1999 Inductees

Builders

Jamie Robillard

Jamie Robillard – Nominated by Charles Dyer,
Jamie’s organizational skills came to light in 1976 at the age of 17, when he organized a street hockey ‘showdown’, which pitted the east side of town against the west. It also planted a seed for a new town sport and the Penetanguishene-Midland Ball Hockey League was formed with Jamie as second year President, a position he has held for most of the past 22 years.
Besides being a player, team rep and referee in the beginning, he looked after registration, scheduling and was the media liaison. His men’s league quickly grew from eight teams to eleven. In 1979, he started a Minor Ball Hockey Division which today numbers over 800 players
He joined the Ontario Ball Hockey Association’s Board of Directors in 1981, acting as Provincial Tournament Director and Chair of both the Minor and Men’s Provincial Championships. In 1985, he was the Ontario Ball Hockey Championship Convenor and was instrumental in our town hosting seven different Provincial Championship Finals at all levels over the years.
In 1993, he received the OBHA’s highest honour, its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Erich Deininger

Erich Deininger – Nominated by Trudy Schmidkunz,
With a love of soccer, he received his referee’s license in Germany in 1953, refereeing in Germany, Austria and Switzerland before immigrating to Canada in 1954.
He acquired a Level 3 Soccer Referee’s Certificate in 1956, refereeing in the Newmarket League. He moved to Penetanguishene in 1961, where he advanced to a Referee Level 2 and then the highest level, a Level 1, in the 1970s.
Soon, the well-respected Deininger was crisscrossing the province, officiating at games from Newmarket to Huntsville to Orangeville. He eventually dropped back to Level 3 of refereeing which included local high schools, women’s and men’s leagues plus countless tournaments.
He was recognized for his long-time contribution to soccer refereeing when a surprise banquet in his honour was hosted in Midland by the High School Athletics Association. He has also been presented with a 25-year service pin from the Ontario Soccer Referees Association and a certificate from the Canadian Soccer Referee Committee.

Dick St.Amant

Richard “Dick” St.Amant – Nominated by Bert Mason,
Dick knew early success as a defenceman for the 1939-40 O.H.A. Jr. “C” Champions, the Penetanguishene Spencer Rangers.
Dick’s involvement in the Penetanguishene Minor Hockey Association began in 1961 when he coached the Major Novice Rep. Team, a team he coached for the next 14 years.
He held several minor hockey positions within the organization but primarily was its Georgian Bay Representative at the regional level. He was P.M.H.A. President from 1968 to 1973. He initiated and was the first Chair of the Winterama Hockey Tournament which he ran for many years. He also conceptualized the first “Skate-a-thon” which became a huge fundraising event for minor hockey for many years.
As a Head Coach, he had the special distinction of having won four Ontario Minor Hockey zone Championships in 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1972 which included the Grand Championship of both the “B” and “BB” Divisions.