The Sault Ste. Marie Sports Hall of Fame has grown by four members.
In a ceremony, Bob Woolley Sr, Larry Tomie, Peter Ruicci, and Richard Vallee were honoured as the latest inductees on Wednesday evening.
The biggest inductee class since 2009, the class of 2022 isn’t short on accomplishments either.
Bob Woolley Sr. (athlete – bowling)
A former Canadian amateur champion, bowling led to a number of special moments and the latest was a hall of fame nod.
“I’m very honoured,” Woolley said. “I’ve put a lot of time into bowling. I’ve been bowling since I was 10 years old, so for almost 50 years I’ve been bowling. That’s a lot of strikes and a lot of spares.”
While he doesn’t bowl competitively anymore, he’s enjoying his children and grandchildren taking up the sport.
In addition, Woolley said teaching the sport to kids has been a blessing as well.
“I coached kids for over 25 years and that was one of the biggest rewards,” Woolley said. “You practice what you preach, and you demonstrate it and they look up to you. You can be their mentors.”
Between the national and international competitions, Woolley has plenty of fond memories from his time in the sport.
He added that bowling an 869 series in 1996, which was tops in the country, also stands out.
“You consider all the nights that people go bowling and you’ve thrown the biggest series ever shot in Canada (it stands out),” Woolley said. “I threw 33 strikes out of 36 frames. It was a bowlers dream night.”
The international events, which included the Bowling World Cup in 1991 and 2001, were “a big eye opener.”
Woolley said the events showed him different styles of bowling in addition to meeting new players.
“You get to meet and talk to people and see what equipment they’re using and what works for them,” Woolley said.
Among Woolley ’s accomplishments are:
- 1982, 1990, 1991, 2000, 2001 northern Ontario Canadian World Cup participant
- 1991, 2001 Canadian amateur champion
- Competed in 1991 and 2001 Bowling World Cup events in Beijing, China, and Pattaya, Thailand
- 1996 Canadian three-game series record 869
- Bowled 20 sanctioned perfect games throughout his career.
- 11 800+ three-game series
Lawrence ‘Larry’ Tomie (athlete – alpine skiing)
The smile on his face says it all.
Surprised by the honour, Larry Tomie reflected on many good times on the courses that helped put him in elite company as he earned his hall of fame nod.
“It’s something that you hope to work for someday, but you don’t think you’re going to get it and then, bang, it happens,” Tomie said of being named to the hall of fame. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Tomie also said the many international competitions he competed in are something that he’ll never forget.
“That was just super,” Tomie said. “When it happens, you don’t know right away and then you fall asleep and think ‘Holy, I just wont the Super G, Giant Slalom and beat all of those guys.’”
Winning the South American ski championship is a moment that stood out for Tomie in his ski career as well.
“It was just fantastic,” Tomie said. “You have to have a little luck too (to win).”
A long-time skier, Tomie said the equipment is something that’s drastically improved over the years in the sport.
“The skis are faster now,” Tomie said. “They can turn really quick. The runs are faster. It’s changed a lot.”
Among Tomie’s accomplishments are:
- Ranked as high as third in the FIS Overall World Cup points standings in 2014
- Ranked as high as first in the FIS Overall World Cup points standings in 2016
- Won four golds in the 2015 FIS International Championships in Chile
- Won two golds and was the World Masters Alpine champion in 2015 in Quebec City
- Was inducted into the Maple Leaf International Club in Collingwood, Ont. in 2016
- Served as coach of the Soo Northerners in the Ontario Sr. A fastpitch champions in 1969
Peter Ruicci (builder – sports media)
For Peter Ruicci, there have been many moments that stand out in his media career.
From covering the Soo Greyhounds 1993 Memorial Cup win for television to broadcasting the Sault Steelers 1980 Northern Football Conference on radio, Ruicci spoke of the players around the city in various sports stand out as well.
“You don’t ever start out in this business thinking that’s what’s going to happen,” Ruicci said of being honoured.
“It’s unreal,” Ruicci added. “The thing that makes me happiest is Alex Mitchell, who first hired me at the newspaper, was inducted in 2017. To follow him, that makes it special because I learned a lot of what I needed to know for the newspaper business from watching Alex and watching the guys write stories.”
“He believed in digging for the story and getting both sides of the story,” Ruicci also said when asked about working with Mitchell. “He was an old-fashioned newsman. He loved news and he loved sports.”
Ruicci called the transition from radio and television to working in print “totally different.”
“I had always read a lot of sports in newspapers, so I had that going for me that I had read enough stories that I had an idea of what you were trying to say when you wrote a story, but it was totally different,” Ruicci said. “There’s not that adrenaline rush either. When you go on live radio or live TV, it’s such an adrenaline rush.”
Ruicci added that the transition to print was a positive one because of the opportunity to go more in-depth with some stories
Among Ruicci’s accomplishments are:
- 40 years of experience in television, radio, and print media locally
- Named Sun Media’s Canadian Sports Journalist of the Year in 2013.
- Inducted into the Russ Ramsay High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2016
Richard Vallee (builder – figure skating)
“I never thought it would ever happen.”
Richard Vallee has seen a lot of special moments during his time in figure skating, but being named a hall of famer for his time in the sport wasn’t something he ever expected.
“It’s a real pleasure and honour,” Vallee added. “I’m very honoured that they think enough of me to nominate me.”
He’s had plenty of memorable moments as a judge, but a pair stand out just a bit.
“One of the first was when I was appointed a Canadian-level judge,” Vallee said. “The first time you judge Canadians is something you always remember and the fact that my first international assignment was in Berlin the week the wall went down.”
Vallee called the Berlin experience “amazing.”
“You could see the change in the atmosphere,” Vallee said. “It was really exciting.”
Since his early days judging the sport, a lot has changed.
“The marking system is completely different,” Vallee said. “There’s a lot more emphasis nowadays on skating skills. There’s still a lot of emphasis on quadruple jumps and that sort of thing. They’re really starting to look at the artistic side of it.”
Among Vallee’s accomplishments are:
- International (ISU) judge (singles and pairs) at competitions including Mexico City,
- Kiev, Slovenia, Turin, Vienna, Helsinki, and Zagreb as well as Skate America, Skate Canada, Trophee de France, and NHK Trophy (Tokyo) between 1991 and 2017
- National judge and referee: Canadian Championships (Canadian) as well as Atlantic, Central, Easter, and Western Divisional competitions between 1985 and 2017
- Judge/referee (singles and pairs). Experiences include sectional-level competitions across northern Ontario, western Ontario, and Saskatchewan and invitational competitions including Algoma Interclub, February Frolic, Let’s Skate, SummerSizzle, Minto SummerSkate and Scarboro Skate between 1975 and 2017
- Member/chair of National Judges Committee, International Judges Committee, National Officials’ Development Committee, and the Educational and Development Committee for Skate Canada
- Canadian National Team (official) for the World University Games in Turin, Italy in 2007