Inductees for year 1997

Jack Furlotte

Category: Builder

Jack Furlotte may not have been born in Bathurst, but this city has certainly benefited the most from this gentleman's dedication to the sports of hockey and baseball and, to a lesser degree, softball and bowling. It was for this reason that the Bathurst Sports Hall of Fame honoured him in 1997 by inducting him into the Builder category. As a player, he showed a commitment and dedication to every sport he practised. But it was in later years, when he switched to coaching and managing, that his true gifts shone through. He guided many hockey and baseball teams to great heights, and his volunteer efforts were felt throughout this community, this province and this country, in ways too numerous to mention. However, in this hockey town, he will always be remembered as the man who coached the 1970-71 Bathurst Papermakers hockey team to the Canadian Intermediate A hockey championship. And they achieved that success, ironically, with purely home-grown talent. "That's what made winning the cup so special," Jack Furlotte would later say. This city would say, with his induction into the Bathurst Sports Hall of Fame, that he was certainly one of the key ingredients to making that year so special, in so many ways.

Joe Haché

Category: Player

Joe Haché, once referred to as the "father of the Bathurst Papermakers" hockey teams, took his rightful place in the Bathurst Sports Hall of Fame's Player category in 1997. A gifted athlete and leader his whole life, it was a rookie 16 year old who first laced up his skates and donned a Bathurst Papermaker's jersey. The rest, as they say, is history. He went on to star with that team for more than 20 years. Although he was also a gifted baseball player and a natural at every sport he cared to try his hands at, it was hockey which lofted him to the upper echelons of Bathurst sport. A perennial all-star selection, he led the Papermaker's teams to various local, provincial and maritime championships. However, it was his leadership role as captain of the team which claimed the Canadian Intermediate A hockey championship in 1970-71 which lofted him to star status in the community. The name Joe Haché is, today, synonymous with sport in Bathurst, and well it should be When he scored at the 17:21 mark of the second, sudden-death overtime period in game one of the Hardy Cup final that fateful spring of 1971, he gave thousands of local hockey fans a memory they will never forget. His dedication to sports in Bathurst is another such fond memory.

Léo Desjardins

Category: Builder

After running for the past 35 years, Léo Desjardins arrived at not one, but two, ultimate destinations late in 1997. It was around that time he completed his 50th marathon and, a few weeks later, was inducted into the Builder category of the Bathurst Sports Hall of Fame. The drive and determination which one needs to complete so many tests of physical endurance obviously transformed themselves into his everyday life as well, because that's where he spent the remainder of his energy. He coached young cyclists for the "Jeux de l'Acadie", was a founding member of two local running clubs, and was extremely active in many facets of community life, from service clubs and youth projects to choirs and fund-raisers. His eagerness to work with members of his community, youth in particular, and to provide them with a hands-on demonstration of what leading a healthy lifestyle can accomplish, was his testament. He led by example and was consistent in that leadership. He was a great leader.