Lois Thompson
Born on a farm in Wellington County, Ontario, Lois Thompson has been involved in Softball in Aurora for more than five decades. While serving in an administrative role with the Royal Canadian Air Force (R.C.A.F) in 1959 in Trenton, Ontario, Lois spent her downtime playing softball on the R.C.A.F. team. Later in the 1960s upon moving to Aurora, she became an active player locally in the Aurora Ladies Softball league with the Doane Hall Pharmacy team. It was during the 1970s when her own daughters began to play softball that Lois felt the drive to volunteer, first being a part of the introduction of T-Ball to the Aurora Minor Ball system. In 1977, one of her daughters joined the Aurora Diggers Bantam team, and Lois recognized the need for the team to expand its reach. She, along with some colleagues, founded the Aurora Diggers Girls Softball Association, which was able to promote the sport at a high level, helping with equipment, coaching, and finances. As the first and to date only Treasurer of the Diggers Association, Lois has been an integral part of the institution’s success and in particular their growth into a House League in 2009. Lois recognized when a role had to be filled and would undertake it herself, motivating others to help along the way. Her role with the Diggers expanded with their success, and she began to attend the Provincial Women’s Softball Association (P.W.S.A.) meetings – eventually earning an appointment with them and beginning a 25-year term on their Board of Directors. Concurrently, Lois identified the need for a regional league and was a founding...
Steve Vickers
Born in Toronto in 1951, Steve was enrolled into hockey by his parents as a way to socialize and make friends. He struggled in his first year but found his footing mid-way through his second, which led to him moving up through the junior leagues. In the 1968-69 season of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, Steve played with the Markham Seal-a-Wax “Waxers” who dominated the league championship and won the Sutherland Cup. Steve followed his time in Markham with two years on the Toronto Marlboros, scoring an amazing 43 goals in his final year. Steve’s esteemed NHL career began when he was drafted in 1972 into the New York Rangers, the team with which he would spend his entire professional career. Before his official start with the team, he was invited to practice with them in preparation for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Once on the Rangers as a true NHL Rookie, Steve developed an on-ice rapport with fellow forwards Walt Tkachuk and Bill Fairbairn, forming a renowned trio known as the Bulldog Line and netting himself 30 goals and 23 assists. He also earned the nickname “Sarge” for an old army jacket he would wear to practice. In November of his rookie year Steve made NHL history, scoring hat tricks in consecutive games – the first rookie as well as Ranger to do so. The first night of this feat is memorialized at Madison Square Garden as the November 12th entry for their Garden366 series of photos. Steve’s accomplished first season is best remembered for him winning the coveted Calder Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year, 1973. Hockey...
Reginald “Reg” Chappell
Reginald “Reg” Chappell was born in Windsor on August 26, 1947. To say that he was drawn to the water from a young age would be an understatement; when he was three years old, he had to be tied to a picnic table because he refused to stay out of the deep water! One of Reg’s earliest memories is pretending to swim in the backseat of the car while his dad was driving. He would pretend to dive and propel though the ditches and culverts as the car drove by. All Reg wanted to do was be in the water, but the family could not afford swimming lesson until he was twelve years old. In 1962, when he was in grade nine, Reg was asked to coach the Herman Collegiate Institute High School dive team. This was the beginning of his coaching career and he continued to coach the high school dive team through university. Reg also joined the high school swim team and his coach, Keith Buckley, inspired, motivated and guided him both athletically and academically. In 1966, the swim team won the High School Championship and Reg shared the Individual Senior Championship award with a fellow teammate. When Coach Buckley left the school, Reg felt the absence of his positive influence both on the deck and in the classroom. He went on to fail grade twelve twice, and found a job at a local factory where he worked for four years while completing high school through correspondence courses. In 1969, after the passing of his mother, Reg fulfilled her wishes for him to return to school and...
