2018 BC Football Hall of Fame Inductees
To access a mini bio on each of your 2018 inductees click on the head shots below. You must have pop-ups turned on to view.
John Beaton
Athlete
John Beaton
A graduate of Vancouver College and an inductee into the VC Hall of Honour as an athlete, John competed in both football and basketball, winning the Best Back Award on the 1966 Irish team.
After Vancouver College, John, a defensive back, attended the University of Tulsa on a NCAA football scholarship 1967-1968. He then transferred to Simon Fraser University where he played for the Clan from 1969 to 1971. He was the starting middle linebacker on the Clan’s 1970 undefeated team.
Taken in the 1971 supplemental draft by the BC Lions, he attended training camp with the BC Lions in 1972. Upon being released by the BC Lions, John was picked up by the Edmonton Eskimos and as a defensive back played eight official seasons in the CFL.
John was with Edmonton Eskimos (1973-1976); Montreal Alouettes (1976-77); and finished his career with the BC Lions (1978-80). John won the Grey Cup in 1975 with the Eskimos and again in 1977 with the Alouettes.
Mike Cacic
Athlete
Mike Cacic
Mike was a defensive lineman who played 10 years in the Canadian Football League all with the BC Lions.
Rather than going the college football route, Mike played in the Vancouver Junior Football League growing up. When he joined the Lions, his early seasons were hampered by injuries and he even sat out an entire season in 1959. Once he put injury concerns behind him, however, he became a star. He was a western conference all-star from 1964 to 1966 and a CFL All-Star in 1964. He also was part of the Lions’ first-ever Grey Cup winning team in 1964. Part of the famed “head hunters” on the Lions’ defence, Mike was nicknamed “Black Mike” for his intimidating presence.
Mike was named to the BC Lions 50th Anniversary Dream Team and also immortalized on the BC Lions’ Wall of Fame. He passed away in 2008.
J.R. Davies
Athlete
J.R. Davies
J.R. was a star quarterback and one of the best passers that high school football and university football in this province has ever seen.
After a standout high school stint at Port Moody Secondary where he was a leading passer, J.R. went down south and joined the University of Las Vegas. After spending two years in Las Vegas, he’d return home to join the SFU Clan from 2001 to 2004. The 2003 season was his standout year. That season, he not only quarterbacked SFU to a 7-4 record, helped them achieve their first-ever playoff win, and led them to a Canada West championship while setting or equaling five school records including yards passing in a game (483) and consecutive passes without an interception (242).
As of 2018, J.R. is coaching at Roosevelt High School in San Antonio, Texas.
Nick Hebeler
Athlete
Nick Hebeler
One of the most colourful players in BC Lions history, known for his ferocious style and flashy orange high-tops, Nick joined the Lions in 1979 as a territorial exemption following his career at Simon Fraser University.
Nick played 86 games with BC with the 1982 campaign among his finest for the club. Earning both a West Division and CFL All-Star selection at defensive end, he posted a career-high 14 sacks that season among a team total of 46.5 by a dominant Lions defence. A virtual turnover machine, he recovered eight fumbles, blocked three kicks and added an interception for a TD during his illustrious Lions career. Nick was a key member of the 1985 Grey Cup championship team before heading east after the season. He went on to play a total of 113 CFL regular season games notching 56.5 career sacks before retiring in 1987 after two seasons in Saskatchewan.
Nick was voted as a member of both the 25th year and the 50th year BC Lions anniversary dream teams, respectively. He played his high school football at Centennial Senior Secondary.
Rick Klassen
Athlete
Rick Klassen
Rick ranks among the BC Lions’ all-time greatest defensive linemen logging 142 games for the club through nine seasons. Rick came to the Lions as a territorial exemption in 1981 following his career at Simon Fraser University. The Grey Cup season of 1985 was one of his finest as he was named to the West Division All-Star squad after recording eight sacks and a fumble recovery. Following the 1987 season, he was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but returned to the club after a brief retirement to log two more seasons with the Lions before retiring for good in 1990. The hallmark of Rick’s career as a Lion was one of consistency at a position often dominated by imports. Over a span of 160 CFL games, he recorded 66 sacks and added another 4.5 in two Grey Cup appearances. In the 1983 Grey Cup game played at BC Place, he was named the Most Valuable Canadian.
Rick was voted a member of the Lions’ 50th anniversary dream team. He played his high school football at Sardis Senior Secondary. Rick passed away in 2016 but posthumously contributes to the progress of safety in the game having donated his brain to the Canadian Concussion Centre for research purposes.
Akbal Singh
Athlete
Akbal Singh
A perennial high school football all-star, Akbal was a star rusher with the Notre Dame Jugglers. He was part of their AAA championship team in 1989 and led the province in rushing in 1990 while being named a provincial all-star.
After graduating from Notre Dame Regional Secondary, he went on to play three seasons with the Renfrew Trojans of the BCJFL where he was a 3-time Canadian All-Star. He then went on to a prolific career with the UBC Thunderbirds helping the team win the 1997 Vanier Cup while leading the Canada West in rushing in 1998 and 1999, leading the Canada West in scoring and touchdowns in 1998, setting the Canada West record for most yards rushing in a season (1,417), as well as twice being nominated for the Hec Crighton Award in 1998 and 1999.
With UBC, Akbal was also a Canada West All-Star and an All-Canadian in 1998 and 1999. He set the team record for most rushing yards in a season with 1,787 as well as set the record for longest rushing touchdown at 85 yards in a game against Saskatchewan in 1996.
Don Berger
Builder
Don Berger
Don played an instrumental role in the development and community and high school football in British Columbia, particularly on the North Delta.
He was a director, then president, of the North Delta Football League and focused much on his attention on development at the grassroots level. He instituted the Punt, Pass and Kick program, Atom division football, 9-man football, as well as started all-star games at the end of the season. He pushed hard to have these programs not only in North Delta but across the Lower Mainland.
Don mentored his two sons in the game of football, and even taught his oldest son, Mitch, the kicking game in his own backyard, going as far as to set up goal posts. Those lessons would pay off for Mitch as he would continue on in the game of football and eventually be part of the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009. Mitch was inducted in the BC Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Don also coached at North Delta Secondary School as an assistant alongside his old friend, Walter Becker. He also served as president of the Vancouver Mainland Football League. In 2010, he was honoured with a Builder’s Award at the Orange Helmet Awards.
Bob DeJulius
Builder
Bob DeJulius
Bob had two main passions – education and football.
As a player, he learned the basics of the game suiting up for the Notre Dame Jugglers of BC High School Football and the CYO of the Big 4 Junior League. He would attend both UBC and SFU and obtained a teaching degree. He would begin his coaching career and teaching career at Vancouver College before returning to Notre Dame.
After a stint at Notre Dame, Bob would then move to SFU where he would serve as an assistant coach before taking over as head coach. He would be there for a 10-year period and was part of what was known as the golden period for SFU football. In 1970, serving as an assistant coach under the legendary Lorne Davies, he helped guide the team to an undefeated 8-0 season. In total, under his tutelage, 31 players from the Clan program went on to play in the CFL including the likes of Lui Passaglia, Glen Jackson and Nick Hebeler.
Bob would move back to the high school ranks in 1980 becoming head coach at Vancouver College, before moving on to become the founding principal and head football coach at Holy Cross Secondary in Surrey in 1982. He would remain at Holy Cross until retiring in 2010.
Bob not only oversaw the development of many great players who would make their mark on professional football, but also developed many individuals who would go on to give back to football in the province at the high school level, many of whom have become legends and hall-of-famers in their own right including the likes of Denis Kelly, George Oswald, Tom Kudaba, Frank Roberto, Shawn Olson and Jay Prepchuk.
Dave Ritchie
Builder
Dave Ritchie
Dave is known for his long coaching career in the Canadian Football League. His first stint as head coach started in British Columbia in 1993 where he would spend three seasons, compiling a record of 31-22-1, while leading the Lions to a Grey Cup championship in 1994. It would be his lone Grey Cup victory as head coach. He would then go on to be head coach in Montreal and Winnipeg, the latter being the stint he is most remembered for, and would conclude his head coaching career with 108 victories.
During his time with the Lions, Dave was a tremendous supporter of amateur football in the province. Working closely with Patrick Waslen - then executive director of Football BC - Dave always ensured that Lions players and staff frequently visited and assisted at the annual Senior Bowl camp which took place at the Lions training facility.
In total as a coach, including that 1994 victory with the Lions, Ritchie has won the Grey Cup three times. He also spent time coaching in Switzerland.
Dave was inducted into the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Hall of Fame in 2014. Prior to coaching in Canada, Dave coached at Fairmont State University in West Virginia.
Wayne Steele
Builder
Wayne Steele
Wayne is recognized one of the premier football officials in British Columbia and across the country as well. Wayne has covered games at the minor, high school and university levels often as the head referee. Wayne has a solid background in the game of football as a player in Junior Big 4 Football for the CYO Red Raiders and Marpole Colts.
Wayne’s career notables include being part of the first fully-integrated crew from across Canada to officiate the College Bowl (now the Vanier Cup), having been the head referee for the annual Archbishops’ Trophy between Vancouver College and Notre Dame more than 20 times, being the head instructor for officials at Top-Flight Flag Football League clinics, being the official CFL communications coordinator for Empire Stadium and BC Place for over 30 years. Wayne has appeared in movies as an official and was the head referee for the first-ever televised Lingerie Football League game in B.C.
Wayne was an elementary school teacher for 35 years with the Vancouver School Board; this afforded him the flexibility to officiate games after school on Friday evenings and Saturdays. In 1988 Wayne was the Head official for a Meraloma Football Alumni team as they toured England, Wales and Scotland. As the game was still new to the United Kingdom, Wayne assisted the other game referees and held clinics for them.
Wayne is a lifetime member of the BCFOA, and has given back to the officiating fraternity by teaching new officials. He has served on the BC Football Officials Association’s (BCFOA) board of directors as well as handled communications with the National Officials Association.
Mike Beamish
Media
Mike Beamish
For 43 years, Mike was synonymous with the Vancouver Sun sports section and, in many ways, the face of the Lions on the sports pages.
He began as a football writer with the Sun in 1978 and was the backup to writer Lyndon Little on the Lions’ beat. He briefly left sports in 1982 for a parliamentary bureau posting in Ottawa but would soon find himself back writing about what he was most passionate about.
He became a general sports columnist in 1991 and has the distinction of being the first Vancouver journalist to interview a young budding Russian hockey megastar who would soon join the Vancouver Canucks in Pavel Bure.
But the football beat was where Mike truly belonged and he would close out the final 18 years of his illustrious Vancouver Sun career on the Lions beat. In 2014, Mike was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Vancouver Island Raiders Junior Football Club
Special Award
Vancouver Island Raiders Junior Football Club
When the Vancouver Island Raiders broke onto the scene, they completed turn the junior football landscape on its head and created a powerhouse instantly not only in British Columbia but across the country as well.
Founded in 2005, led by head coach Matt Blokker and team owner Hadi Abassi, the Raiders – for a four-year stretch from 2006 to 2009 – were the most dominant junior team in the country. They finished in first place each year and captured the B.C. league championship, Cullen Cup, in all four of those seasons. It was part of their overall run of six B.C. titles in a row (2006 to 2011) and seven of eight from 2006 to 2013.
Those first four years truly showed B.C.’s dominance on the junior landscape in Canada, and it was all due to the Raiders. They captured the Canadian Bowl championship on three occasions in 2006, 2008 and 2009. As of 2018, the 2009 Raiders are still the last team from B.C. to capture the Canadian national championship.
The Raiders developed a great number of star players but none more prolific than Andrew Harris, who would go on to become a star in his own right on the CFL stage capturing a Grey Cup in 2011 with the BC Lions. As of 2018, Harris is a star running back playing with his hometown Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Wally Buono
CFL Bob Ackles Award
Wally Buono
In a CFL coaching career that spanned nearly three decades in Calgary and BC, Wally has led his teams to 13 regular season division titles and five Grey Cup championships as of 2018.
Wally joined the Lions in 2003 and within two years led the team to a Grey Cup appearance in 2004. He would lead the Lions to a Grey Cup championship in 2006 and, following another title win in 2011, retire from active coaching as the league’s all-time wins leader before returning to the sidelines 2016.
With the Lions he has served, in various times, in the capacity of head coach, general manager and vice-president of football operations.
In 2009, Buono surpassed Don Matthews’ 232 victories to become the all-time leader in coaching wins. Wally is also the Lions’ leader in career wins as head coach with 120 to end the 2017 season. A three-time CFL Coach of the Year (1992, 1993, 2006 and 2011), Wally was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in the Builder category in 2014.
In 2003, the Saint Bernard Pass Charitable Foundation established the Wally Buono Award, given annually to Canada’s top junior football player. One of the more high-profile winners of the award was all-star running back Andrew Harris, who later went on to play for Wally as a member of the Lions and was part of the 2011 championship team.
1968 Notre Dame Jugglers
Team
1968 Notre Dame Jugglers
Every dynasty has to start somewhere and, for the case of BC High School Football’s Notre Dame Jugglers, it began in 1968.
The 1968 was the beginning of a modern-day dynasty. Over a 26-year period from 1968 to 1993, the Jugglers captured 14 provincial titles while making 18 trips to the provincial final. This included a pair of three-peat periods from 1970-72 and again from 1987 to 1989. But the 1968 team is the one that started it off when they beat Steveston Secondary in the final by a 26-6, capturing the third ‘Shrine Bowl’, as a perfect cap to their 9-0 season where they scored 276 points while allowing just 13.
It was that 1968 team that established a sense of hard work and perseverance into the program that has seen them grow to become arguably the most prolific in all of BC High School Football not only winning 14 senior provincial championships, but six junior titles and five Grade 8 titles along the way. The 25 combined titles is the most by any Catholic or public high school. The 1968 Notre Dame Jugglers are celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018.
Click here to watch the 2018 induction ceremony (opens new window to Facebook).
Click here to watch the 2018 half-time festivities (opens new window to Facebook).
Your link to photos taken from the 2018 event
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| 2018 | Inductees |
|---|---|
| Athlete | John Beaton, Mike Beaton, J.R. Davies, Nick Hebeler, Rick Klassen, Akbal Singh |
| Builder | Don Berger, Bob DeJulius, Dave Ritchie, Wayne Steele |
| Media | Mike Beamish |
| Team | 1968 Notre Dame Jugglers |
| Special Award | Vancouver Island Raiders Junior Football Club |
| CFL Bob Ackles Award | Wally Buono |
