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Inductees
Barney Lawrence - Builder - Inducted 2009
Barney founded the Kitchener-Waterloo Racquet Club in 1962. The initial idea came to him in 1956 after playing in the inaugural Buffalo Invitational. His love of that club and its crest were the beginnings of what would later become the Kitchener-Waterloo Racquet Club. Barney held the club’s singles title from 1962-1967 and was the doubles champion on 4 occasions. Barney was also President of the club from its inception until 1968 when he had the foresight to build the first doubles court in Ontario outside of Toronto at the KWRC. Today the KWRC is alive and well having undergone recent renovation and membership growth and is looking forward to celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012.
Barney’s assistance in starting up squash clubs has not been limited to Kitchener. Membership at other clubs, donations to fundraising campaigns, speaking at an event, or playing an exhibition, Barney would graciously give whenever asked. Barney is a founding member at the Richmond Hill Racquet Club & London Squash Club. He is a Life Member at the Toronto Racquet Club, Kitchener-Waterloo Racquet Club, and the former Hamilton Squash Club. In addition he was a member of both the Cambridge Club and Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club for many years. Barney has also lent his playing services to the opening of the TCS&C club’s first hardball singles and doubles courts with partner Don Leggat and to the opening of the Stratford Racquet Club in 1979.
Squash at the University of Waterloo played a significant role in Barney’s life. Barney started teaching at the University in 1967 as an adjunct professor. His passion for squash eventually found its way to the University squash courts. In 1982, his fundraising efforts saw the university campus get its first two international singles courts, supplementing the 4 North American courts it also had.
Barney fostered his passion for life in his players using squash to build their character. Commitment, the importance of friendship, and “giving back” to things that you got so much from were exemplified in Barney as a coach. Today many of Barney’s players continue to be involved in squash, remain good friends, and are giving back to the game, symbolizing the influence that he had in their lives. Barney coached at U of W until 1995 and today the program continues under the guidance of good friend and fellow Jester Clive Porter.
Notably, as a volunteer, Barney was twice President of the Ontario Squash Racquets Association and he chaired and hosted the 1984 Canadian Junior Squash Championships jointly at the Kitchener-Waterloo Racquet Club and University of Waterloo.
Whenever anyone called looking for financial support for a squash event Barney would always contribute. He always had “100 bucks” in his pocket for something related to squash. Many U of W players would attest to the regular patronage of the campus pub after practice and later to the Faculty Club for a meal they were not accustomed to as a student - all of course on Barney’s tab!
Finally, Barney’s contributions to squash have been previously recognized. In 1984, he was inducted into the Waterloo County Sports Hall of Fame and in January of 2001 he was inducted into the University of Waterloo Athletic Hall of Fame.
Donald Leggat - Player - Inducted 2009
Don Leggat’s record is second to none in the history of Ontario squash. When one thinks that he has won 23 National Championships, countless Ontario Championships as well numerous invitational events in both Canada and the United States, there is no question that his record is outstanding.
Don changed the game of doubles in Canada. We all know the shot called the “Philly”. Well, Don might not have invented it but he sure perfected it . Too, the game was not played high on the court but along came Don Leggat and started to hit the ball high and off many walls. It was not only a defensive shot but also very effective as opponents had no idea where to go. This type of play is common today but guess where most Canadians learned the game; from Don Leggat and the players from The Hamilton Thistle Club.
Don Leggat has been involved for some 50+ years in squash. Few people know of his generosity in sending juniors to play in national events or the fact that he has been a contributing Jester since 1958 or President of The Canadian Squash Racquets Association from 1970 to 1972.
On the court Don Leggat was a fierce competitor, played hard, fair and gave no quarter. Off the court, he has been generous to a fault and helped build our game in Ontario and Canada. Too, a great ambassador for Canadian squash wherever he played.
Tony Swift - Player - Inducted 2009
Few players successfully made the transition from hardball to soft ball and then to doubles. Tony Swift has won major championships internationally, nationally and provincially in all three disciplines of the game.
Tony’s playing credentials are impressive, holding three international soft ball titles, six national soft ball titles and four Ontario soft ball titles. But he wasn’t through yet. He also holds five Canadian hardball championship titles.
Having conquered soft ball and hardball, he moved on to doubles where he had an equally distinguished career chalking up three world titles, nine Canadian titles and 10 Ontario titles.
Tony was also responsible for steering the development of the coaching program at the national level and chair Squash Ontario’s Coaching Committee for a number of years. He was a gifted course conductor and was instrumental in mentoring many coaches over the years.
Tony coached the National Women’s Team in 1981 and the National Men’s Team in 1983, 1985 and 1987.
In his spare time, he devoted significant time and effort to the development of officiating world-wide. He was chair of the ISRF (World Squash Federation) Rules and Referees Committee for 10 years from 1981 – 1991; he is currently chair of the Doubles Rules Sub Committee responsible for Rule Changes to North American doubles rules and he has written extensively on both singles and doubles rules and their interpretation. Ernest Howard - Player - Inducted 2007
Ernest Howard was the first Canadian squash player to gain any fame or international recognition outside of Canada when he first won the U.S. National Singles Championship in Buffalo in 1953. He preceded this by winning the Canadian Singles Championship two weeks earlier in Ottawa. At that time, this was an unprecedented feat.
Ernest won 7 Ontario Singles Championships from 1950 to 1957 and he represented Canada 9 times in Lapham Cup matches against the U.S.
Ernest was elected a Jester in 1950; was Vice President of Squash Canada from 1957 – 1962 and was President of the Badminton & Racquet Club in 1970.
Jonathon Power - Player - Inducted 2007
Jonathon is the only North American player to ever reach #1 in the world. He marched to the beat of his own drummer and with his quirky, go-for-broke, robust style he injected excitement into every match that made him the competitor that every tournament director dreamed to have in their event. Not slow to question referees’ calls, Jonathan was a player officials liked to watch but would prefer not to referee! 2006 was Jonathon Power’s 14th and final year on the PSA Tour ending with yet another World #1 ranking. Power won 37 career PSA championships, was ranked #1 for much of 1999 and four months in 2001 and had maintained a ranking in the top 10 since 2000. In 1998 Power won the World Open, the PSA Masters event in 2001, 2002 and 2005 and was winner of the PSA Super Series in both 2002 and 2004. He represented Canada at world championships as both a junior and senior player and won a number of U.S., Canadian and Ontario championships along the way.
Jonathon was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, the only squash player to have achieved that distinction.
Gerald Shugar - Player - Inducted 2007
Gerry Shugars’ squash career has spanned 4 decades, beginning in 1966 to the present. During this period, he achieved North American notoriety in two different games. He won 10 Canadian Hardball Championships and 7 U.S. Hardball Championships.
As North America began to play the soft ball game, Gerry directed his attention to this new game and proceeded to win 11 Canadian Soft Ball Championships and 7 U.S. Soft Ball Championships. He also won the 1985 World Masters Soft Ball Championships.
The number of titles is mind-boggling but they are even more astonishing when seen through the prism of age – Gerry began his squash career after he turned 30 years old.
Anne Smith - Builder - Inducted 2007
Ontario first won Anne’s heart when she captained the Scottish team in the 1981 Women’s World Championships. Prior to that, Anne had come to Toronto as part of a Standard Life sponsored Scottish team tour during which she won the Judy Traviss North American Open.
Heather Wallace - Player - Inducted 2007
Heather is the only Canadian, male or female, in any sport to have won 11 consecutive Canadian titles, 11 of which were closed championships and one, the Canadian Open.
She reached number 3 in the world in 1982, then in 1996 played her way back to number 6 internationally. She won Pan American Gold medals in singles and team in 1995 a mere 20 weeks after rupturing her Achilles tendon. She also added a bronze medal for a third place finish in the World Mixed Doubles in 1997with her partner, Jamie Crombie.
Heather represented Canada senior women for 12 years; she was coached both the Canadian Junior Women and Canadian Senior Women’s Teams.
Before immigrating to Canada, Heather represented Scotland.
Heather coaches at Goodlife Queensview in Ottawa and divides her times between her high performance athletes and juniors.
Susan Swift - Builder - Inducted 2005  Susan’s
contributions to squash in Ontario and in Canada have been many and
varied and were made over an extensive period of time. She was instrumental
in bringing the three fractious factions of squash in Ontario (men’s
hardball, men’s soft ball and women) together to form Squash
Ontario in 1976. She had been involved as a volunteer since 1971 and
was President of the Ontario Ladies Squash Racquets Association during
these formative years. The OLSRA was the only group to have its act
together in those days, and under Sue’s leadership, had already
laid the groundwork for a number of significant initiatives which
enhanced not only women’s squash but squash in general.
Sue had gone to England to confer with the Women’s Squash Rackets Association there to help her develop programs for use in Ontario for both coaching and officiating. These were ultimately adopted by nearly all the squash associations in Canada. Sue was on the first crucial Board of Directors of Squash Ontario that was responsible for establishing the office, hiring an Executive Director and “calming the still choppy waters of amalgamation”. Not satisfied with the work done on the provincial level, Sue used her considerable skills to full advantage on many committees at the national level culminating in her election as President of the Canadian Squash Racquets Association, the predecessor of Squash Canada, in 1981. Also in 1981, Sue chaired the organizing committee of the Women’s World Championships that were being held in North America for the first time. The event was a tremendous success and established Canada as a serious international host of major world events. Sue was also instrumental in creating and organizing the inaugural Ontario Mixed Doubles Championships. In 1986, Sue was awarded the prestigious Special Achievement Award by the Province of Ontario for her outstanding contribution to her sport (83 nominations province-wide were received that year and only 3 chosen). In short, very few squash volunteers have made the kind of contributions in so many ways and for so many years as had Susan Swift. Ian C. Stewart - Builder - Inducted 2005
Enter Ian C. Stewart. His credentials to take on the role of the founding chairman of Squash Ontario were impressive. Ian joined the Badminton & Racquet Club of Toronto in 1952 and was elected president of the club in 1976. He is now an Honorary Life Member. Ian became a Jester in 1964 and was Chairman of the Canadian Jesters from 1978 to 1981, during which time the Jesters celebrated it’s 50th anniversary in 1980. Ian was President of the Canadian Squash Racquets Association (now Squash Canada) from 1964 to 1967. During his Presidency, Ian chaired the very successful Centennial Squash Tournament to celebrate Canada’s 100th birthday. Ian received the Government of Ontario’s Special Achievement award, being the first squash volunteer to be inducted into the province’s Volunteer Hall of Fame. Ian then became Canada’s representative to the International Squash Rackets Federation and from 1981 through 1985 was the chairman of the world governing body. Ian hired the first full time Executive Director. Ian’s tenure with the world association was during a fascinating era, one where there were clear distinctions between amateur and professional squash. Ian is credited with persuading the professional game to adopt the point-a-rally scoring method and to lower the height of the tin. It needs to be said that these changes were not easily sold on the world stage, particularly as both had their grounding in the United States. Both of these changes were eventually made to the professional soft game on a world-wide basis, simultaneously making the game more understandable to the masses and reducing the length of the rallies that were both threatening the game’s marketability. In every association Ian served, he led the only way he knows how – by doing.
Sharif Khan - Player - Inducted 2005  Son
of the legendary Hashim Khan, Sharif was awarded a squash scholarship
at Millfield School, Somerset, England at the age of 11. By 1962,
the young squash prodigy had won every public school title open to
him.
For a decade and a half (late ‘70s to early ‘80s), Sharif Khan dominated all with a squash racquet. He remained the reigning wizard of squash in North American for almost two decades. He won every major North American tournament during that period and holds the twelve-time winning record for the North American Open Championship. Sharif moved to Toronto in 1968, at the Skyline Racquet Club. He continued playing from Toronto, his home base, retiring from competition in 1982. He continues to be actively involved in coaching and promoting squash in Toronto. He is Director of the Sharif Khan Children’s Squash Foundation, affiliated with the Big Brothers and Sisters of Peel. In November 2000, Sharif was named the Honorary Chairman for the YMG Classic in Toronto. Now president of Pros and Khans Sports Marketing, Sharif has expanded his business and squash projects to include hosting a tournament package in Barbados as well as future plans for a professional tour for squash in North America. Recently, Sharif became an active partner in the flourishing squash program at Barton’s Fitness in Collingwood. Jim Mason - Builder - Inducted 2005
To watch Jim Mason spend a weekend in any squash club in Ontario during a junior squash tournament was to receive a lesson in life skills. Jim would appear in his trademark Fedora hat, blue blazer, slacks, and compassionate smile and he made his way to the squash courts. Exchanging greetings with children, parents, and coaches every step of the way, seeming to know each person’s name and something special about their life. As Jim would begin watching a match, he inevitably would engage a child in conversation and you would see his eyes making direct contact with the youngster as they shook hands. Inevitably, a squash ball would come out of Jim’s pocket and he would be showing another youngster the importance of the grip.There would be laughter and penetrating eye contact as Jim would literally will his messages from his brain to the young people. When the tournament ended on Sunday and many felt their work was done, Jim Mason’s labours of love had just begun. He would return to Meaford and compose letters to countless numbers of young players, parents, and coaches encouraging them on their endeavours and giving them reason to press forward with their squash and their lives. Although Jim was the recipient of all of Ontario’s major awards, it speaks to the character of Jim Mason that he was not defined by a singular recognition. His essence was for human caring, one person at a time. Jim Mason made a difference during his lifetime and will continue to make a difference through the people hetouched and there were hundreds, and hundreds.
Jack Fairs - Builder - Inducted 2005
Commitment to coaching has been a hallmark of Jack’s distinguished career. Incredible as it may seem, he played and coached five sports during his lifetime: football, basketball, baseball, tennis, and squash. Even more he produced national champions in tennis, football and squash. The squash community knows Jack best for the record-setting play of the UWO squash team. Since 1970 his teams have won 32 team titles and 22 singles titles in Ontario University Athletics. Their record of 22 consecutive team and 32 titles overall make them the most successful team in UWO history. During his tenure UWO has ranked in the upper echelon of US intercollegiate squash. It won team titles in 1977 and 1980 and singles titles in 1976 and 1989. Team members have earned All-American honours and have been named to numerous All-Tournament teams. Jack Fairs’ honours and awards document his commitment to excellence in coaching and promoting the game of squash. He has been recognized by his peers, his province, his country and by the United States. In 1997 he was the first recipient of the NISRA (National Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association) lifetime achievement award. As a teacher and coach, Jack Fairs has few equals. His work has enriched the lives of countless student/athletes. Plato said, “those having torches will pass them onto others”, and Jack has done that with enthusiasm and dedication. He has been a role model, par excellence, for aspiring teachers and coaches and continues his commitment to advancing the game of squash.
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In
1975, there were 3 organizations who represented squash in Ontario
– the Ontario Men’s Hardball Association, the Ontario
Women’s Squash Racquets Association and the Ontario Men’s
Soft Ball Association. All three approached the Ministry of
Tourism and Recreation, asking for funding. The Ministry was very
comfortable funding squash; however, it’s one condition was
that there be one voice for squash in Ontario, one association.
To bring three such disparate groups together needed someone who
had good, sound business expertise, a love of and background in
the game of squash and the wisdom of Solomon.
“Fun,
fitness, and friendship”. These words were the message that
Jim Mason brought to the squash community his entire life as he
spread the joy of the game of squash to Ontario, Canada and the
world during his lifetime.
Jack
Fairs has worked at the University of Western Ontario for over half
a century as a teacher, mentor, researcher and coach. He is well
known and respected for his extensive contributions in physical
education and coaching, particularly in the sport of squash. He
retired in 1988 but still continues to coach squash at his alma
mater where he is professor emeritus of kinesiology.
