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2022 Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame inductees
Today was quite the day of sporting memories and storytelling at Michelangelo’s Banquet Centre in Hamilton as the Class of 2022 were inducted into the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame. Entering the hall were golfer Nick Genovese, runner Johnny Miles, Dragon Boater Kathy Levy, football player Jim Young and sport builder Dr. Gene Sutton.
NICK GENOVESE (1928-2005)
The Dundas native won the Ontario Blind Golfers Championship 12 times between 1950-1974, the Canadian Blind Golfers Championship six times between 1952-1957, and the Western Canadian Blind Golfers Championship in 1959 and 1964. After a 19-year layoff, Genovese claimed the Ontario Visually Impaired Golf Totally Blind Division Championship seven times from 1991-1998, and the OVIG Totally Blind Senior Men’s Championship three times between 2001 and 2004. At 75, Genovese was recognized as the ‘Oldest Totally Blind’ golfer in North America.
JOHNNY MILES (1905-2003)
The native of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England who made Hamilton his home stunned the running community as the 20-year-old won the Boston Marathon in 1926, despite running 26 miles only once prior. In 1929, Miles captured his second Boston Marathon title, setting a new course record in the process. Other accomplishments include the 1928 Canadian 10,000-meter championship and top-20 finishes in the 1928 & 1932 Summer Olympics. Miles was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1982.
KATHY LEVY
Described as a person who made a difference in the lives and health of many women in the community, the breast cancer survivor discovered Dragon Boat racing in 1998. In 2010, the Burlington paddler won the International Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Challenge defeating 73 teams from around the world. After joining the Canadian National Dragon Boat squad, Levy steered the Women’s Grand Masters boat and the Grand Masters Mixed boat to Gold Medals at the World Championships in Germany. For her tremendous community service, Levy was awarded the Queen’s ‘Golden Jubilee Award’.
JIM YOUNG
From Westdale Secondary in Hamilton, Young did it all on the football field as the all-star from Queen’s University played two years in the National Football League with Minnesota (1965-66) and twelve seasons in the Canadian Football League with BC (1967-1979). To date, Young was involved in the only trade between the CFL and NFL when he was dealt to the Lions and QB Joe Kapp ended up with the Vikings.
Nicknamed “Dirty Thirty” due to his aggressive style of play, the receiver and running back was a 2-time winner of the CFL Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 1970 and 1972. Young was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1994 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.
DR. GENE SUTTON (1945-2009)
Dr. Sutton was a member of Gymnastics Canada’s Board of Directors for 21 years, including 17 as vice-chair.
She was Canada’s chef de mission at the 2003 Pan Am Games and was a leader behind the 2015 Pan Am Games being held in Hamilton and the Golden Horseshoe along with the Canadian Gymnastics Championship at McMaster University in 1998.
Sutton, who is a former President of Sport Hamilton taught for 30 years at Winona, Scott Park, and Delta Secondary Schools, McMaster, Mohawk, and Seneca Colleges.
