- Nominations
- Inductees
- Alexander, Lisa
- Attard, Larry
- Bailey, Angela
- Balding, Al
- Bard, Alex
- Biggar, Howard
- Borthwick, Gayle
- Boyd, Mabel
- Brenneman, John
- Brown, David
- Brown, Louise
- Brydson, Gordon
- Carver-Dias, Claire
- Chambers, Carlton
- Christie, Marc
- Clare, Lou
- Clark, Karen
- Coffey, Paul
- Distelmeyer, Wallace
- Doty, Fred
- Dudley, Rick
- Ealey, Chuck
- Edwards, Dwight
- Eisele, Sylvia
- Fee, Earl
- Finlay, Matt
- Forshaw, Sheila
- Gilbert, Greg
- Gray, Gerry
- Greenwood, Jill
- Gurowka, Joe
- Hamilton, Stu
- Harris, Susan
- Hattin, Heather
- Hawley, Sandy
- Henderson, Paul
- Hibbert, Curtis
- Hicken, Blair
- Hickox, Mac
- Hinds, Sterling
- Hollett, Frank W.
- Homer-Dixon, Marjorie
- Hughes, Gord
- Kelly, Bob
- Kern, Ben
- Kerr, Jane
- Laumann, Danielle
- Laumann, Silken
- Lay, Jeff
- Loek, Fred
- Love, Jerry
- Martin, Peter
- Marland, Robert
- McCallion, Hazel
- McClintock, Joel
- McClintock-Messer, Judy
- McFater, Al
- McKenzie, Merv
- McQuaker, Charles (Red)
- Morris, Ted
- Oldershaw, Bert
- Oldershaw, Dean
- Oldershaw, Reed
- Oughtred, Wally
- Owoc Chennette, Andrea
- Pallett, Howard
- Paterson, Charlie
- Patey, Larry
- Plaxton, Hugh
- Pogue, Jim
- Poulin, Dave
- Preston, Karen
- Primeau, Joe
- Reddon, Lesley
- Riddell, Sam
- Rider, Fran
- Roach-Leuszler, Winnie
- Ross, Bill
- Ryder, Gus
- Samuel, Ernest
- Serwetnyk, Carrie
- Sicinski, Bob
- Smylie, Doug
- Stanfield, Fred
- Stanfield, Gord
- Stewart-Pellett, Ellen
- Tanti, Tony
- Toth, Mike
- Umeh, Stella
- Van Kiekebelt, Debbie
- Volpe, Nick
- Waites, Al
- Wilson, Bruce
- Wirkowski, Nobby
- Wood, Art
- Wood, John
- Young, Mike
|
|
|
|
Name:
WILSON, Bruce
Sport:
Soccer
|
|
|
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
|
The “Iron Man” of soccer. Bruce Wilson earned this recognition the old-fashioned way, playing in 161 consecutive games in North American Soccer League (NASL) between 1975 and 1980 – a record that inspires wide-spread admiration, while saying volumes about the ability and level of fitness of the best-ever player produced by Canada. Wilson single-handedly wrote chapters in Canadian soccer history, some of it while he and his family lived here in Mississauga. The year 1986 stands out as a milestone for Canada, the one and only time when Team Canada reached the final rounds of the World Cup, next to the Olympic Games the biggest and most spectacular sporting event. Wilson as the team’s captain and No.1 star player, was given a lot of the credit for Canada’s showcase success. He also received his share of kudos for leading Canada to the semifinals of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games’ soccer tournament in Los Angeles.
All in all, Wilson was chosen to represent Canada a record 62 times in full international matches during a 12-year senior playing career. A product of the Burnaby minor soccer system, Wilson rejected overtures from the famous English club Everton and instead signed professional forms with the Vancouver Whitecaps in 1974. Four years later he was transferred to the Chicago Sting and in 1980, went to the New York Cosmos to play alongside some of the giants of global soccer – the Brazilian “Black Pearl” Pele, Franz Beckenbauer the “Kaizer” of the world champion West German team and Italian sensation Georgio Chinaglia. In 1980, he helped Cosmos win the Soccer Bowl, soccer’s version of the Super Bowl. |
In 1980, Wilson was obtained by the Toronto Blizzard and moved his family to Mississauga. In 1981, he captained Blizzard to the same Soccer Bowl win. Wilson was chosen Mississauga’s Professional Athlete of the Year on two occasions, in 1982 and 1985. During his “Iron Man” career, Wilson became not only the first Canadian, but the first North American player to be selected to the NASL All-Star team (first All-Star selection in 1977, ’79 and ’84 and second team in 1978 and ’81). In 1986, the year before he was to become an honoured member of Mississauga’s Sports Hall of Fame, Wilson was chosen to Pele’s Rest of the World all-star squad to play world champion Argentina in a charity match in Japan. When Wilson was inducted into the Mississauga’s Sports Hall of Fame, the great Pele sent his former New York Cosmos teammate a letter of congratulations. Following his spectacular playing career, the 5-foot 10 inch, 155-pound defender turned to coaching and the family reluctantly moved from Mississauga when he was appointed head coach of the Canadian university powerhouse University of Victoria Vikings. |
|
|
