?1921?in Port Daniel, QC (pictured above). In 1926, she receives a pair of skates from her brother Lockhart and is soon playing pond hockey with her brother and two sisters. In the 1930s, Hazel is a star in the Gaspé Coast League in Quebec, made up of girls from Chandler, Port-Daniel and New Carlisle.

Hazel moves to Montreal in the 1940s & plays centre for the Kik Cola squad in the three-team Montreal women’s league for two seasons (1940-41 & 1941-42). Kik Cola pays her $5 per game, making her the first-ever professional female hockey player.

Hazel is elected mayor of Mississauga, ON in 1978. In the late 1970s, she also joins the board of the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) where she fights “to ensure girls get the coaching and ice time to develop their hockey skills.” During the next two decades, Hazel and OWHA President Fran Rider lobby for a women’s world hockey championship and to have women's hockey added to the Olympic games .

In 1987, with Hazel serving as the honorary chairperson, the OWHA hosts the first Women’s World Hockey Tournament in North York, ON (this tournament was not sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) ). “The event was an overwhelming success, with teams representing Canada, Ontario, United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Holland & Japan competing against one another. 5 other countries—Australia, China, Norway, the UK, and West Germany— sent delegates to watch and plan for the future" [quote from Brian McFarlane].?

Team Canada wins the Women’s World Hockey Tournament in April 1987 and is presented with the McCallion World Cup (pictured below is Hazel (middle) with captain Marion Coveny (left) & goalie Cathy Phillips (right)), a 35 lb. trophy that today sits in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The success of the 1987 tournament forces the IIHF to take notice of women's hockey. Three years later in 1990, the IIHF holds the first ever World Women’s Hockey Championships in Ottawa, ON.

In 1998, Hazel McCallion leads the charge to build the Hershey Centre in Mississauga which helps a group headed by Don Cherry secure an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) franchise, the Mississauga IceDogs.

Hazel serves as the honorary chairperson of the 1997 IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championship . In 2000, she serves the same role and is instrumental in bringing the tournament to her home city of Mississauga.

In 2001, Hazel is inducted into the?Mississauga Sports Hall of Fame .?

In 2002, Hazel institutes the Mayor's Sportsmanlike Award for the eight minor hockey associations in Mississauga to act as "an incentive for good and fair play."

In 2007, Hockey Canada ’s Female Hockey Council awards Hazel with the?Female Hockey Breakthrough Award . Nominated by the branch office in Calgary, McCallion?is recognized?for her “invaluable contribution to Canada’s national winter game.”

Hazel retires from politics in 2014, having served thirty-six years as mayor of Mississauga. In that time, fourteen arenas (with a total of twenty-five artificial rinks) are built in Mississauga.

Today at age 97, Hazel is still active in hockey, visiting her office at the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) two or three times a week.

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LISTEN: GLOBAL NEWS RADIO AM640 (April 17, 2018): Petition launched to get Hazel McCallion into Hockey Hall of Fame

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SUPPORTING QUOTES

2013 IIHF World Girls Hockey Weekend (Official Program):?“Girls’ hockey struggled against tremendous hostility. It was almost impossible to get ice time, sponsorship support or any credibility. Hazel became an active lobbyist. If girls and women could not get ice time, she made phone calls and secured support. Hazel encouraged the corporate sector to get involved and they did, making it possible for more girls to enjoy hockey and gain valuable skills.”

Mississauga Sports Council :?"It is well-known in the hierarchy of female hockey that Hazel McCallion - along with long-time Mississauga friend Fran Rider, another queen-pin on the Canadian female hockey arena - was the leader in the lobby for the inclusion of women's hockey into the?winter?Olympic program."

Fran Rider (President, Ontario Women's Hockey Association):?“Hazel gave women’s hockey credibility. Without her, we wouldn’t have gotten here. She not only put her name to [women’s hockey], she... would attend any women’s hockey event and ask, ‘What else can I do to help?’ The women’s hockey community calls her our mayor.”

Don Cherry (quote from Coach's Corner):?"There's?14 arenas, so you can walk to them in Mississauga. You know why? Hurricane Hazel. She loves hockey... She built them all for the kids, she loves hockey. The best mayor there ever was."

Michele Muzzi (Author, Picks and Sticks):?“Hazel was the first person, it seemed, in any kind of political position in Canada to acknowledge women's hockey.”

Hazel McCallion:?“We also spent two decades lobbying for women's world championships and to get women's hockey included in the Olympics... I remember Fran [Rider] and me being told by some high-placed international hockey officials that there would not be a women’s world championship in our lifetimes and there would never be women's hockey in the Olympics.”

SOURCES

Proud Past, Bright Future: One Hundred Years of Canadian Women's Hockey ?by Brian McFarlane?(Stoddart Pub; First Edition edition (Dec.?1, 1994))

On the Edge: Women Making Hockey History ?by?Elizabeth Etue & Megan K. Williams?(Second Story Press; 1 edition (Sept. 11, 1996))

Nos Glorieuses: Plus de cent?ans?de hockey féminin?au?Québec ?(100+ Years of Quebec Women's Hockey)?by?Lynda Baril?(La Presse (Nov. 12, 2013))

Hurricane Hazel: A Life With Purpose ?by Hazel McCallion &?Robert Brehl (HarperCollins Publishers; 1st Edition edition (Oct. 28 2014))

At age 96, Hazel McCallion remains a hurricane ?by?David Rider (Toronto Star (Dec. 23, 2017))

Hockey Canada honours Hazel ?by John Stewart (Mississauga News (May 28, 2007))

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The Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee is made up of the following individuals: John Davidson (Chair), Jim Gregory (Chair Emeritus), David Branch , Brian Burke , Colin Campbell, Bob Clarke, Marc de Foy , Eric Duhatschek , Michael Farber , Ron Francis , Mike Gartner, Anders Hedberg, Jari Kurri, Igor Larionov , Pierre McGuire , Bob McKenzie , David Poile and Luc Robitaille .