Sports Hall of Fame opens its doors
For the 16th time since 1974, the Department of Recreation and Athletics inducted new members into the Concordia Sports Hall of Fame.
At a gala dinner held at the John Molson reception room at Molson Breweries on Oct. 1, the inductees were Concordia Stinger basketball player Gary McKeigan, Sir George Williams hockey stars Alex Matthew and Brian Chapman, Stingers rugby player Josée Lacasse, Loyola- Concordia basketball and football coach Doug Daigneault, and the 1991 Concordia women’s rugby team.
Originally from Brantford, Ont., McKeigan joined the Stingers men’s basketball team in 1979. Regarded not only for his defensive skills, the six-foot-six forward scored 2 238 points during the four years he played at Concordia.
Matthew, a right-winger, is considered one of the most talented players in the history of Sir George Williams University’s men’s hockey program, respected for his combination of smooth skating, puck handling and shooting ability. As goaltender, the colourful and accomplished Chapman was respected for his fierce competitive spirit, his lightning-quick reflexes and his great agility. Both played in the mid-60s.
Lacasse was integral to Concordia’s conference championships in 1991 and ’92. In her three years here, she was named the Stingers’ outstanding rookie, she earned three consecutive Quebec Student Sports Federation all-star honours, and was named Concordia’s captain and Most Valuable Player twice. The 1991 season for the Stingers women’s rugby team rolled up an 8-1 win-loss record in Quebec university regular season action, outscoring its opponents 162-4.
From 1966 to ’89, Daigneault amassed an exceptional 487-243 record with 14 conference titles as a basketball coach at Loyola College and Concordia University (including a 66 consecutive game winning streak in league play from 1968 to ’72).