The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
"It is my pleasure, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum (SSHFM), to confirm that the nomination submitted on behalf of the 1956-57 Flin Flon Bombers Junior Hockey Team has been chosen for induction into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame," read a letter from the SSHFM to nominator Gail Baker. The ceremony, which is to take place in June, will honour the team that brought home the Memorial Cup for the first time as an SJHL team in 1957. As many either remember or remember hearing, the Maroon and White pulled off an unlikely win against the Ottawa-Hull Canadiens in game seven of the series. From there, the team Ð led by captain Ted Hampson Ð returned to Flin Flon with cup in hand as they were greeted by all of Flin Flon outside the Whitney Forum. Fifty years later, the Whitney Forum sat on 57 Memorial Cup Drive, as a tribute to the team. Hampson, who was joined by a few other members of the team, said they were "humbled" by the sign erected. Also joining Hampson were former teammates Mike Kardash, Rod Lee, Harvey Flemming and Cliff Lennartz along with Mayor Tom Therien and Bomber legend Bob Clarke. To this day, as sports fans and athletes alike walk into the Whitney Forum, they walk past the 57 Memorial Cup Drive sign. Hampson was quoted by the Star Phoenix as saying "it was kind of featured as a Cinderella-type victory, but, in a lot of ways, it wasn't because the Saskatchewan junior league was getting stronger at the time. "We were representing the best team in the West. The thing is, we had a lot homegrown players that had grown up together, and of course, the isolation of Flin Flon and area is well known. "Everybody was behind the team." The formal induction ceremony will take place at the 43rd Annual Induction Dinner to be held at the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina on Saturday, June 13. "We sincerely hope that you and other representatives of the Flin Flon community will be available to attend on that date," the letter read. The 1956-57 Flin Flon Bombers team was made up of: Orland Kurtenbach; Wayne Sproxton; Rod Lee; Carl Forster; Cliff Lennartz; Mel Pearson; Pat Ginnell; Harvey Fleming; Barry Beatty; Ron Hutchinson; Jean Guathier; Mike Kardash; George Konik; Duane Rupp; Ken Willey; Lynn Davis; George Wood; and Ted Hampson. They were coached by Bob Kirk.
