Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame announces class of 2025

One of the great characters in Winnipeg sports history will be honoured as one of the province’s best athletes.

Kicker and punter Troy Westwood, who is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ all-time leading scorer after 18-seasons with the Blue and Gold, headlines the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame’s class of 2025, which was announced July 16.

Born in Dauphin, Westwood was a proud Manitoban and inspiration for the team’s annual Banjo Bowl rivalry game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders when he called fans of the Riders a bunch of “banjo-pickin’ inbreds.” He put more more fuel on the fire with a fake apology, adding he didn’t think anyone in Saskatchewan could even play the banjo.

“I remember distinctly in my 17th year, sitting on the ground when all the other guys were in their meetings and I was looking around the locker room shaking my head as I just still couldn’t believe that I was in there,” Westwood, now 58, said in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press following the announcement.

“Not a day did I ever take for granted of being a Blue Bomber. It was a dream from when I was five years old, telling my dad that I would one day be the kicker for the Bombers.”

Westwood was also a radio host on TSN 1290 until the station was closed in 2021.

Softball pitcher Ashley Lanz is also part of the 2025 class. She threw for Team Canada, before embarking on a championship-winning professional European career. In the 2005 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championships she set tournament records for strikeouts and wins, throwing two perfect games.

“There were times when people came up to me and said ‘You got a no hitter.’ and I’d be like ‘I did? I had no idea.’ For me, it wasn’t about that, it was about doing my part to win and be a part of a team,” Lanz said.

“I pitched seven games in one day one time. I pitched with a broken finger. I remember one nationals my back was so sore that I couldn’t even sit down, and I pitched the whole tournament, pretty much all by myself. I feel like there’s been a lot of physical hurdles, mental hurdles, and different barriers and whatnot, but since I loved it so much, I kept doing my job.”

Volleyball standout Russ Paddock earned his nomination both as a player and as a builder. He played for Canada at the 1992 Olympics in the middle of a standout University of Manitoba run, before joining Brandon University as a coach and athletic director.

Glen Bergeron won’t be a name that showed up on the stats sheet, but has been a mainstay on sidelines for high profile events. He served on medical teams for five Olympic Games and was the chief therapist for Team Canada at the Pan Am Games. Bergeron helped develop the University of Manitoba’s athletic therapy program.

Colonel Gary Solar was a leader across Manitoba sports, serving as chairman of the the Sports Federation of Manitoba. He is also part of the 2025 class as a builder.

On the team side, the historic 1987 Lucania Football Club team has been given their due in the provincial hall, winning a national championship in front of friends and family after nabbing their first provincial league win.

“We started off poorly, we were then able to recruit a few players from the Winnipeg Fury who were just starting out and were releasing some players,” head coach and general manager Michael Nardiello, who still runs the club, said.

“And then, we kind of just took off. It was our first time winning the MSA Cup and going to nationals, and it was in Winnipeg at the U of M, and we ended up winning it all… For our group, it was like a World Cup win.”

The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place Nov. 6 at the Victoria Inn.

With files from Taylor Allen