Powless named to Hall of Fame
Key man in 1950s Peterborough dynasty is only the second lacrosse player to be enshrined
One of the key players in Peterborough’s 1950s lacrosse dynasty has been named to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Ross Powless, who died in 2003 at the age of 76, is just the second lacrosse inductee into Canada’s sports shrine, joining his son Gaylord Powless who was enshrined in ’17.
Ross Powless, inducted as a builder, was one of six athletes and five builders announced Wednesday.
Mr. Powless, from Six Nations, won three Mann Cup titles with Peterborough Timbermen and Trailermen teams, in 1951, ’52 and ’53. He won the Mike Kelley Memorial Trophy as Mann Cup MVP in ’53.
“He was a great athlete who loved the game and was a good teammate,” said Garry Robinson, 89, a Peterborough native who played with Powless in 1952 and ’53. “He was a true sportsman, too. I don’t really remember him ever being in a fight. I was quite a bit younger and he helped me along and was really good to the younger players.”
Gail Powless Ayres, 72, one of 14 children of Ross and Wilma Powless, said it was a proud day for the family.
“I just cried,” Ayres said. “It was something we talked about after Gaylord got inducted. That we need to do this for Dad.”
She said Julie McCrea, who has helped nominate other Indigenous athletes, was instrumental in researching and writing nominations for both Gaylord and Ross.
“We couldn’t have done it without her,” Ayres said.
She said her father’s greatest memories of Peterborough were of friendships he developed, teammates such as Mick Magee, Ike Hildebrand and Rusty Slater.
“With Dad, sports were friendships and he made a lot of them” Ayres said. “I don’t think there is any place in southern Ontario or any lacrosse town he’d go to where he couldn’t call somebody.”
Considered one of the fathers of modern lacrosse in Canada, the sport offered Powless a powerful way to reclaim his heritage after enduring extreme deprivation and isolation from family and culture at residential school.
Taking up lacrosse at 12, his exceptional skill and dedication quickly caught the attention of teams across Canada and the United States. Disciplined and fair, he raised the game’s profile wherever he played.
In 1951 and ’52, he claimed the Tom Longboat Award as most outstanding First Nations athlete in Ontario.
As player-coach of the Hamilton Lincoln Burners Senior A team between 1956 and ’58, he won awards for the league scoring championship, MVP, best defensive player and coach of the year.
He coached Indigenous and non-Indigenous teams to championships at every level of competition, from divisional to international tournaments.
Powless led the Canadian Senior Men’s Lacrosse Team to defeat the United States at Expo 67 in Montreal.
In ’74, he coached six of his sons on the Ontario First Nations team that claimed the national title in the North American Indian Lacrosse Tournament in Nanaimo, B.C.
Despite encountering discrimination and racism from spectators and opponents, Powless continually broke down barriers for Indigenous peoples with his exemplary sportsmanship, athleticism, coaching and organizational leadership.
In 1997, the Ontario Recreation Association recognized his efforts in his community with the Volunteer Service Award.
Ross and Gaylord Powless were the first father and son to be inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
They’re the fourth father-son duo in Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, joining Joe Wright Sr. and Joe Wright Jr., Gilles and Jacques Villeneuve and Jake Gaudaur Sr. and Jake Gaudaur Jr.
Joining him in Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame 2020 induction class are John “Jackie”
Barrett (athlete, powerlifting and Special Olympian), Sonja Gaudet (athlete, wheelchair curling), Diane Jones-Konihowski (athlete, pentathlon), Lorie Kane (athlete, golf), Eric Lamaze and Hickstead (team, equestrian show jumping), Steve Nash (athlete, basketball), Duncan Campbell (builder, wheelchair rugby), Sheldon Kennedy (builder, ice hockey), Judy Kent (builder, sports administration) and Willie O’Ree (builder, ice hockey).